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What are the best practices for securing Active Directory?

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Active Directory (AD) is a crucial component of many IT environments, as it provides centralized authentication, authorization, and management of users, computers, and resources. However, AD also poses significant security risks if not configured and maintained properly, as attackers can exploit its vulnerabilities to compromise the entire network. Therefore, IT professionals need to follow some best practices to secure AD and protect their organizations from cyber threats. Here are some of the most important ones.

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David Olumide Babalola

Experienced IT Service Manager

1 Use strong passwords and policies

One of the simplest and most effective ways to secure AD is to enforce strong passwords and policies for all accounts, especially administrators and service accounts. Strong passwords should be long, complex, and unique, and changed regularly. Policies should include password expiration, history, complexity, and lockout settings, as well as account disablement and deletion for inactive or unused accounts. You can use the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) or PowerShell cmdlets to configure and apply password policies across your AD domain.

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David Olumide Babalola

Experienced IT Service Manager
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When it comes to passwords, I always find this phrase instructive: "Password is like underwear (or toothbrush), never share it!"

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Benjamin O.

ADMINISTRATEUR SYSTEME ET RESEAU
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Il faut surtout adopter la méthode du moindre privilège... Cad le compte administrateur n est jamais utilisé On utilisera des comptes dédier a une seule fonction par exemple gestion des imprimantes un compte si ce compte tombe seule une fonction est perdue contrairement a l administrateur... Ensuite on peut auditer pour savoir tout ce qu il se passe et aussi mettre en place le MFA pour renforcer la sécurité des comptes...

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2 Implement least-privilege principle

Another key practice to secure AD is to implement the least-privilege principle, which means granting only the minimum level of access and permissions required for each user, group, or role to perform their tasks. This way, you can limit the exposure and impact of potential breaches, as well as reduce the risk of human errors or misuse. You can use the built-in AD security groups, such as Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, and Account Operators, to assign roles and privileges, or create custom groups based on your organizational needs. You can also use the Delegation of Control Wizard or the Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC) to delegate specific tasks or objects to users or groups.

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3 Monitor and audit AD activity

A third essential practice to secure AD is to monitor and audit all the activity and events that occur in your AD environment, such as logons, password changes, group membership changes, schema modifications, and replication errors. Monitoring and auditing can help you detect and respond to any suspicious or anomalous behavior, as well as troubleshoot and resolve any issues or errors. You can use the Event Viewer or the Audit Policy to enable and review the AD security logs, or use third-party tools or scripts to enhance and automate the monitoring and auditing process.

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David Olumide Babalola

Experienced IT Service Manager
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There are in-built alerting systems within AD solutions that the administrator can configure to trigger alert notifications for activities that fall within the suspicion activities threshold agreed within the organization. However, there are specialized tools for this as well. But the in-built system would be a good place to start.

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4 Harden AD servers and services

Hardening the AD servers and services that host and support the AD infrastructure, such as domain controllers, DNS servers, and global catalog servers, is a fourth important practice to secure AD. Hardening is the application of security measures and best practices to protect the servers and services from unauthorized access, modification, or disruption. This may include applying the latest patches and updates, configuring firewall rules and network security, disabling or removing unnecessary services and features, encrypting data in transit and at rest, using secure protocols and certificates, and implementing backup and recovery plans.

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5 Educate and train AD users

A fifth and final practice to secure AD is to educate and train the AD users, such as administrators, managers, and end-users, on the security risks and responsibilities associated with AD. Education and training can help raise awareness and understanding of the AD security policies and procedures, as well as the potential consequences of violating or ignoring them. Education and training can also help foster a security culture and behavior among the AD users, such as reporting incidents, avoiding phishing emails, and using multifactor authentication. You can use various methods and resources to deliver and evaluate the education and training, such as webinars, videos, quizzes, and feedback.

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David Olumide Babalola

Experienced IT Service Manager
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Enforcing Two Factor Authentication (2FA) or Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) especially for administrators is non-negotiable for that added layer of security. This can be achieved directly from the AD solution.

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6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What are the best practices for securing Active Directory?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Use strong passwords and policies

2 Implement least-privilege principle

3 Monitor and audit AD activity

4 Harden AD servers and services

5 Educate and train AD users

6 Here’s what else to consider

IT Operations

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What are the best practices for securing Active Directory?

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 Use strong passwords and policies

2 Implement least-privilege principle

3 Monitor and audit AD activity

4 Harden AD servers and services

5 Educate and train AD users

6 Here’s what else to consider

IT Operations

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