Passwork
| Passwork | |
|---|---|
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| Original authors | Ilya Garakh Andrey Pyankov |
| Developer | Passwork Europe SL |
| Release | June 2014 |
| Stable release | 7.6
/ April 2026 |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Platform | Web application, self-hosted |
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Type | Password manager |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | passwork |
Passwork is a password manager and secrets management application for businesses, available as self-hosted software and as a cloud service. It is published by Passwork Europe SL, a company based in Barcelona, Spain.
History
[edit]Passwork origins goes back to 2014 when Ilya Garakh and Andrey Pyankov registered the domain passwork.ru in Arkhangelsk.[1][2]
In May 2017, Passwork Oy was registered in Finland at an office building on Pasilankatu in the Pasila district of Helsinki, where a Viljakainen family company also operated.[3] Garakh and Pyankov each held 35 percent of the Finnish company, with the remaining 30 percent held by Pekka Viljakainen's family investment firm, Aii Corporation Oy.[1][4] Through Passwork Oy, its software was used by the University of Zurich, the Dresden University of Technology, and several Irish state agencies.[1]
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Garakh and Pyankov sold their shares in Passwork Oy to Viljakainen family, and later it was wound up in 2024.[1] In July 2022, a new company, Passwork FZ-LLC, was registered in the United Arab Emirates.[1] In August 2024, Passwork Europe SL was founded in Barcelona and acquired the software to serve in the EU and the United States.[1]
Software
[edit]Passwork is a self-hosted password management software, which provides centralised storage and sharing of credentials through encrypted vaults, with folders, role-based access control, audit logs and activity tracking.[3][5] It supports LDAP and Active Directory integration, single sign-on, browser extensions and mobile applications, and offers programmatic access through an API, a command-line interface and a Python connector.[6] The product uses a client-side, "zero-knowledge" design, in which data is encrypted and decrypted on the customer's own systems rather than on the vendor's servers.[6] Version 7, released in 2025, introduced a rewritten codebase and expanded the software's secrets-management features.[6] The software's links to a Russian version have raised security concerns.[7]
Use
[edit]Passwork has been used by several Irish state bodies, including the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, the Office of Public Works and the State Laboratory.[1][8] Some of the users are based in the Netherlands.[4]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gallagher, Conor (17 July 2026). "How Russian password technology made its way into Irish State agencies". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- ↑ "Les liens troubles avec la Russie d'un gestionnaire de mots de passe européen". Le Monde (in French). 17 July 2026. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- 1 2 Hänninen, Jyri (July 17, 2026). "Luotettava eurooppalainen salasanayritys onkin peräisin Venäjältä". Yle.
- 1 2 "Hoe de wachtwoordmanager van het Kremlin Nederland binnendrong" (in Dutch). Investico.
- ↑ "On the Radar: Passwork manages passwords and secrets, and is adding privileged access management (PAM)". Omdia. 27 November 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Review: Passwork 7.0, self-hosted password manager for business". Help Net Security. 17 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
- ↑ Baquero, Antonio; Hofer, Marc; Holishevska, Anna (July 17, 2026). "European Password Manager Shares Origins and Updates with State-Certified Russian Firm". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Archived from the original on 2026-07-18. Retrieved 2026-07-18.
- ↑ "Irish State bodies use password software licensed by Russian intelligence". The Irish Times. 17 July 2026. Retrieved 17 July 2026.
