Centrify Corporation, a provider of Microsoft Active Directory-based identity and access management and auditing solutions for non-Microsoft platforms, today announced it has been awarded patent #7,591,005 from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patented technology facilitates the capability for UNIX and Linux service accounts and root accounts to be authenticated within a centralized directory.

The Centrify Suite is an integrated family of Active Directory-based auditing, access control and identity management solutions that secure cross-platform environments. Centrify DirectControl® addresses the need to secure both physical and virtual environments by effectively turning a non-Microsoft system or hypervisor into an Active Directory client, enabling administrators to secure that system using the same authentication and Group Policy services currently deployed for their Windows systems, as well as adding granular access control through its patent-pending Zone technology. Centrify DirectAuthorize centrally manages and enforces role-based entitlements for fine-grained control of user access and privileges on UNIX and Linux systems as well as a wide range of hypervisors. Centrify DirectAudit delivers auditing, logging and real-time monitoring of user activity on non-Microsoft systems. Built on a common architecture, the integrated Centrify Suite of solutions helps to improve IT efficiency, strengthen regulatory compliance initiatives, and centrally secure a heterogeneous computing environment.