Deception for Active Directory Security

Active Directory (AD) is core to many organizations and ~ 90% of global businesses use it as their primary Directory Service thus it is of no surprise that threat actors are focused on it. AD stores employee information and access control identifiers and hence is a critical asset. Alarming statistics back up this concern: Whenever there is an unauthorized activity, it is estimated that about 80% of such activities originate from vulnerable AD accounts. This emphasizes the fact that a formidable defense for your AD cannot be compromised.??

AD security is one of the critical components in managing an organization’s security as an organization. In its simplest form, a breached AD doesn’t only put the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data in jeopardy — it also puts the whole network at risk. This is after an attack can encrypt files, steal data or establish a toehold to launch further operations like privilege escalation and horizontal movement on other valuable systems and resources in a network. This scenario demonstrates why adopting security measures like deception technology has become critical for organizations in the present day.??

What is Deception Technology & how can it help defend Active Directory???

AD deception framework in deception technology involves setting intentional traps and decoys to help detect and disarm attackers who might already be within the network. The goal of deception is to mimic AD assets such as user accounts, servers and other credentials in a way that lures the attacker to access them and thereby reveal their presence.??

If you want to know how industries analysts and professionals look at AD deception technology…???

Several security professionals have been looking at deception as another layer of security. Traditional security solutions focus on trying to prevent a threat actor from getting in, although internal attacks using a stolen credential are not uncommon. Deception hence plays a crucial role since it aims at the early detection of perpetrators after they have managed to breach and get into your network.??

??

For instance, Fidelis Deception? adds a robust advanced deception offering that is a more evolved version of a honeypot. Our deception technology uses decoys as well as breadcrumbs to identify the attackers in the network with instances of false positives. The fact that the technology can obtain data on attack techniques, assets that have been breached, and attempted deeds, makes it the only approach that can capture advanced threats in AD.??

One of the major benefits? Deception technology works well with the current implementations, and it requires almost no management at all. You can deploy it with relatively zero effect on the network and make sure that your security team spend less time handling the alert and more time handling the real issue.??

Ordinary Questions and Why Deception Technology is Becoming Popular??

Deception technology may sound sophisticated but the best solutions such as Fidelis are designed to enable security and system administrators. Admiral Svante Carlson notes that productivity and local enforcement deception strategies usually involve coordination between those behind?Active Directory (AD)?administrators and security. Once implemented, AD is a low maintenance technology that does not cause disruptions to business as usual.??

It is possible to set up deception technology with the help of the configuration wizard that helps to set the decoy users regarding the AD server. These can even be canary files that emit a beacon when opened,” this indicates that an attack is in progress because the attacker has already infiltrated the system. It does not affect productivity or the integrity of the network place and would appear to give a flexible, highly effective boost to any security armory at a relatively low cost.?

The integration of deception technology in?Active Directory Security isn’t just about preventing unauthorized access—it’s about creating an environment where attackers can’t operate without detection.?

While deception technology as an aspect of AD security is about denying access and containing threats within an organization’s infrastructure, it is more about ensuring the failure or inability of the attacker to function under its network and systems.? ? To know more, read The Role of Deception in Securing Active Directory ?

?