STEALTHbits Technologies Introduces Advanced Workflow Addressing Open Access to Unstructured Data

New Solution Eliminates Top Audit Challenge and Reduces Risk by Identifying and Closing Open File Shares

Glen Rock, NJ – April 3, 2012 – STEALTHbits Technologies, the provider of the industry’s most comprehensive IT management and compliance platform, today announced the availability of its Open Access Workflow, a new solution designed to reduce risk and improve security around unstructured data by fixing the problem of open access across the file system.

Delivered as part of the STEALTHbits Data & Access Governance Solution Set, which is built on the award-winning StealthAUDIT^® Management Platform (SMP), STEALTHbits’ Open Access Workflow solution automates the process of locking down open access to file system resources through discovery, intelligence and automated remediation. Originally developed to support large organizations with complex IT environments, the solution logic is configurable to meet any organization’s unique requirements enabling them to identify, analyze and remediate risk on unstructured data.

“IT professionals consistently identify open access to unstructured data as a critical challenge, but the size and complexity of the problem often seems too overwhelming to address,” said Matt Flynn, director of Access Governance Solutions at STEALTHbits Technologies. “No two organizations are structured the same and there is significant disparity in security models, access controls and audit requirements. As a result of working with many of the largest financial institutions in the world, we’ve developed a proven and pragmatic approach that any organization can take and apply to their own environment to answer critical questions about where sensitive data exists, who owns it, and where the highest risk lays, whether it’s across 100 servers or 10,000.”

STEALTHbits’ Open Access Workflow offers a methodology for reducing risk by providing a proven process that identifies and closes open file shares across any network computing environment. By iterating through tasks and scoping data scans based on intelligence, STEALTHbits’ unique workflow process enables organizations to eliminate one of their top audit challenges without significant infrastructure investments or time commitments.

Pricing & Availability

STEALTHbits’ Open Access Workflow solution is available immediately through STEALTHbits. For more information, visit http://www.stealthbits.com/, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call +1-201-447-9300.  

About STEALTHbits

STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. offers the industry’s most comprehensive IT management and compliance platform. Built from the ground up to collect, analyze, remediate, and report on data and systems critical to compliance success, STEALTHbits’ technology platform provides a single, unified framework for the management of Microsoft infrastructure and beyond, truly bridging the ever-widening gap between IT Management & Compliance groups within organizations large and small. Since 2001, STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. has delivered powerful solution sets that address specific business problems across Active Directory, Exchange, Public Folders, SharePoint, Data and Access Governance, Systems Governance, and BlackBerry and ActiveSync. Learn more at www.stealthbits.com and follow STEALTHbits on Twitter.

# # #

STEALTHbits and StealthAUDIT are registered trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. The STEALTHbits logo and all other STEALTHbits product or service names and slogans are registered trademarks or trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Press Contacts:

Bree Bolognese or Jordan Bouclin

SVM Public Relations

(760) 754-7025 or (401) 490-9700

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STEALTHbits Technologies Rounds Out Executive Team with Three Key Marketing and Business Development Hires

Industry Veterans Bring Extensive Knowledge in Channel Marketing and Product Management to IT Security, Audit and Compliance Leader

Glen Rock, NJ – March 29, 2012 – STEALTHbits Technologies, the provider of the industry’s most comprehensive IT management and compliance platform for Microsoft-based systems, applications and data repositories, today announced that it has expanded its staff with three key appointments in business development, corporate strategy and marketing. Kevin Cancilla has been appointed vice president of marketing, Charlie Palella has been appointed vice president of business development and Edward Hand has joined the organization as vice president of corporate strategy. 

“With these new hires and our recent acquisition of NetVision, we’ve entered a new stage of growth,” said Steve Cochran, CEO of STEALTHbits Technologies. “Charlie will be instrumental in forging new relationships with the channel and maintaining the highest levels of service and support that our customers have come to expect and Kevin and Ed will allow us to elevate our brand and penetrate new market segments to become a more recognized force in the IT security and compliance space.”

Kevin Cancilla, vice president of marketing, has more than fifteen years of global enterprise software marketing experience in leading corporate communications and demand center strategy teams. Prior to STEALTHbits, Cancilla served as director of corporate marketing and demand center at Tripwire, where he helped drive year-over-year pipeline growth for seven consecutive years. He also held various marketing roles at Adobe, Bann and Epicor Software. 

