CyberArk
Identify privileged accounts, protect against breaches, ransomware, and insiders, monitor system activity for potential threats.
What is CyberArk?
CyberArk is a privileged access management platform that identifies and secures accounts with improved permissions across your infrastructure. These privileged accounts are high-value targets for attackers, so CyberArk helps you discover them, control who can use them, and monitor their activity for suspicious behaviour. The platform protects against external breaches, ransomware attacks, and insider threats by ensuring privileged credentials are stored securely, access is logged, and unusual activities trigger alerts. It's designed for organisations that need to meet compliance requirements around access control and want to reduce the risk of credential theft or misuse.
Key Features
Privileged account discovery
automatically identifies accounts with improved permissions across systems and applications
Credential management
stores and rotates privileged passwords securely, reducing exposure from shared or hardcoded credentials
Access control
enforces policies on who can request and use privileged accounts, with approval workflows
Session monitoring and recording
captures and logs all activity performed with privileged accounts for audit trails
Threat detection
identifies suspicious patterns in account usage and alerts on potential breaches or insider threats
Compliance reporting
generates audit reports for regulatory requirements like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOX
Pros & Cons
Advantages
- Reduces credential theft risk by centralising password storage and limiting who has access to sensitive accounts
- Provides detailed audit trails for compliance investigations and proof of regulatory adherence
- Covers hybrid and multi-cloud environments, so it works whether your systems are on-premises, cloud, or mixed
- Catches insider threats and unusual behaviour through continuous monitoring and alerting
Limitations
- Implementation and configuration can be complex, especially in large environments with many systems and users
- Freemium tier is limited; most organisations will need a paid plan for meaningful protection across their infrastructure
- Requires ongoing maintenance to keep discovery rules and policies aligned as your environment changes
Use Cases
Banks and financial institutions securing access to core banking systems and customer databases
Healthcare providers protecting patient records and medical systems from unauthorised access
Government agencies and contractors meeting strict access control and audit requirements
Large enterprises managing privileged access across thousands of servers and applications
Organisations responding to a breach or audit finding that requires tighter control over sensitive accounts