What Is ESAM and Why Do You Need It?
Organizations must take precautions to protect their applications against unauthorized access and malicious attacks. The External Security Administration Manager (ESAM) is a solution designed to enhance security governance.
What Is ESAM?
The External Security Administration Manager (ESAM) is an independent security component introduced in OpenEdge 12.8. It offers a trusted, centralized security management solution that helps protect your OpenEdge applications, allowing only authorized actions and components to be executed.
Traditional approaches that rely solely on operating system-level security or hardcoded security policies are no longer sufficient. ESAM provides governance over application runtime practices and enforces security policies using industry-standard architectures, supporting corporate security requirements while simplifying security management.
Key Functions of ESAM:
- Governance Over Execution: Helps prevent the execution of unauthorized code or commands.
- Access Control & Policy Enforcement: Allows only trusted OpenEdge installations to run and be configured.
- Secure Configuration & Storage: Helps protect critical security keys and settings under IT administration.
- Separation of Duties: Improves oversight by separating security administration from business application management.
The Security Problem ESAM Helps Solve
Application security is an ever-evolving challenge where businesses must protect their critical data from unauthorized access. ESAM is a powerful tool designed to help address these challenges and enhance security governance for OpenEdge applications.
In the past, business applications typically ran in closed systems behind firewalls. Security was handled internally by application providers who built their own controls or relied on trusted environments. However, modern cybersecurity concerns demand more stringent security measures. Businesses now require:
- A trusted location to store secure data
- Strict access controls to prevent unauthorized changes
- Auditing capabilities for configuration modifications
- A way to limit use to only trusted OpenEdge installations and authorized third-party components
While operating system-level security is an option, it can be complex to implement and maintain. Hardcoding security policies into an application introduces additional maintenance challenges. This is where the ESAM comes in.
ESAM Delivers OpenEdge Security Enhancements
The OpenEdge security model integrates software vulnerability scanning, externalized security policy decisions and secure storage mechanisms to protect critical assets. ESAM plays a crucial role in these improvements by addressing common security weaknesses.
In OpenEdge 12.8, ESAM addresses the security weaknesses CWE-114 and CWE-78: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands. Through the use of policies, applications can be limited to run trusted OpenEdge installations only. The OpenEdge installation includes secure registration to prevent counterfeit software from running instead of the authentic OpenEdge platform.
The Future of ESAM
ESAM is a long-term security solution that will continue evolving with the OpenEdge team’s security initiatives for the platform. As cybersecurity demands increase, understanding and adopting ESAM is critical for maintaining the security of OpenEdge applications.
Conclusion
With ESAM, OpenEdge customers gain a robust security framework that simplifies governance, strengthens security policies and enables trusted execution of applications. As the OpenEdge platform continues to evolve, ESAM will remain a foundational component in helping to secure business applications against modern threats.
By adopting ESAM, organizations can enhance their security posture, reduce risks and better protect their OpenEdge applications for the future.
Ready to learn more? Watch the replay of our webinar, “What Is ESAM and Why Do I Need It?" where OpenEdge experts Shelley Chase and Mike Jacobs break down ESAM’s capabilities, benefits and role in securing business applications.
Jessica Malakian
Jessica Malakian is a product marketing specialist at Progress who focuses primarily on Progress OpenEdge. Jessica is a recent college graduate and is excited to begin her professional journey with Progress. Outside of work, Jessica loves reading and writing.