“Kevin has many years of marketing experience in the enterprise market, developing integrated programs and partnerships that yield financial results, expand the customer base, increase market share, and build brand affinity,” said Cochran.

Charlie Palella, vice president of business development, has been in the IT industry for nearly thirty years, initially starting with the networking company, DataTech Inc., specializing in retail and banking environments. Transitioning into sales and marketing for CMP Media Inc, Palella helped launch InformationWeek Magazine. While at CMP (and then UBM Channel for the past twenty years), Palella held various management positions with CRN, VARBusiness and XChange Events. 

“Charlie has a proven track record in building channel marketing programs for major IT companies like IBM, Dell, Lenovo, AMD, and RedHat. His experience will help us grow our customer base and sales organization as we add new STEALTHbits products and expand into the channel and mid-market,” added Cochran.

Edward Hand, vice president of corporate strategy, brings more than fifteen years of enterprise software experience to his role at STEALTHbits, having previously had success in sales and product management and partner relationship positions. Prior to joining STEALTHbits, Hand held sales leadership positions for Symantec, Quest Software and Automatic Data Processing.

“Ed brings a depth of skills and knowledge of markets and technology that will help STEALTHbits grow and expand our product development, market penetration and field execution,” commented Cochran.

In February, STEALTHbits announced it acquired NetVision to help extend its product portfolio to the mid-market and offer channel-ready solutions. It also introduced StealthINTERCEPT^™ Directory Authority, the first in a line of new, channel-ready product offerings designed to address the mid-market’s need for more advanced security.

Founded in 2001, STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. is an innovative technology leader in the Microsoft infrastructure and application management space. With a decade of substantial financial growth--over 200% annually--STEALTHbits has changed the way customers administer their critical infrastructure and applications. Leveraging a comprehensive infrastructure, application and compliance management framework, STEALTHbits aims to provide valuable solutions to the most difficult business problems across the Microsoft computing platform. Its unique approach bridges the gap between IT management and compliance, allowing customers to measure, manage and understand multiple aspects of their environments using a single unified platform.

STEALTHbits will be at RSA Conference 2012 in San Francisco, February 27th – March 2nd, Booth # 2736. To schedule a meeting at the show, please contact Jordan Bouclin or Bree Bolognese at (401) 490-9700.

About STEALTHbits

STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. offers the industry’s most comprehensive IT management and compliance platform. Built from the ground up to collect, analyze, remediate, and report on data and systems critical to compliance success, STEALTHbits’ technology platform provides a single, unified framework for the management of Microsoft infrastructure and beyond, truly bridging the ever-widening gap between IT Management & Compliance groups within organizations large and small. Since 2001, STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. has delivered powerful solution sets that address specific business problems across Active Directory, Exchange, Public Folders, SharePoint, Data and Access Governance, Systems Governance, and BlackBerry and ActiveSync. Learn more at www.stealthbits.com and follow STEALTHbits on Twitter.

# # #

STEALTHbits and StealthAUDIT are registered trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. The STEALTHbits logo and all other STEALTHbits product or service names and slogans are registered trademarks or trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Press Contacts:

Bree Bolognese or Jordan Bouclin

SVM Public Relations

(760) 754-7025 or (401) 490-9700

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If there were an award for Supersleuth Marketing Team of the year, STEALTHbits' would be on the short list. We've crept around corridors and hid out in conference rooms to bring you the latest buzz on groundbreaking products that'll be out soon. Earlier this year, we brought you a first look at StealthINTERCEPT, a game-changing real-time Active Directory solution. Now, we've cornered Dave Bullas, Product Manager for Active Directory, and convinced him to answer just a few questions about the latest thing to be coming through STEALTHbits' doors in the near future.

Daria: We saw "StealthMAINTAIN for Active Directory" written on a whiteboard in Conference Room B the other day. What can you tell us about it?

Dave: Absolutely nothing. It's classified, eh?

Daria: But the blogosphere wants to know! Is it a new product?

Dave: I can't give you a lot of details, but if you think about the name, StealthMAINTAIN, maybe it'll become a little clearer.

Daria: Maintain – like maintenance? Maintenance and clean-up?

Dave: Exactly – this product will be an extension to our existing SMP for Active Directory solution, and will allow users to perform remediation and provide them with insight into AD groups, users, and computers.

