Stretching the limits of documentary photography, Diana Markosian’s auto-fictional “Santa Barbara” is the most authentic project of her career.
— NYT: Jonathan Griffin
Author: Michelle Dryden
Next Generation PAM Solution Significantly Lowers Cost of Ownership, Improves Ease of Use
HAWTHORNE, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Stealthbits Technologies, a cybersecurity software company focused on protecting an organization’s sensitive data and the credentials attackers use to steal that data, today announced the release of Stealthbits Privileged Activity Manager® (SbPAM) 3.0, their third-generation solution designed with a modernized and simplified approach to Privileged Access Management (PAM).
PAM software has been around for nearly 20 years. Many of today’s popular solutions have been built on decade old platforms, layering new functionality in increasingly complex ways. Organizations often realize the importance of properly managing and securing privilege access, but are locked into antiquated solutions with complex and expensive methods.
SbPAM 3.0 continues Stealthbits’ commitment to renovate and simplify PAM. The company approaches PAM from the perspective of the abundance of privileged activities that need to be performed, not a group of privileged admins needing accounts. SbPAM 3.0, available for download beginning October 6, 2020, simplifies PAM and offers a new take on traditional capabilities like Credential Management, Service Account Management and Session Monitoring:
Credential Management – Whether you have 10 or 100,000 systems, built-in accounts can be immediately and easily brought under management via a single click of a button. Through policy inheritance at the platform level, organizations no longer need to define and set accounts on a per-device basis.
Real-Time Service Account Management – To save time, SbPAM produces a list of dependent services and scheduled tasks for each Service Account, along with real-time updates on change status. If errors occur, users are immediately alerted and given the option to pause and roll-back any changes. No more waiting for service failures to understand the status.
Enhanced Live Session Monitoring – In addition to providing live session monitoring capabilities, SbPAM 3.0 also offers the ability to selectively lock and terminate sessions at three different levels, including current session, future sessions on the same resource, or globally, to prevent users from performing any unsanctioned activity.
“The PAM market is ripe for innovation and Stealthbits is continuing to redefine what customers should expect from their Privileged Access Management solution,” said Stealthbits CEO Jim Barkdoll. “Securing privileged access is crucial for security teams in this age of continual cyber-attacks, especially now that so many employees work from home. Stealthbits’ third-generation PAM delivers on our commitment to fill gaps in current PAM technologies, like lowering the cost of ownership, simplifying usability, and providing greater flexibility and choice.”
Stealthbits’ purpose-built solution offers a differentiated approach from more traditional PAM vendors:
Reduce Standing Privileges and Attack Surface – Traditional PAM vendors add to the standing privilege problem, creating multiple privileged accounts per single administrator. Stealthbits focuses on the privileged activity, not the account. Using approaches like ephemeral accounts and activity tokens, SbPAM creates and provisions temporary access to perform a task, then removes and destroys it when task is completed. Access and the account itself ONLY exist while the task is being performed.
Password Vault Options – Nearly all PAM vendors require use of THEIR vault, making switching difficult and expensive. Stealthbits provides vault options: Bring Your Own Vault™ (we’ll integrate with any 3rd party), use ours, or perform vault-less operations… your choice.
Built-in access certification / attestation – All organizations need to check/certify access rights and privileged access is most critical. No one likes big spreadsheets that get passed around with endless rows of system access for review. Stealthbits makes approving your most critical access convenient and less time consuming by enabling electronic workflow and approval directly from the console.
Reduced Total Cost of Ownership – Most PAM vendors charge for high availability, additional databases, proxies, and more including multiple add-on modules. The result is a solution that costs significantly more than anticipated and switching costs prohibit a change. Stealthbits includes everything… no expansion costs for databases, appliances, networking, and add-on modules.
“We looked at several PAM products, many having been around for a number of years, but they often fall very short when it comes to admins and the accounts they use to get access to systems,” admits Craig Larsen, IS Administrator, Eastern Carver County Schools. “What was so intriguing about SbPAM is that we can truly manage the access to our systems to the level of least privilege. The concept of temporary elevation, or just-in-time access, make so much sense as the admin is granted access on the fly and access is removed when no longer needed.”
