What is Active Directory Hardening?
Active Directory (AD) is a widely used directory service in organizations worldwide, providing network services that enable users and computers to easily authenticate, access network resources, and log on to Windows systems. Active Directory also empowers system administrators and infrastructure teams to manage corporate computer networks effectively. It allows users and computers to utilize various network resources, such as logging on to the Windows operating system, printing documents from network printers, accessing file shares on the network, accessing cloud resources through single sign-on, and sending emails. This streamlined approach simplifies network management and enhances user experience.
Most users are typically given a simple username and password to access resources managed by Active Directory. Active Directory uses LDAP in the background to verify whether the password is correct and whether the user is actually authorized as part of the system. Standard users are usually members of the Domain Users group and can access any Active Directory object for which the Domain Users group is authorized. Domain Administrator users are members of the Domain Admins group, which is a highly privileged group that can perform any action within the network. Members of this group can perform numerous privileged operations within the domain.
Active Directory hardening is an analysis and configuration change aimed at preventing unauthorized individuals from gaining broader access rights through misconfigurations in the Active Directory directory. Given that many companies and organizations use the Active Directory infrastructure with default configurations, this situation is vulnerable to exploitation by attackers.
Therefore, we recommend that all businesses using Active Directory carry out the necessary hardening measures and make their infrastructure resistant to cyber attacks.
Which Areas are Analyzed and Hardened in Active Directory Hardening Studies?
As part of our Active Directory hardening services at ADEO, we conduct due diligence by analyzing the following key topics, enabling businesses to take necessary steps to tighten their infrastructure. We also provide guidance on which measures to take and how to implement them.
Active Directory Hardening Service
The Active Directory hardening service can have the disadvantage of potentially reducing compliance, as implementing security controls requires balancing security with environmental requirements. For example, disabling older authentication protocols like NTLM could prevent a legacy system in an organization's environment from authenticating to Active Directory, which could be critical for the business.
With our Active Directory hardening service at ADEO, we identify which actions may have a negative impact on current processes and how they may impact them. We always prioritize hardening measures that are proportional to our customers' risk profiles and prepare a necessary action list after considering all possible effects of these steps.