Daria: How is that different from what we have today?

Dave: It will give admins information from across their environments, allowing them to make decisions about changes much quicker. Since AD is a critical part of the File System, Exchange, SharePoint, and more, this solution will really provide visibility beyond what they can currently see, like effective rights and circular nesting across various data repositories.

Daria: Sounds cool!

Dave: We think so. But I have to head to meeting now.

Daria: But we have more questions!

Dave: This conversation never happened.

GLEN ROCK, NJ (May 26, 2009) - STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc., an innovative leader in Microsoft infrastructure and application management solutions, announces the latest release of SMP for BlackBerry as part of the StealthAUDIT Management Platform (SMP). This latest release rounds out an already impressive BES reporting solution with a unique approach to BlackBerry monitoring and diagnostics aimed to reduce the overhead, complexities, and costs associated with traditional BlackBerry management solutions.

SMP for BlackBerry v3 includes enhanced functionality and product features such as a high-availability BlackBerry Monitoring Applet (eliminating the need for resource-intensive agents), an interactive BlackBerry Helpdesk Web Portal, and more than 120 BlackBerry reports out-of-the-box focusing on high-visibility BES Management issues such as SRP, Exchange, BES SQL, and BES Server Connections and Status, Device, User, Provider, and Server Metrics, Load Balancing, and Diagnostics.

"SMP for BlackBerry v3 introduces to the industry, a smarter way to monitor BlackBerry Enterprise Server," stated Kevin Foisy, company Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer. "Our applet-based technology provides many benefits. It eliminates the headaches and pitfalls of maintaining yet another agent and greatly lowers the overall risks that agents pose. When combined with StealthAUDIT's deep reach into all of the supporting sub-systems that BES is relying upon, SMP for BlackBerry v3 becomes a truly unique and complete solution for organizations of any size."

SMP for BlackBerry v3 is licensed according to the number of BlackBerry devices in the environment and can be purchased as a standalone solution or as an integrated component of STEALTHbitsÌ SMP for Exchange Solution Suite. For additional information and free trial opportunities for SMP for BlackBerry v3 and the StealthAUDIT Management Platform, visit www.stealthbits.com.

ABOUT STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc.
STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. is an innovative technology leader in the Microsoft infrastructure and application management space. Unlike traditional frameworks that are a mile wide and an inch deep, STEALTHbits has taken a unique approach. Built upon a common platform and shared services, the StealthAUDIT Management Platform is as broad as it is deep across multiple areas of OS and application Management, Auditing, Reporting, Compliance, and Remediation. With concentrated focus around Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory, BlackBerry, and Windows Systems, STEALTHbits provides organizations of all sizes the visibility needed to manage systems and applications effectively and efficiently through a single interface, a common platform, and light-weight architecture.

STEALTHbits' customer base speaks for itself with over 30 Fortune 500 and 30 FT Global 500 organizations utilizing the StealthAUDIT Management Platform.

STEALTHbits and StealthAUDIT are trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. BlackBerry is a trademark of Research In Motion Limited. Microsoft, Active Directory, Exchange, and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Editorial Contact
Adam Laub
STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc.
+1.201.783.2243

GLEN ROCK, NJ (07/15/09) - STEALTHbits Technologies' software solution, SMP for Public Folders, makes short work of preparing organizations of any size for their Public Folder to SharePoint migration. STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc., an innovative leader in the Microsoft infrastructure and application management space, is changing the way organizations tackle this daunting task through programmatic workflow involving the assessment, analysis, and remediation of Public Folders, all within a single product.

Over the past decade, many organizations have allowed their Public Folder environments to grow out of control, migrating unneeded, out-of-date content from one version of Exchange to the next. While cheap disk space proved to be an effective short term solution for minimizing Public Folder clean-up efforts, the long term costs of hurling hardware at a software problem now far outweigh the benefits realized by delaying the inevitable.

In 2006, Microsoft announced they would be "de-emphasizing" Public Folders in future versions of Exchange, causing widespread panic among Exchange Administrators, Compliance Auditors, and CIO's alike, as cleaning up this massive repository of unchartered data would surely present an overwhelming burden on IT resources. While Microsoft has since extended their deadline for supporting Public Folders, the need to understand what is in the environment, who actually owns the content, and what can be done with each and every Public Folder remains a ticking time bomb for any organization still supporting Public Folders.