About Stealthbits Technologies
IDENTIFY THREATS. SECURE DATA. REDUCE RISK.
Stealthbits Technologies, Inc. is a customer-driven cybersecurity software company focused on protecting an organization’s sensitive data and the credentials attackers use to steal that data. By removing inappropriate data access, enforcing security policy, and detecting advanced threats, our highly innovative and infinitely flexible platform delivers real protection that reduces security risk, fulfills compliance requirements, and decreases operational expense.
For more information, visit www.stealthbits.com, email sales@stealthbits.com, or call +1-201-447-9300.
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.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Dan Chmielewski
Madison Alexander PR
Office: +1 714-832-8716
Mobile: +1 949-231-2965
, , {item content}, September 29, 2020
The Senate Judiciary Committee and then the full Senate will soon be tasked with reviewing Barrett’s personal and professional record, fulfilling their “advise and consent” responsibilities.
— FOX News: Jim Daly
Two 3.4 magnitude earthquakes struck hours apart in the same area in Northern California on Sunday, according to officials.
— FOX News: Travis Fedschun
Biden also demurred when asked about adding Supreme Court seats if elected.
— ABC News: Top Stories
Campaign raises awareness about importance of dog vaccination
MADISON, N.J.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–$MRK #ForThemForUs–In recognition of World Rabies Day on September 28, Merck Animal Health, known as MSD Animal Health outside the United States and Canada, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (NYSE:MRK), today announced the launch of a global campaign to raise awareness among veterinarians, dog owners and volunteers who are committed to eliminate rabies through ongoing dog vaccination efforts. In partnership with Mission Rabies and Rabies Free Africa, the social media initiative recognizes and celebrates those individuals who are committed to protecting and saving canine as well as human lives, using the hashtag, #ForThemForUs.
“Many of us love and rely on our dogs, who in many cases are not only much-loved family members, but also hard-working companions,” said Luke Gamble, BVSc, DVM&S, FRCVS, founder, Mission Rabies. “On this World Rabies Day, we want to recognize the invaluable role dogs play in our lives. When we protect our dogs from rabies, we are also protecting ourselves from this deadly disease. Showcasing those efforts through #ForThemForUs moments is a fitting way to raise awareness about why vaccinating dogs and educating people about preventing rabies matters and saves lives.”
Around the world, there are an estimated 900 million dogsi but the majority (75-85%) are not household petsii. In order to prevent rabies transmission in rabies-endemic areas, at least 70% of the dogs there need to be protected through annual mass-vaccinationiii. For over 20 years, Merck Animal Health, through the Afya Program, has been dedicated to rabies prevention and has donated over three million doses of rabies vaccine to help meet the World Health Organization (WHO) “Zero by 2030” goal.
Each year, an estimated 59,000 people die from rabies, with over 99% of cases contracted from a dog bite. Additionally, 40% of those deaths occur in children 15 years and under. This is in part because of low rates of canine vaccination in rabies endemic areas and a lack of awareness about the disease.
“With Merck Animal Health, we have made significant progress on the research needed to design cost-effective and efficient vaccination programs that reduce rates of rabies in both dogs and humans,” notes Felix Lankester, DVM, Ph.D., director, Rabies Free Africa, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University. “From scientific research to actual vaccination programs, we are refining the tools we need to prevent rabies. While doing so, we must continue to work together with local governments and healthcare organizations supporting local communities as they continue rabies prevention where it is most needed. This will help us achieve our 2030 rabies elimination goal.”
Collaboration must continue among human, animal and environmental health organizations to advance sustainable rabies prevention efforts, including annual mass-vaccination. Through this One Health approach, local, regional, national and global animal health advocates all have a critical role in addressing this public health threat and must work together to keep both dogs and humans healthy.
