Enhance Active Directory Security With Privileged Account Management and Secureworks Assessments

The cyber threat landscape is constantly evolving. And that evolution demands that organizations adopt effective strategies to protect their sensitive information and maintain a secure environment.

In our annual report on insights garnered from Incident Response engagements, we have continually called out Privileged account management as being crucial to restrict the ability of threat actors to perform operational damage by accessing account credentials with elevated privileges. Specifically, organizations need to ensure proper management and monitoring of service accounts to prevent threat actors from using them for lateral movements or malicious activities.

One way to achieve this is by adopting the tiered security model for Active Directory (AD), a best practice that provides a structured and secure framework for privileged account management. In addition, the Secureworks® Active Directory Security Assessment can help ensure the correct implementation of AD security best practices to reinforce an organization's overall security posture. This blog post will discuss the importance of privileged account management, advantages of the tiered AD security model, and the benefits of Secureworks Active Directory Security Assessments.

The Importance of Privileged Account Management

Privileged accounts, including administrators and service accounts, provide users with elevated access levels to critical systems, data, and network resources. Unauthorized access to such accounts allows threat actors to conduct malicious activities, cause operational damage, and compromise an organization's sensitive assets. To limit such threats, organizations must prioritize the proper management and monitoring of privileged accounts, specifically focusing on service accounts.

Service accounts enable communication between systems, applications, and infrastructure components, often with elevated privileges. These accounts can be overlooked during security assessments, and compromised service accounts could have devastating effects on an organization's infrastructure. Effective management and monitoring of service accounts are essential for maintaining a secure environment.

Implementing a Tiered Security Model for Active Directory

Active Directory serves as a centralized hub for managing user accounts, resources, and permissions on a Windows-based network. The tiered security model for AD groups privileged accounts hierarchically, providing improved organization, management, and security. This model typically consists of three tiers:

1. Tier 0: Highest Privilege - Accounts and systems with direct or indirect control over the AD environment, such as domain controllers, AD admins, and enterprise administrators.
2. Tier 1: Server Privilege - Accounts and systems managing server resources, such as server administrators, backup operators, and critical application administrators.
3. Tier 2: Workstation Privilege - Accounts and systems managing end-user devices, such as desktop administrators and help desk personnel.

By adopting this model, organizations can enhance privileged account management, imposing strict permissions and access controls at each tier. The tiered structure ensures a clear separation of duties, which limits the potential damage a threat actor can cause if they compromise a privileged account.

Best Practices for Privileged Account Management in a Tiered Security Model

1. Segregate roles and responsibilities: Assign appropriate roles and privileges to accounts depending on their tiers, limiting access to critical systems and data for Tier 0 accounts while restricting Tier 1 and 2 accounts accordingly. This minimizes potential damage from compromised accounts and reduces unauthorized access risks.
2. Implement least privilege: Ensure privileged accounts only have the minimum access required to perform their functions. Limiting overly permissive access reduces potential attack surfaces and account compromise risks.
3. Enforce strong authentication and password management: Implement strong password policies, multi-factor authentication, and regular password rotation for privileged accounts, minimizing the likelihood of unauthorized access.
4. Regularly audit and review privileged access: Periodically evaluate privileged accounts for appropriate access levels, removing redundant or unused accounts to reduce risk.
5. Monitor privileged account activity: Continuously track privileged account activity with robust monitoring solutions, enabling security teams to identify and respond to suspicious or irregular behavior indicative of security breaches.
6. Educate and train staff: Conduct regular training sessions and awareness programs for employees with privileged access to ensure understanding of risks and adherence to best practices for privileged account management.

Benefits of Secureworks Active Directory Security Assessments

The Secureworks Active Directory Security Assessment is a comprehensive examination of an organization's AD security posture to validate the implementation of best practices and identify potential vulnerabilities. Such assessments are vital for reinforcing AD security, especially within the context of the tiered security model and privileged account management. Benefits of Secureworks Active Directory Security Assessments include:

1. Identifying vulnerabilities: Assessments help uncover weaknesses within an organization's AD environment, such as improper access controls or outdated configurations, enabling swift remediation.
2. Ensuring adherence to best practices: Assessments evaluate an organization's adherence to privileged account management best practices and the tiered security model, ensuring proper alignment with industry standards.
3. Enhancing security awareness: Security assessments promote a security-focused culture, fostering awareness of potential risks and encouraging employees to maintain security best practices.
4. Streamlining security operations: By pinpointing areas for improvement, security assessments help optimize security operations, allowing security teams to more effectively monitor, manage, and control privileged accounts.
5. Bolstering overall security posture: Insights gained from security assessments empower organizations to enhance their overall security posture, better preparing them for potential cyber threats.

Conclusion

Privileged account management, especially in relation to service accounts, is essential for limiting the risks of operational damage and security breaches. By proactively managing privileged accounts, implementing a tiered security model, and leveraging Secureworks assessments, organizations can create a more secure and resilient environment. Supplementing this model with Secureworks Active Directory Security Assessments offers valuable insights into improving AD security best practices.

Ready to learn more about how our IR team tests defenses like the ones discussed here? Read our latest white paper on effective incident response and tabletop exercises.