Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

Group Policy is a feature of Microsoft Windows operating systems that helps administrators manage and secure users and computers in Active Directory environments. Group Policy settings are grouped into Group Policy objects (GPOs) and applied to computer and user objects within the scope of the GPO. For example, Group Policy objects can be used to manage: This guide explains the key elements of Group Policy management.

Many ask, what is Kerberos? Kerberos is an authentication protocol. It is designed for client-server applications and requires mutual verification. It is the default protocol used for logging into a Windows machine that is part of a domain, relies on a secure communication channel between the client and the Domain Controller (DC). Windows updates address security concerns such as vulnerabilities in this channel, ensuring that the user database stored on the DC is protected.

Active Directory (AD) is a useful service that helps organizations manage identities and control access to network resources, thus improving corporate cybersecurity. However, when poorly managed, AD can be exploited in a way that could harm an organization’s sensitive assets and operational resilience. In this article, we briefly define what Active Directory is, list its main services, and discuss possible threats.

Organizations today are highly dynamic, with employees, contractors, and other users constantly joining. Accordingly, IT administrators often need to create user objects in Active Directory (AD) or Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). While manually creating a single user is easy, repeating that process for multiple users is tedious and time-consuming. Moreover, it is highly prone to errors that can put security and productivity at risk.

Accounts with administrative and elevated privileges are necessary for both business and IT functions, but they represent a significant risk to your organization. In the hands of a careless or malcontent insider or an adversary, privileged credentials open the door to data breaches, infrastructure outages and compliance violations.

The primary protocol employed within Microsoft’s Active Directory(AD) is Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). While LDAP serves as a fundamental component in AD, its application extends beyond, enabling user authentication in various tools and client environments. This includes Red Hat Directory Servers on UNIX systems and OpenLDAP, an open-source application used on Windows platforms.

Active Directory (AD) is a mainstay for most organizations, especially as identity management grows for even small-to-medium businesses (SMBs) and once on-premises organizations digitize. But this widely adopted tool comes with major security risks.

Windows New Technology LAN Manager (NTLM) is an outdated challenge-response authentication protocol developed by Microsoft. Despite being surpassed by Kerberos, NTLM remains in use as a form of Single Sign-On (SSO), allowing users to authenticate to applications without directly providing their passwords.

Organizations worldwide use Active Directory (AD) as their primary identity service, which makes it a top target for ransomware attacks. This article explains how adversaries exploit Active Directory during ransomware attacks and provides strategies and tools for defending against this modern menace.