“Experiencing first-hand the important work of our partners, veterinarians and volunteers was the inspiration behind our campaign, #ForThemForUs,” said Ingrid Deuzeman, global marketing director, Companion Animal Vaccines, Merck Animal Health. “We wanted to recognize the global community for their role in eliminating rabies – from the local veterinarian who vaccinates dogs in a veterinary clinic to the door-to-door efforts of volunteers and the Mission Rabies and Rabies Free Africa teams across the African continent and beyond to vaccinate owned and stray dogs. We hope that by everyone sharing their #ForThemForUs moments with the world, these outstanding individuals and not-for-profit organizations will gain even more awareness and support to expand rabies prevention and elimination efforts.”
For example, as a commitment to rabies vaccination in Goa, India, there have been no recorded human rabies deaths for two years. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mission Rabies local team remained essential to ensure rabies did not re-emerge in the area. Throughout this period, our team was on-call to respond to any reported rabid dogs. After several positive cases were confirmed, they also quickly launched an emergency rabies vaccination drive to prevent spread,” said Gamble.
Veterinarians, dog owners and volunteers are invited to share photos and videos of their inspirational work in keeping dogs rabies-free, using the hashtag, #ForThemForUs.
About Mission Rabies
Mission Rabies was initially founded as an initiative by Worldwide Veterinary Service (WVS), a United Kingdom-based charity group that assists animals. Mission Rabies has a One Health approach driven by research to eliminate dog bite transmitted rabies (a disease that is estimated to kill 59,000 people annually). Launched in September 2013 with a mission to vaccinate 50,000 dogs against rabies across India, Mission Rabies teams have since then vaccinated 1.1 million dogs and educated more than three million children in dog bite prevention in rabies endemic countries. For more information, visit www.missionrabies.com.
About Rabies Free Africa
Rabies Free Africa is empowering countries in east Africa to create self-sustaining programs to eliminate current human rabies deaths and set up surveillance systems to identify future outbreaks for containment. To reach the global goal by 2030, the focus needs to be on decreasing the cost of vaccinating dogs and increasing access to vaccines. Rabies Free Africa continues its work to discover ways to decrease the cost of mass-dog vaccinations and refine country and continent-wide programs that make the best use of limited resources. For more information, visit www.globalhealth.wsu.edu/initiatives/rabies-free-africa/.
About the Afya Program
The Afya Program comprises a number of rabies control projects supported by Merck Animal Health rabies vaccine donations, including Rabies Free Africa, Mission Rabies and The Sharon Live On Project. These projects have been brought together under the name “Afya,” which means “health” in Swahili. The Afya Program is committed to supporting the Zero by 30 Initiative, with the goal of eliminating rabies by 2030. For more information, visit www.afya.org.
About Merck Animal Health
For more than a century, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world’s most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of digitally connected identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter at @MerckAH.
i World Atlas. How Many Dogs Are There In The World? Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-dogs-are-there-in-the-world.html
ii World Atlas. How Many Dogs Are There In The World? Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-dogs-are-there-in-the-world.html
iii The World Health Organization. Frequently Asked Questions about Rabies for the General Public. Accessed June 15, 2020. https://www.who.int/rabies/Rabies_General_Public_FAQs_Sep2018.pdf?ua=1
Contacts
Merck
Media Contact:
Michael Close
+ 1 (267) 305-1211
, , {item content}, September 28, 2020
The Republican National Committee is putting Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation fight front and center with voters just weeks before Election Day.
— ABC News: Top Stories
A Times/Siena College poll showed that 56 percent said the next president should nominate a Supreme Court justice. And Joe Biden retained a clear lead over President Trump, 49 to 41 percent.
— NYT: Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns
President Donald Trump told Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth that he thinks his nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, will be a textualist.
— FOX News: Paul Best
A Seattle driver illegally doing “doughnut” spins on a street near the Space Needle on Saturday evening slammed into several people in a crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle, according to a local reporter.
— FOX News: Brie Stimson