Active Directory Security
Active Directory is used by over 90% of businesses worldwide, therefore, is one of the most common goals during cyber attacks.
Active Directory Security is intended to raise the security levels of the company's Active Directory domain services.
Spread of Ransomware via Active Directory
Especially in recent years, Ransomware has evolved using advanced systems capable of expanding within a network. Typically malware includes specific capabilities to propagate from an initial infected device to other devices on the same network.
Instead of writing and testing additional code, which could be prone to errors, the hackers opted to exploit a system that is already present in most organizations: Active Directory.
Once an attacker gains privileged access within AD, it becomes easy to gain privileges and visibility into an organization's entire IT infrastructure. Both on-premise and cloud solutions are vulnerable: Active Directory contains information about all users, endpoints, applications and servers.
You can use standard administration tools to query the directory undetected by security software and systems.
Hackers can then use AD to propagate ransomware to all devices in the organization.
How to prevent the spread of Ransomware through Active Directory
Ransomware attacks that exploit Active Directory to spread or perform reconnaissance typically require administrator privileges in Active Directory. Often, organizations do not effectively control or manage the use of elevated AD accounts, leaving IT systems vulnerable to ransomware and other attacks. Below, we present six approaches to safeguard access to these privileged AD accounts and complicate attackers' use of Active Directory to spread Ransomware within the network:
- Decrease the number of members in Active Directory privileged groups.
- Restrict the use of privileged accounts in Active Directory.
- Prefer local accounts over domain accounts.
- Employ a layered administration model in Active Directory.
- Safeguard administrative accounts with multi-factor authentication.
- Monitor Active Directory for anomalous activity.
Active Directory Security is divided into two distinct activities
In the first stage, called Discovery, different analysis and attack methodologies will be used, from basic to more complex ones, to identify and evaluate how susceptible the domain is to cyberattacks.
In the following phase, we will focus on simulating various attack types and “Domination of Domination” techniques, to determine the feasibility of these techniques and their impact on the network.
The attacks will pursue two main objectives:
- Determine whether and how an attacker could gain maximum privileges on the domain controller.
- Analyze which strategies, with the lowest level of privilege necessary, allow the attacker to gain control of the domain and resist countermeasures.
Fundamentals of the second phase
This phase will use the data collected during the Discovery process as a starting point, then moving on to defining the actions to be implemented to reduce or eliminate the identified risks or impacts. Subsequently, we will provide support in implementing the measures agreed with the client, followed by a final verification to confirm their effectiveness.
Final relation
At the end of the operations, a detailed report will be produced on the initial state of the system, a summary of the activities carried out and suggestions on possible policies or procedures to be adopted in a subsequent phase.
In pills
The domain is the main target of cybercriminals, as it grants broad privileges on the corporate network. As a result, it may be necessary to revise and strengthen Active Directoryto reduce security risks.
Active Directory Security conducts a series of tests to evaluate exposure to cyber attacks and verify the most effective protection techniques. Then plan and give support to activate the containment measures.
