Pass the CyberArk Defender PAM-DEF Questions and answers with CertsForce

 When onboarding a large number of UNIX root accounts for password rotation by the Central Policy Manager (CPM), and the CPM cannot log in directly with the root account, it is necessary to configure the UNIX platform to use a secondary logon account that has the appropriate privileges. This secondary account should have the minimum necessary permissions to perform password management tasks, adhering to the principle of least privilege1. By configuring the UNIX platform with the correct logon account, the CPM can use this account to manage the root accounts securely and efficiently.

References:

CyberArk’s official documentation on Least Privileges and Privileged Access Manager provides guidance on configuring on-demand privileges for UNIX environments, which includes setting up the correct logon account for tasks that require elevated privileges1.

Additional information on managing UNIX and Linux accounts, including the configuration of logon and reconcile accounts, can be found in the Unix plugin documentation for CyberArk

To use the show, copy, and connect buttons on the accounts in the safe UnixRoot, the Operations Staff need to have the Use Accounts permission, which allows them to request access to the accounts and perform actions on them. However, since dual control is enabled for some of the accounts, they also need to have the Retrieve Accounts permission, which allows them to view the password of the account after it is authorized by another user. The Authorize Password Requests permission is not needed, as it is only required for the users who can approve the requests, not the ones who make them. The Access Safe without Authorization permission is not needed, as it would bypass the dual control mechanism and allow the Operations Staff to access the accounts without approval. References:

[Defender PAM Sample Items Study Guide], page 10, question 5

[CyberArk Privileged Access Security Implementation Guide], page 30, table 2-1

[CyberArk Privileged Access Security Administration Guide], page 43, section 3.2.2.1

To ensure that Windows Domain password changes occur outside of business hours, the settings that must be updated are found in the Master Policy under the Account Change Window section. Here, you can specify the ToHour and FromHour to define the time frame outside of which the passwords should be rotated. This setting allows you to control when password changes can occur, ensuring that they do not interfere with business operations by taking place during non-business hours1.

References:

CyberArk Docs - Set password policies

To address the findings of the password compliance audit, you should edit the Master Policy in CyberArk Privileged Access Manager. The Master Policy is where you can enforce one-time password access and record session activity. One-time password access ensures that each password is used only once and then changed, which is a security measure to prevent unauthorized reuse of passwords1. Recording session activity is a feature of the Privileged Session Manager (PSM) that allows all activities during a session to be recorded for auditing purposes2. By enabling these settings in the Master Policy, you ensure that the domain accounts have one-time password access enforced and that all sessions connecting to domain controllers are recorded by CyberArk PSM. References:

CyberArk Docs: One-time passwords and exclusive accounts1

The image description indicates that “EMEALevel2Support” has the following rights: Add/Update Users, Manage Server File Categories, Manage Directory Mapping, Backup All Files, Restore All Files. Since there is no mention of the right to reset passwords for other users, this suggests that “EMEALevel2Support” lacks the necessary permission to change the password for “Operator”.

In a Digital Vault Cluster environment, each node has a Cluster Vault Manager (CVM) service that monitors the local resources and the status of the other node via a private network1. The CVM service sends a heartbeat signal to the other node every few seconds to check its availability2. If the heartbeat is not detected for a certain period of time, the CVM service assumes that the other node is down and triggers a failover process3. The failover process involves shutting down the resources on the failed node and starting them on the available node4. References: Digital Vault Cluster environment, CyberArk High-Availability Vault Cluster, Manage the CyberArk Digital Cluster Vault Server, Local resources failover process

A Vault Admin may still access a safe outside of the hours that it has been configured to be accessible, as long as he has the Bypass Safe Time Restrictions authorization on the Vault. The Bypass Safe Time Restrictions authorization enables a user to access any safe in the Vault, regardless of the time restrictions that are defined for that safe. This authorization is useful for emergency situations or maintenance tasks that require access to safes outside of the normal working hours. By default, the Vault Admins group has this authorization, as well as other administrative authorizations on the Vault1.

References:

1: Vault Member Authorizations

The user that is automatically added to all Safes and cannot be removed is the Master user. The Master user is a predefined user that is created during the Vault installation and has full permissions on all Safes and accounts. The Master user is the only user that can perform certain tasks, such as creating other predefined users, managing the Vault configuration, and restoring the Vault from a backup. The Master user cannot be deleted or modified by any other user, and is always a member of every Safe12. References:

Predefined users and groups - CyberArk, section “Master”

Safes and Safe members - CyberArk, section “Safe members overview”

 A usage is a configuration that allows CyberArk to manage passwords for files, such as XML or INI files, that are stored on remote machines. A usage is associated with a parent account, which is the account that has access to the file. To update the password of a usage, the least intrusive way is to use the “sync” button on the usage’s details page. This will synchronize the password value between the Vault and the file, without changing the actual password. The “change” button will initiate a password change process by the CPM, which will generate a new random password for the usage and the file. The “reconcile” button will initiate a password reconcile process by the CPM, which will use a reconcile account to reset the password of the usage and the file to the value stored in the Vault. References: Usages, Manage passwords for usages

The recommended storage locations for each key are as follows:

Recovery Private Key: It is recommended to store the Recovery Private Key on the Vault Server Disk Drive. This is because the Recovery Private Key is used to decrypt the data stored in the Vault.

Recovery Public Key: It is recommended to store the Recovery Public Key in a Hardware Security Module. This is because the Recovery Public Key is used to encrypt the data stored in the Vault.

Server Key: It is recommended to store the Server Key in a Physical Safe. This is because the Server Key is used to open the Vault, much like the key of a physical Vault. The key is required to start the Vault, after which the Server Key can be removed until the Server is restarted. When the Vault is stopped, the information stored in the Vault is completely inaccessible without that key.

SSH Keys: It is recommended to store the SSH Keys in the Vault. This is because the SSH Keys are used to connect to remote machines using the SSH protocol. The Vault can manage the passwords and sessions for the SSH Keys and provide secure access to the target systems.

References: Server keys - CyberArk, Cyberark Key Storage Plugin (Enterprise) - Rundeck