In April 2021, Thycotic and Centrify merged to create ThycoticCentrify and, in January 2022, rebranded as Delinea. Delinea’s Privilege Manager is a tool that allows organizations to secure access for privileged administrators (typically systems and database administrators) to Windows Servers, Linux servers, and some database management systems through a centralized authentication method. It does not secure access to modern and cloud-native databases, Kubernetes clusters, the cloud CLIs, switches, routers, or internal web applications. This blog post looks at a few Delinea alternatives and discusses the pros and cons of each. Delinea uses a least-privilege policy to manage access to resources. The Secret Server enables system administrators to manage privileged account access and protect credentials for a wide range of platforms and services. Delinea provides a single dashboard from which users can discover and search for accounts, manage, provision, and delegate access to all accounts. System Admins can manage passwords, automate password changes for network accounts, and integrate with multiple CRM systems. StrongDM is a control plane to manage and monitor access to databases, servers, and Kubernetes. StrongDM's zero trust model means instead of distributing access across a combination of VPN, individual database credentials, and SSH keys, StrongDM unifies user management in your existing SSO (Google, Onelogin, Duo, Okta, etc...) and keeps the underlying credentials hidden. Neither credentials nor keys are accessible by end users. Because StrongDM deconstructs every protocol, it also logs all database queries, complete SSH and RDP sessions, and kubectl activity.Delinea Overview
Brief product summary
Use cases
Pluses
Minuses
1. StrongDM
Brief product summary
Use cases
Pluses
Minuses
StrongDM’s G2 Reviews
Pricing Information
StrongDM offers simple per-user pricing, starting at $70/license, including support for all resource types.
Users have the option to sign up for a free 14-day trial.
2. CyberArk
Brief product summary
CyberArk’s Privileged Access Manager tool was designed originally to run on Windows workstations and integrate with LDAP and Active Directory (AD). It allows privileged administrators (typically systems and database administrators) to restrict access to Windows Servers, Linux servers, and some database management systems using a centralized authentication method. Add-on features can also provide a credential vault and password rotation. Access is typically through a web interface or locally installed utility. Components of the system include a password vault, central policy manager, and privileged session manager. In most cases, CyberArk can provide an audit trail of queries and session replays. However, if you need to secure access to modern and cloud-native databases, Kubernetes clusters, the cloud CLIs, switches, routers, or internal web applications, there are other options to consider.
Use cases
- Centralized access to Linux and Windows servers, and some legacy databases.
Pluses
- SSH access available.
- RDP access available.
- Authenticates users using LDAP and Active Directory (AD).
- Integrates with some machine groups.
Minuses
CyberArk is not designed for any cloud-native environments, newer database management systems such as Kafka and Redis, modern infrastructure tooling (like Kubernetes, Dockers, and ephemeral environments), and often requires the end user to acquire additional CyberArk-specific software to accomplish tasks.
Finally, it does not cover all users within a company, most of whom require access to systems that contain privileged information (for example, financial analysts who might need access to transactional information). Furthermore, CyberArk has a complex pricing model, and it has been reported to be “shelfware” at many companies that have purchased it.
3. HashiCorp Boundary
Brief product summary
HashiCorp Boundary is an open-source identity access management (IAM) tool that facilitates secure user access to dynamic hosts and critical infrastructure across environments. However, if you need a simple and secure way to manage access to databases, Kubernetes clusters, cloud CLIs, switches, routers, or internal web applications, there are other services to consider. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at a few alternatives and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each. First, a quick side-by-side comparison of the features you may want to consider.
Use cases
- Hashicorp Boundary is open-source and free identity-based security.
- Role-based and logical service authorization.
- Use SSO to manage, onboard, and offboard users.
- Integrate with existing tools and APIs.
Pluses
- Dynamic resource catalogs.
- Dynamic credentials.
- Integration with Vault and others for end-to-end dynamic credentials.
- Authenticate with identity provider already in use.
Minuses
- Tools are confusing.
- Complex setup with lots of "moving parts". Users have trouble figuring out what to run together and how to integrate.
- Requires a third tool, Consul, to manage services and machine-to-machine access.
About the Author
Andrew Magnusson, Customer Engineering Expert, has worked in the information security industry for 20 years on tasks ranging from firewall administration to network security monitoring. His obsession with getting people access to answers led him to publish Practical Vulnerability Management with No Starch Press in 2020. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Clark University, an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Connecticut, and an M.S. in Information Management from the University of Washington. To contact Andy, visit him on LinkedIn.
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