Lieberman Software announced today that its security management solution Random Password Manager has added support for SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell. Organizations that run SUSE Linux Enterprise in their environments can now utilize Random Password Manager to randomize common account credentials on all servers and workstations in the network. Random Password Manager automatically randomizes local administrator passwords on accounts throughout the enterprise, and enables temporary recovery of current passwords via a secure and audited web interface.

    This capability will increase the overall security of the enterprise by eliminating the risk caused by maintaining common account credentials on Linux systems. Just as Windows administrators usually set every server and workstation with the same built-in administrator account and password, Linux administrators often take a similar risk by configuring the root accounts on each system with identical passwords.

    Without an efficient method to randomize and recover the passwords from all of these systems in a systematic and secure manner, Linux administrators were forced to leave their systems in a fundamentally insecure state. In enterprises that deploy common account credentials, the compromise of just one password can threaten the security of every other system in the network that utilizes the same credentials.

    "Our enterprise customers realize that both Windows and Linux serve valid roles, but to reduce TCO they needed a single tool for managing the security of both platforms," said Philip Lieberman, president of Lieberman Software. "We added SUSE Linux Enterprise support to Random Password Manager to meet the demands of customers who wished to extend the technology to mission-critical areas of the infrastructure beyond Windows."

    Random Password Manager now rectifies this situation by regularly connecting to all Linux systems via a secure SSH connection, changing the root passwords, and periodically verifying that the randomized passwords are still valid. With these unique, frequently generated passwords, the risk of unauthorized users gaining peer-level access to every system in the network is eliminated.

    "Lieberman Software is among the latest customer-focused software vendors to recognize the growth of SUSE Linux Enterprise deployments in large environments and then integrate support for this operating system into its products," said Justin Steinman, director of marketing for Linux and Open Platform Solutions at Novell. "By adding support for SUSE Linux Enterprise to Random Password Manager, Lieberman Software is expanding the password management solution options for an extremely wide range of enterprise customers."

    Random Password Manager encrypts data using AES-256 bit encryption. The web interface supports all standard web browsers on all platforms as well most mobile devices, such as Microsoft Pocket PC and other PDAs. Randomization can be conducted from a single console for all managed systems according to schedules established by the administrator.

    This multi-threaded solution enables delegated control over which local administrator accounts a user can access and for what time period. It does not require agents to be installed on either Windows or Linux systems, providing for rapid deployment without affecting the stability of production servers and workstations. Random Password Manager is certified for Microsoft Windows Vista, and also supports Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows NT, in addition to the new native support for SUSE Linux Enterprise.