Tool secures embedded passwords

Cyber-Ark aims to end the risk of applications accessing other applications with hard-coded passwords

Security specialist Cyber-Ark has updated its Password Vault tool to address the problem of application-to-application passwords. The move means that fixed passwords can be removed from scripts and managed instead by Password Vault, helping organisations meet regulatory compliance requirements.

Password Vault acts as secure storage on a company network for critical passwords, such as those for administrative functions. Its Central Password Manager module can also change passwords automatically, removing the need for IT managers to enforce password policy.

The new capability to handle so-called embedded accounts, where one application accesses another using a hard-coded password, plugs a potential security hole that has been worrying many organisations, Cyber-Ark said.

"There are literally tens of thousands of publicly accessible applications, from internet banking, government applications, and healthcare, that are simple to exploit because developers are either using default [password] settings, or relying on pre-packaged scripts available on the web," said Cyber-Ark European director Calum MacLeod.