STEALTHbits has incorporated cutting-edge techniques into their offering to hurdle some of the most difficult challenges in assessing and analyzing Public Folder data, such as identifying the "Most Probable Owner" of a Public Folder and soliciting end-user feedback as part of the decision-making process through integrated SendMail and Survey Modules. STEALTHbits' Public Folder Action Module rounds out the workflow with a myriad of options for remediating Public Folder content in just a few clicks.

STEALTHbits' customers have realized incredible results in only days and weeks (compared to months and years) by using over 30 out-of-the-box reports specifically designed to dissect the Public Folder environment into manageable data subsets, as well as the native ability to create customized data collection routines, reports, and views answering the toughest business questions. One large financial customer was able to retire over 5,000 folders and reclaim over 50GB of storage within 3 weeks of implementing the solution, in addition to recertifying Public Folder permissions for all 300,000+ folders.

STEALTHbits offers project, subscription, and perpetual based licensing models for SMP for Public Folders or can be purchased as an integrated component of STEALTHbits' SMP for Exchange Solution Suite.

For additional information and free trial opportunities for SMP for Public Folders and the StealthAUDIT Management Platform, visit www.stealthbits.com.

ABOUT STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc.
STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. is an innovative technology leader in the Microsoft infrastructure and application management space.

Unlike traditional frameworks that are a mile wide and an inch deep, STEALTHbits has taken a unique approach. Built upon a common platform and shared services, the StealthAUDIT Management Platform (SMP) is as broad as it is deep across multiple areas of OS and application Management, Auditing, Reporting, Compliance, and Remediation. With concentrated focus around Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory, BlackBerry, and Windows Systems, STEALTHbits provides organizations of all sizes the visibility needed to manage systems and applications effectively and efficiently through a single interface, a common platform, and light-weight architecture.

Editorial Contact
Adam Laub
STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc.
+1.201.447.9300

GLEN ROCK, NJ (March 1, 2010) - STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc., a leader in the Microsoft Systems and Enterprise Management and Compliance space, today announced its release of version 5.1 of the StealthAUDIT Management Platform.

The StealthAUDIT Management Platform (SMP) is designed to give IT administrators, managers, and auditors a powerful toolset capable of providing highly scalable, high-speed data collection, analysis, reporting, and remediation facilities that satisfy the continually evolving list of audit and compliance requirements. Embracing the undeniable fact that every organization has very different requirements, StealthAUDIT doesn't force administrators into adopting a generic or pre-defined process. Instead, it allows users the flexibility to meet their goals without altering their existing processes and procedures.

Contrary to single-threaded point solutions or product suites of disengaged tools loosely banded together, the StealthAUDIT Management Platform rises above and extends beyond to serve as an integrated and fully functional infrastructure management and compliance solution. SMP helps organizations in desperate need of tools to establish comprehensive systems and data governance programs that satisfy compliance requirements, reduce risk of data exposure, and can be implemented without a long, costly, and complex roll out to the organization.

SMP v5.1 combines expertise in Data Collection, Analysis, Reporting, and Remediation into a single application allowing for streamlined programs for ownership recertification, entitlement reviews, and content clean-up campaigns. SMP uses a common interface regardless of the system or application in focus, and drastically reduces capital and maintenance costs through the replacement of redundant and/or point solutions.

SMP v5.1 features include new and improved Data Collectors for Active Directory, Event Log Collection and Aggregation, and File System Content and Permissions, giving users new ways to understand the "Who, What, When, Where?" and even "How?" for Systems and Data Governance. V5.1 also features redesigned Analysis Modules for Correlation, Change Detection, Threshold and Notification, Trending, Forecasting, and Summarization, as well as new Action Modules that allow users to apply changes from Active Directory to File Systems right from the SMP console.

"In the world of security auditing, scalability is the key to benefiting from a software product's rich set of features," says Kevin Foisy, Co-founder and Chief Software Architect. "StealthAUDIT v5.1 introduces innovative performance enhancements that transform the dream of locking down and managing the Windows infrastructure into reality. Features like advanced caching of Active Directory groups and memberships make it possible to get the global picture on user effective rights, stale SIDs, and security holes on a scale never before possible. StealthAUDIT v5.1 represents a continued investment in 'out of the box' thinking for enterprise security auditing."

About STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc.
STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. is an innovative technology leader in the Microsoft Infrastructure and Application Management space. A multi-national organization with customers in dozens of countries around the world, STEALTHbits' products are utilized and relied upon on a daily basis to streamline operations, increase efficiencies, automate processes, and reduce downtime and outages through both proactive and reactive management of our clientÌs mission-critical infrastructure. STEALTHbits Technologies is headquartered in Glen Rock, NJ, and can be found online at www.stealthbits.com.

About the StealthAUDIT Management Platform
The StealthAUDIT Management Platform (SMP) is a complete Microsoft Management tool that offers IT organizations of all sizes in-depth data collection, analysis, reporting, and remediation -- all from a common framework. With a concentrated focus in the Exchange, Public Folders, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, SharePoint, Active Directory, and Systems and Data Governance spaces, SMP is utilized by top organizations in the financial, pharmaceutical, and retail industries to manage their systems and applications through a single interface.

STEALTHbits and StealthAUDIT are registered trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. The STEALTHbits logo and all other STEALTHbits product or service names and slogans are registered trademarks or trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Forward Looking Statements
This release may include predictions, estimates and other information that might be considered forward-looking statements, including statements concerning STEALTHbits' v5.1 release of the StealthAUDIT Management Platform and support for SMP. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ from those anticipated as a result of various factors, including: the impact of adverse changes in general economic conditions on our relationships with customers, strategic partners and vendors; reductions or delays in information technology spending; variations in demand or the size and timing of customer orders; competitive conditions in our various product areas; rapid technological change; risks associated with the development and market acceptance of new products and product strategies; disruptions caused by acquisitions of companies and/or technologies; fluctuating currency exchange rates and risks associated with international operations; the need to attract and retain qualified employees; and other risks inherent in software businesses. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date thereof. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date thereof.

GLEN ROCK (November 2, 2010) - STEALTHbits Technologies today announced that its StealthAUDIT Management Platform was named as a Finalist in the Best of Connections 2010 awards program in the "Best Windows Product" category by Penton Media's DevConnections.

"We are excited to be in the running for an award from DevConnections, one of the most worthwhile events of the year for IT management professionals. We're looking forward to a great show and the opportunity to demonstrate our abilities to tackle the toughest IT challenges across the Microsoft Infrastructure and Application Management landscape," said Adam Laub, VP of Marketing and Technical Operations at STEALTHbits.

The Best of Connections awards recognize companies who offer innovative products for the industry. The finalists were chosen from more than 80 nominated products in six (6) categories. Finalists will be interviewed at the DevConnections 2010 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, November 2-3 to determine the winners in each category. The winners will be announced live from the DevConnections 2010 exhibitor's floor at 2 pm on Thursday, November 4.

"Whether they solve a very specific problem or address a range of needs for developers and IT professionals working with Microsoft products, the finalists represent some of the best solutions in the business, offering value, innovation, and strategic importance to the market," said Amy Eisenberg, executive editor of Windows IT Pro and DevProConnections. "Choosing winners from this group will be a challenge. But we look forward to digging into the details of each finalist's product at the show."

About STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc.
STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. is an innovative technology leader in the Microsoft Infrastructure and Application Management space. A multi-national organization with customers in dozens of countries around the world, STEALTHbits' products are utilized and relied upon on a daily basis to streamline operations, increase efficiencies, automate processes, and reduce downtime and outages through both proactive and reactive management of our client's mission-critical infrastructure. STEALTHbits Technologies is headquartered in Glen Rock, NJ, and can be found online at www.stealthbits.com.

About the StealthAUDIT Management Platform
The StealthAUDIT Management Platform (SMP) is a complete Microsoft Management tool that offers IT organizations of all sizes in-depth data collection, analysis, reporting, and remediation--all from a common framework. With a concentrated focus in the Exchange, Public Folders, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile, SharePoint, Active Directory, and Systems and Data Governance spaces, SMP is utilized by top organizations in the financial, pharmaceutical, and retail industries to manage their systems and applications through a single interface.

