What are some advanced Active Directory auditing techniques, and how can you use them?

1 Event Log Filtering

One of the most basic and widely used AD auditing techniques is event log filtering, which allows you to view and analyze the events generated by AD on domain controllers (DCs) and other devices. However, event logs can be overwhelming and noisy, as they contain thousands of entries from various sources and categories. To make sense of them, you need to filter them by using criteria such as event ID, level, source, date, time, user, computer, or keyword. For example, you can filter the Security log by event ID 4720 to see who created new user accounts, or by event ID 4625 to see who failed to log on. You can use the built-in Event Viewer tool or PowerShell commands to perform event log filtering.

2 Advanced Audit Policies

Another AD auditing technique is advanced audit policies, which allow you to configure and apply granular and specific audit settings to different objects and events in AD. Unlike the basic audit policies, which only have nine categories, the advanced audit policies have 10 subcategories under each category, giving you more control and flexibility over what you want to audit. For example, you can enable the Audit User Account Management subcategory under the Account Management category to audit changes to user accounts, such as creation, deletion, modification, or lockout. You can use the Group Policy Management Console or PowerShell commands to configure and apply advanced audit policies.

3 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Queries

A third AD auditing technique is Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) queries, which allow you to search and retrieve information from AD using a standard protocol and syntax. LDAP queries can help you audit various aspects of AD, such as the attributes, properties, permissions, and memberships of users, groups, computers, and other objects. For example, you can use an LDAP query to find all disabled user accounts, or all users who are members of a specific group. You can use tools such as Active Directory Users and Computers, Active Directory Administrative Center, or PowerShell commands to perform LDAP queries.

4 PowerShell Scripts

A fourth AD auditing technique is PowerShell scripts, which allow you to automate and customize your AD auditing tasks using a powerful scripting language. PowerShell scripts can help you audit AD more efficiently and effectively, as you can run them on multiple DCs or devices, schedule them to run at specific intervals, export or email the results to different formats, or integrate them with other tools or services. For example, you can use a PowerShell script to audit the replication status of your DCs, or the password expiration dates of your users. You can use the Active Directory module or the Active Directory Web Services (ADWS) cmdlets to write and execute PowerShell scripts for AD auditing.

5 Third-Party Tools

A fifth AD auditing technique is third-party tools, which allow you to enhance and simplify your AD auditing experience by using specialized software or services. Third-party tools can help you audit AD more comprehensively and conveniently, as they can offer features such as real-time alerts, dashboards, reports, filters, audits, backups, restores, or audits. For example, you can use a third-party tool to audit the changes made to your AD schema, or the permissions granted to your delegated administrators. You can choose from various third-party tools available in the market, depending on your needs, budget, and preferences.

6 Best Practices

Defining audit objectives, scope, and frequency, enabling audit logging on all DCs and relevant devices, using separate accounts for auditing and administration, regularly reviewing and updating audit policies and settings, monitoring and analyzing audit logs and reports, archiving and protecting audit logs and reports properly, and documenting and reporting audit findings and actions are some of the best practices that can help you optimize and secure your AD auditing process. Following these best practices can make your AD auditing process more reliable and consistent by preventing errors, conflicts, or gaps in your settings, policies, or procedures.

7 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?