CyberArk Privileged Access Manager Reviews

Primary use case is storing and rotating local domain admin credentials for Windows and Unix network devices.

We're using CyberArk secure application credentials and endpoints on a small scale and we're planning, for the future, to use CyberArk to secure infrastructure applications running in the cloud. We don't have experience using the Plugin Generator Utility.

It is performing pretty well for the most part. We have some issues with RADIUS authentication, some bugs with that. But, generally speaking, it works really well.

The benefit is knowing where your accesses are, who has access to what. Additionally, obviously, it provides improved security around having your credentials locked down and rotated regularly.

Credential rotation. It's tops.

I'd like to see a more expansive SSH tunneling situation through PSMP. Right now you have an account that exists in the vault and you say, "I want to create a tunnel using this account." I'd like to see something that is not account-based where I could say, "I want to create a tunnel to this machine over here," and then authenticate through the PSMP and then your tunnel is set up. You wouldn't need to then authenticate to a machine. Then you could go back in through your native clients and connect to that machine. Also, to have that built out to include not just Unix targets but anything you'd want to connect to.

The stability, overall, is really good, outside of some of the RADIUS problems that we're having. Generally, it is very good.

The scalability, sometimes, is lacking. It works really well for more static environments. I've been at places that had a really static environment and it works really well. You've got X number of CPMs and X number of PVWAs in your vault and everything gets up and going and it's smooth sailing. But for an environment where you're constantly spinning up new infrastructure or new endpoints, sometimes it has a hard time keeping up.

Technical support actually works really well. From time to time there can be some issues as far as SLAs go. Sometimes results will be on the back end of an SLA, which is still fair. It seems like you're complaining that it's "one to three days" and it's three as opposed to one, which is an unfair criticism. 

Generally, everybody is pretty knowledgeable. They're pretty upfront when it needs to be passed off to somebody else. That usually happens in a pretty timely manner.

I have been involved in the initial setup elsewhere. It's actually really straightforward, depending on what you're trying to do. If you have a simpler environment, to set up a PVWA and to set up a vault, is straightforward. It's all pretty much there in the guide. Sometimes the documentation gets a little bit out of sync, where things aren't exactly as they should be but it's always really close. Generally, the documentation is good and straightforward.

I'm not the right person to answer questions about ROI for our organization.

Engage with Professional Services, not just for help with, "Here are the buttons to click," because they've been really helpful as far as how we would want to implement things.

Our most important criteria when selecting or working with a vendor, outside of the product being good, are reliability and timeliness of response. Those are the two big things. I think CyberArk does a pretty good job on these.

I rate CyberArk at eight out of 10. I think the solution, as released, is usually very good. When something comes out, it's generally airtight and works as advertised. However, sometimes they are a little bit slow to keep up with what's coming out. In 2017, for example, they released support for Windows Server 2016, which had been out for a year or so. There is probably some tradeoff that is required to keep things so airtight, by holding back a little bit. But that would be my one criticism: It's slow to keep up, sometimes, with updates.

The proxy solution using PSM and PSMP is valuable. It gives leverage to reach out to servers which are NATed in separate networks and can be reached only by using a jump server.

Security has been improved. It has improved compliance and there is more control over the privileged users.

The performance of this product needs to be improved. When the number of privileged accounts increases, i.e., exceeds 2000, then the performance of the system reduces. The login slows down drastically and also the connection to the target system slows down. This is my observation and thus, the server sizing needs to be increased.

I have used this solution for three years.

We have not encountered any stability issues so far.

We have experienced some scalability issues, in terms of the performance.

The technical support is good.

Initially, we were using the CA ControlMinder. There were many issues with this solution, mainly in regards to no proxy solution and poor performance.

The setup has a medium level of complexity.

One should negotiate well.

We looked at other solutions such as CA PAM, Lieberman Software, Thycotic and ARCOS.

This is the best product from its breed.

This solution is used primarily for privileged segment access and break-glass access. We also use it for log-on session recording and access control, where we can grant access to our key systems for ad-hoc use.

The most valuable feature is the ability to delegate access to admins when they need it. It allows us to have some kind of proof on the approval process, rather than give people standing access on a full-time basis.

I would prefer that this is a fully-managed service, rather than have to manage the software ourselves and keep it up to date. A cloud-based deployment would ultimately be better for us than an on-premises appliance.

Stability has not been a problem.

We didn't have any issues with scalability, although we only have 30 or 40 systems integrated. There were not tens of thousands.

We did not need to contact technical support.

The initial setup was not very hard, although it took a little while to get it set up. The only difficult part is making sure that it is integrated with all of the applications. If you've got Active Directory then it is easy, and pretty straightforward. If instead, you have all local accounts then it can get a lot harder, although I don't think that any other application can improve it if you've got local accounts everywhere.

The actual installation that included getting it up and running was pretty quick, taking only a couple of days. Going through all of the change management and other processes took much longer, on the order of months. The more problems there are with accounts inside the organization, the longer the deployment will take.

Our in-house team was responsible for the deployment.

The price of this solution is expensive.

My advice for anybody who is implementing this product is to get the admins familiar with the setup. They have to learn how to get the process approved, especially in an ad-hoc scenario. The scheduled changes are ok, but the ad-hoc ones can be a little bit problematic if you don't have enough approvals ready to approve access.

