Okta Announces New Advanced Server Access Capabilities to Accelerate Secure Cloud Infrastructure Development for Digital Initiatives

Okta, Inc. (NASDAQ:OKTA), the leading independent provider of identity for the enterprise, today at Okta Showcase, announced major advancements to Okta Advanced Server Access to accelerate scalability and compliance of cloud infrastructure. DevOps teams building in the cloud can now integrate with providers like Terraform to scale identity-driven infrastructure and build no-code automation through Okta Workflows. Additionally, Okta Advanced Server Access is keeping Zero Trust principles at the forefront of digital initiatives through new functionality like PolicySync to synchronize access policies across infrastructure tools, while maintaining rigorous compliance demands through Session Capture.

The on-premises infrastructure of today has proven to be rigid and inflexible in an era that requires rapid innovation and scalability to meet new market demands and opportunities. Cloud infrastructure has become the choice of DevOps teams streamlining the delivery of software and driving continuous innovation in today’s remote and digital-first technology landscape. But with increased pace of innovation and constant access comes concerns for security and compliance, where cloud infrastructure resources must have centralized access controls. DevOps and product teams building and scaling digital projects need to drive secure, compliant, development velocity that can dynamically grow with user demand.

“Digital customer projects have been dramatically accelerated, and those builds start with infrastructure,” said Todd McKinnon, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, Okta. “Okta Advanced Server Access’s centralized, Zero Trust identity approach equates to speed for the DevOps teams tasked with building customer-facing projects. Ultimately, Okta Advanced Server Access makes it faster and more secure to build from anywhere with identity and access management at the heart of infrastructure access. We’re pushing that platform-centric vision for Okta Advanced Server Access further through new features and integrations that meet today and tomorrow’s scalability, security, and compliance needs.”

Secure Velocity: Bringing Security and DevOps Together

Okta Advanced Server Access advancements start with meeting scalability demands and expand to finer grained access, automation, and compliance to help organizations securely drive rapid innovation. The new certified HashiCorp Terraform Provider offers the ability to seamlessly integrate identity and access management functions directly into existing “Infrastructure as Code,” enabling DevOps teams to automate new server creation with identity baked in. Further automation is drawn directly from the power of the Okta Identity Cloud through the new Okta Workflows connector for Advanced Server Access that ties server access to other notification or ticketing events, eliminating manual processes and driving efficiency.

Additional security innovations, PolicySync and Session Capture, push a Zero Trust philosophy deeper into cloud infrastructure. PolicySync saves time while keeping security high across dynamic fleets of servers through access policy synchronization with existing Amazon Web Services and GitHub Projects. Session Capture builds on Advanced Server Access compliance capabilities by moving beyond access logs to capture Linux Server SSH traffic at the command-level, delivering logs to an encrypted secure location within an organization’s corporate network for further inspection.

With these advancements to Advanced Server Access, enterprises can now:

• Securely respond to spikes in demand while offering IT visibility: Enable DevOps to provision resources across Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, or Microsoft Azure while keeping the underlying identity and access policies across servers.
• Adhere to Zero Trust principles across dynamic fleets of servers: Use granular, role-based access controls and command-level privileges using Projects, Labels, and Entitlements synced across cloud infrastructure providers and tools.
• Extend collaboration and support tools: Automate access to servers based on event triggers for pre-defined time windows with additional actions through tools like Slack or ServiceNow.
• Solve privileged access compliance requirements: Meet the complexities of server access compliance all linked to a user’s identity record in the Okta Identity Cloud, meeting FedRAMP, SOC 2, and PCI Compliance.

"Educators and students all over the world depend on McGraw Hill’s learning solutions for their educational experiences,” said Joe Turbett, Chief Enterprise Architect, McGraw Hill. “Education has never been more dependent on technology than it is today, and we are delivering exceptional digital products to meet this moment. Okta Advanced Server Access enables us to deliver secure access to thousands of servers from anywhere on the globe, meeting the rising demand for our solutions, all while remaining compliant.”

Availability

The Okta Advanced Server Access Connector for Workflows and Certified HashiCorp Terraform Provider are generally available today. Additionally, Session Capture for Linux and PolicySync are available today in Early Access with new attribute-based access controls coming to Early Access by the end of December 2020. For more information, visit: https://www.okta.com/products/advanced-server-access/

About Okta

Okta is the leading independent provider of identity for the enterprise. The Okta Identity Cloud enables organizations to securely connect the right people to the right technologies at the right time. With over 6,500 pre-built integrations to applications and infrastructure providers, Okta customers can easily and securely use the best technologies for their business. More than 8,950 organizations, including JetBlue, Nordstrom, Slack, T-Mobile, Takeda, Teach for America and Twilio, trust Okta to help protect the identities of their workforces and customers.

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