STEALTHbits and StealthAUDIT are registered trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. The STEALTHbits logo and all other STEALTHbits product or service names and slogans are registered trademarks or trademarks of STEALTHbits Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SharePoint is growing more and more prevalent in organizations, and offers a great way for users to interact and share content remotely for collaboration on projects. With the increasing use of SharePoint, however, SharePoint admins are facing the same issues that plagued (and, in many cases, continue to plague) administrators of the distributed file system. Increasingly, sites are growing stale, violating ethical wall regulations, and being deemed "high risk" in terms of access and permissions settings.

Each of these issues have their own steps for mitigating the risk associated with them, which we'll discuss in more detail below, but it's worth noting that what they all have in common is the need for data that will help identify the problem. After all, you can't fix it if you don't know that it's broken.

High Risk Repositories
Sites classified as being at high risk are those that are effectively open to your entire organization. This happens because site managers can assign trustees, who can, in turn, assign permission that expose content to too many people. Some examples of these kinds of permissions are Authenticated Users, Domain Users, and Anonymous Logons. When identifying high risk repositories, it's important to examine effective rights; just because a user does not have access through one set of permissions does not mean that all of their assigned permissions will keep them from being able to read, write, modify, or even delete content. Explore how users have access to identify what, exactly, is at risk, and then work to lock down permissions.

Controlling Stale Content
Stale content in SharePoint is similar to stale content within Active Directory and the File System: it hasn't been modified in a long time. Continuous monitoring is required to determine the last time a site was used, and working together with the data custodians who created the sites that you have identified as stale is important to ensure that it's okay to remove them. Keeping stale sites out of your SharePoint farms will help with simpler management. It's important to note here that, if a SharePoint site has child sites, SharePoint won't let you delete the parent site. This is why it's especially important to reach out to probable owners of sites to gather more information before proceeding.

Ethical Walls
Ethical walls differ by organizations, and apply to most collaborative file systems, including SharePoint. The need for ethical walls stems from the requirement to separate the data that discrete groups within the organization can see. Maybe your organization wants to keep the engineering department's plans for product upgrades out of the hands of the sales team, or your finance team shouldn't have access to the investment team's quarterly assessments. Whatever the reason, one way to identify if ethical wall violations occur is to see where SharePoint group have common access, then corroborate that access within Active Directory to ensure that trustees can only see what they are supposed to.

To learn more about how SMP makes managing SharePoint easy, please view our Controlling SharePoint Sites STEALTHsession, or request a fully-functional product trial.

If you're an Active Directory administrator dealing with Maintenance and Cleanup of your systems, you know what a daunting task it can be. To help, we've come up with a list of Best Practices / Tips that every admin should know:

Users
User objects are often tied directly to different application andservice licensing agreements. Many organization get around this issue by negotiating to an official employee count. Beyond licensing, user objects left in AD create overhead for the directory backup, restore, and other application synchronization tasks. They make finding the right user more difficult, which leads to wrong users being added to resources, security groups, and distribution groups.

The impact to your messaging environment includes a growing Global Address List, longer download times for mobile users, misdirected email messages, and extra disk space thatÌs required for abandoned mailboxes and system processing when email is returned from mailboxes that are at capacity. Cleaning up stale and unneeded user objects reduces the operational impact, end user experience, unintentional actions, and also reduces security exposure where older accounts are prime targets for hackers.

TIP 1: Combat these risks by using each user object's Last Logon to Domain timestamp as an indicator to find stale and unneeded employee, contractor, and service accounts.

TIP 2: Survey managers at least on an annual basis to re-certify these accounts and/or request permission to disable and/or delete them.

Computers
Computer objects are continually added for servers, workstations, and mobile devices. Much like user objects, these are usually tied directly to different application and service licensing agreements. Inaccurate system counts can lead to gross overpayments for applications and services. Active Directory is supposed to be the authoritative source for understanding and securing what's in your infrastructure, but when these stale objects are not maintained, the information becomes unreliable. Any application that relies on the systems stored within AD will begin to have issues with finding and interacting with systems, which may cause failures or delays due to processing times. Cleaning up stale and unneeded computer objects reduces operational impact, administrative time, and unintentional actions. It also reduces security risks, as older accounts are prime targets for hackers.

TIP 3: Combat risk by using each computer object's Last Logon to Domain timestamp as an indicator to find stale and unneeded servers, workstations, and mobile devices.

Tip 4: Survey managers at least on an annual basis to re-certify these accounts and/or request permission to disable and delete them.

Tip 5: Track and trend system administrators/custodians while systems are in production for reference when systems are offline, having issues, missing, or being retired.