If an organization can afford it then the Cyberark Enterprise Password Vault works well.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

We provide privilege account security and consulting to our customers. Organisations that we work with use CyberArk Privileged Account Security to secure their privilege accounts, which are shared between users in the organisation. It provides automatic password management and provides the single sign-on experience to users for all privilege accounts (Windows - administrator, Linux - root, MS SQL - SA, Oracle - SYS, SSH keys, etc.).

It also provides DVR like recording for all privilege access and text-based recording to easily audit all privilege activities.

The new Privilege Threat Analytics platform provides proactive protection by suspending the user session when it detects an anomaly based on past user login and session activity details. In addition, we can configure the solution to detect scoring on all privilege sessions for easier audits.

The Application Identity Manager module helps to eliminate hard-coded passwords in the application and enables us to easily change database passwords.

1. Automatic password management, which will automatically change passwords based on compliance requirements.
2. DVR like video recording and text-based recording for easier audits.
3. Easily scan the network for all privilege accounts and has an easier onboarding process.
4. SSH key management
5. Command level restriction for all SSH-based devices.
6. Anomaly detection and prevention for all privilege accounts.
7. Integration with ticketing tools and SIEM solutions.

1. Ability to provide native experience for users to login to privilege accounts. They do not need to go through a portal to access servers and accounts.
2. Agentless solution which is easy to customise to any platform having network connectivity.
3. Wide range of devices supported out-of-the-box.
4. Easy to configure HA and DR options.
5. Online training enables cost effective valuable training.

This product needs professional consulting services to onboard accounts effectively based user profiles.

No issues.

No issues.

Excellent customer support.

We did not previously use another solution.

The setup is very straightforward.

The cost is high compared to other products, but CyberArk provides all the features bundled. This is compared to other vendors who provide them as a different license for each functionality.

At present, we are only focusing on CyberArk for privilege account security. Comparing it to other providers, Cyberark provides a more user-friendly environment with many more features and benefits.

I have used and deployed it in various environments so far. It really covers all the use cases provided by the customer.

The product enables us manage passwords of highly privileged (service) accounts. These are not tied to a person, and they include a full audit trail and approval workflow functionality.

Management of these accounts is typically required to prevent abuse and gain control of this.

Perhaps improve the user registry integration. It is already fine, but a bit atypical.

My experience with the product was with older versions, so this may not represent the actual case anymore. In essence, user registry integration is atypical in the sense that the product creates a copy of the user inside the product itself (to accommodate for license seat counting, I guess).

Depending upon the size of the user base and license model, it may not allow new users to log in to the platform. I doubt the vendor considers this an issue, though.

I have used this for three years, including the implementation of the product

There were no issues with stability.

There were no issues with scalability.

Technical support is OK. The product is not very difficult to install, but there are some considerations that need to be taken into account. Tech support is very well aware of this.

The initial setup was simple. It is windows based and leverages installation wizards to perform installation. Also, sufficient documentation exists to guide the setup procedure.

Look well at the user base and frequency of use. A lot of licensing models exist, but having this clear will immediately indicate what fits best.

As for pricing, I cannot comment.

We did not evaluate other solutions.

Make sure that the organization is ready and willing to adopt this, as the typical business cases cannot be addressed by the product alone.

• Ability to manage passwords for highly privileged, service accounts, which are not tied to a person
• The inclusion of a full audit trail
• Approval workflow functionality

Management of these accounts is typically required to prevent abuse and prove compliance.

Perhaps improve the user registry integration. User registry integration is atypical in the sense that the product creates a copy of the user inside the product itself. This is done to accommodate for license seat counting.

Depending upon the size of the user base and license model, it may not allow new users to log in to the platform. I doubt that the vendor considers this an issue.

I have used CyberArk for three years, including the implementation of the product.

I did not have stability issues.

I did not have scalability issues.

The product is not very difficult to install. However, there are some considerations that need to be taken into account. Technical support is very well aware of this.

The setup was simple. It is Windows based and leverages installation wizards to perform the installation. Also, sufficient documentation exists to guide you through the setup procedure.

Examine the user base and frequency of use. A lot of licensing models exist. However, having this clear will immediately indicate what fits best. As for pricing, I cannot comment.

We didn’t look at alternatives.

Assure that the organization is ready and willing to adopt this. The typical business cases cannot be addressed by the product alone.

My primary use case is the digital identity for access management of users and the configuration of passwords, or MSA, or SSO.

Password Vault's policy configuration is very good - when you receive an attack, you can segment the structure of the project in order to isolate parts or users.

Upgrading the product is very difficult, so this could be an area for improvement.

I've been using this solution for six months.

There have been a few lags when connecting with RDP, but otherwise, the stability is good.

Password Vault's scalability is good.

The technical support is very good in general but could provide more help when upgrading.

I would rate this solution eight out of ten.

Privileged account access into customer environments.

A higher level of password rotation and usage auditing.

• OTP
• Session recording
• Auditing
• It takes away all ambiguity around "known" admin accounts.

The native PSM components are really good, however, if you have to apply environmental tweaks to an application launch, custom AutoIt scripts are needed. 

Options for specifying drive mappings or script execution without the need for AutoIt based scripting in the native components would be good.