Ransomware Hits Microsoft Active Directory in Just 16 Hours - Act Fast!

Microsoft Active Directory is a critical asset for many companies, but it is also a prime target for ransomware gangs. In a recent study by Sophos, researchers found that it took attackers just 16 hours to breach Active Directory in a majority of cases.

This is a worrying statistic, as it highlights the speed and sophistication of ransomware attacks. It also shows that even large and well-resourced companies are not immune.

This finding highlights the importance of hardening Active Directory deployments to protect them from attack.

Why is Active Directory so important?

Active Directory is a directory service that stores information about users, computers, and other resources in a Windows domain network. It is essential for managing user access to resources and for providing authentication and authorization services.

Why do attackers target Active Directory?

Attackers target Active Directory because it is the key to unlocking a company's network. Once they have compromised Active Directory, they can move laterally from system to system, steal data, access applications and servers, and plant backdoors and ransomware.

What can organizations do to harden their Active Directories?

There are a number of steps that organizations can take to harden their Active Directory deployments, including:

Inventory all Active Directory domains and servers. This will help organizations to identify and track all of their Active Directory assets.

Administrative hosts are the systems that are used to manage Active Directory. It is important to harden these systems by limiting access to them, disabling unused services, and keeping them up to date with the latest security patches.

This means granting users only the access that they need to perform their jobs. This can help to reduce the attack surface and limit the damage that attackers can do if they are able to compromise a user account.

Domain controllers are the servers that store and replicate the Active Directory database. It is important to harden these servers by limiting access to them, disabling unused services, and keeping them up to date with the latest security patches.

MFA adds an extra layer of security to Active Directory by requiring users to provide two or more factors of authentication when logging in.

Organizations should monitor their Active Directory deployments for signs of compromise, such as unusual login activity, changes to user permissions, and changes to the Active Directory database.?

A PAM solution can help to control and manage access to privileged accounts, which are often targeted by attackers.

Zero-trust security is a security model that assumes that no user or device can be trusted by default. Instead, all users and devices must be verified before they are granted access to resources. Zero-trust security can be an effective way to protect Active Directory from attack.

Educate employees on cybersecurity best practices

Employees are often the weakest link in the security chain. It is important to educate employees on cybersecurity best practices, such as how to spot phishing emails and create strong passwords.

By implementing these steps, organizations can make it more difficult for attackers to compromise their Active Directories and steal their data.

Visit www.sharpits.com for more information.