Distribution Groups
Having an excessive amount of stale or unneeded Distribution Groups causes situations where mail can be misdirected, and increases the potential for security leaks, where sensitive information gets sent to inappropriate individuals, groups, or even outside parties.

Tip 6: Track and trend message logs for a review of who is sending to what distribution groups, as well as, what distribution groups are no longer being sent to at all.

Tip 7: Review distribution groups that are nested inside other distribution groups to identify exceptions of direct mailing statistics.

Tip 8: Survey managers at least on an annual basis to re-certify groups and their direct and effective membership, and/or request permission to delete any that are no longer needed.

Security Groups
Security Groups, in addition to their user accounts, define what individuals have access to within the infrastructure--including computers, applications, and data. Stale or unneeded Security Groups in the environment present confusion, and often there's no oversight to ensure that direct and effective group memberships are accurate.

Tip 9: Review the last Direct or Effective Member Change Date as an indicator of security groups that have gotten stale or are no longer needed.

Tip 10: Survey managers at least on an annual basis to re-certify groups, their direct and effective membership, and/or request permission to delete any that are no longer needed.

To see the rest of the tips, an introduction to Active Directory Cleanup, and an overview of how tools like StealthAUDIT can help you with your maintenance processes, visit our Active Directory page, and select the "More Resources" tab.

Why was PCI DSS developed?
Privacy and security breaches involving credit card transactions pose a clear danger to credit card companies and financial institutions. The PCI DSS standard was developed at the urging of large credit card companies to help organizations that process credit card payments to prevent privacy and security breaches through hacking and other means. The standard became mandatory for all companies that process credit card payments in 2008.

Companies that are not PCI compliant can be subject to heavy fines enforced by the credit card companies. Fines may be as high as $500,000 per privacy and security breach if merchants are discovered to be non-compliant. For example, in 2006, Visa alone levied almost $5 million in fines. In 2007, Visa levied a $880,000 penalty against the bank involved with TJX's privacy and security breach. In the worst case scenario, merchants could also risk losing the ability to process customers' credit card transactions. PCI DSS helps facilitate the broad adoption of consistent data security measures around the world. The standard helps assure customers using credit cards that the steps are in place to protect their information and privacy, which is under threat from cyber criminals.

The StealthAUDIT Management Platform and our new Systems & Data and Access Governance Solutions help fulfill requirements and augment processes for organizations with a Microsoft-based infrastructure. It will also verify on a constant basis that many of the requirements are in place, configured properly, and operating as expected. PCI DSS has 6 main categories and 12 requirements.

6 PCI Categories:

1. Build and maintain a secure network - Organizations must install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data. As well, they should not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters.

2. Protect cardholder data - Organizations are required to protect stored cardholder data and encrypt transmission of that data across open and public networks.

3. Maintain a vulnerability management program - Organizations must use and regularly update anti-virus software. PCI rules mandate that organizations develop and maintain secure systems and applications that protect against known vulnerabilities that hackers can exploit.

4. Implement strong access control measures - Access to cardholder data by business must only be restricted to those with a need-to-know basis. Every member of your organization with computer access should be given a unique ID. As well, steps must be taken to restrict physical access to cardholder data. For instance, physical locks and security personnel may be required to secure access to rooms with databases or servers containing credit card information.

5. Regularly monitor and test networks - PCI-compliant organizations must track and monitor access to network assets and cardholder data. This will not only improve security, but also help identify the cause of a breach should it occur. Security systems and processes must be regularly tested to ensure their ongoing effectiveness.

6. Maintain an information security policy - It is not enough to have technology tools like a firewall or network audit applications to protect private information. Improper handling of information by untrained staff is a huge security vulnerability. Security policies must be developed, implemented and regularly updated.

12 Requirements (italics where the SMP directly applies to fulfilling or verifying compliance):

1. Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data

2. Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters

3. Protect stored cardholder data

4. Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks

5. Use and regularly update anti-virus software

6. Develop and maintain secure systems and applications

7. Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know

8. Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access

9. Restrict physical access to cardholder data

10. Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data

11. Regularly test security systems and processes

12. Maintain a policy that addresses information security

References:

PCI Standards Council: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/pci_dss.shtml

PCI Compliance - Cheat Sheet: http://jamynigri.blogspot.com/2008/08/pci-compliance-cheat-sheet.html