Home Learn Active Directory 101 Active Directory 101: How to Monitor and Secure Active Directory A compromised AD can give attackers access to sensitive data and let them disrupt operations across multiple systems. Request demo Active Directory 101 Overview Optimization Benefits Related Terms Resources Overview Protect Network Resources and Prevent Data Breaches Active Directory (AD) offers substantial benefits to both administrators and end users. It enables end users to log in to multiple applications with a single set of credentials, while allowing administrators to define and enforce group policies, simplifying management and standardizing configurations. However, a compromised AD puts organizations in a vulnerable position, representing a significant security risk. It’s akin to handing the keys to the IT castle over to malicious attackers – and must be avoided at all costs. AD MonitoringOrganizations of all sizes must monitor and secure AD because it acts as a central hub for managing user access to network resources. A compromised AD can grant attackers control over the entire network, giving them access to sensitive data and allowing them to disrupt operations across multiple systems. Bad actors could steal sensitive data, disrupt critical services, gain full control of the networks, create user accounts with elevated privileges, modify existing permissions, lock users out of their accounts, and launch attacks from within the organization. Proactively monitoring and securing AD is a critical task all IT leaders must address to protect sensitive data, control network access, and prevent data breaches and malicious attacks. The proper management and security of AD helps protect network resources, software applications, and confidential data from unauthorized access. It is paramount for all enterprise organizations that AD is proactively safeguarded against bad actors and malicious attacks. optimization Optimizing AD for Your Organization The popular directory service from Microsoft organizes data about network objects, such as end users, groups, applications and devices. It’s a proprietary service that runs on a Windows server and enables administrators to control access to network resources and manage protections. The central role of AD in both user identity management and security makes its backup and recovery critical for every organization. Let’s take a look at the functions of AD that make it so critical within your organization: • User and group management Create and maintain user accounts, organize them into logical groups, assign permissions and access rights, and manage user authentication and authorization. • Domain controller management Implement domain controllers, assign individual domain controllers for specific operations, and monitor replication between domain controllers. • Security and access control Implement and manage authentication mechanisms, configure and monitor access controls, manage security certificates, implement security best practices, and monitor for potential threats. • Group policy management Configure group policies to apply and enforce consistent security, user settings, and configurations for end users, computers, and organizational units across the network. Active Directory Security Best PracticesIt’s important to follow these practices to protect your AD: • Frequent backups Regularly schedule automatic backups of AD data to minimize potential data loss from system failures or cyberattacks. • Granular recovery Enable the ability to restore specific objects or attributes within AD, which allows for targeted recovery without needing to restore the entire directory. Targeted recovery is exactly as it sounds, in that it focuses on restoring specific, critical systems or data sets within a set timeframe, rather than attempting to recover the entire IT infrastructure at once. • Role-based access control Assign administrative permissions to specific users or groups to limit access to sensitive AD functions. • Monitoring and auditing Continuously monitor AD for suspicious activity, user access patterns, and potential security threats. • Integrated cloud protection Secure both on-premises and cloud-based AD environments with a single approach. Enable a unified identity management system in which end users can access both cloud and on-premises resources using the same credentials while enforcing consistent security policies across both environments. • Compliance considerations Compare and make certain your AD configurations follows and adheres to relevant industry regulations and compliance requirements. • Disaster recovery testing Consistently test your AD backup and restore processes to make certain they function properly in the face of a critical event or attack. • Password management Enforce strong password policies with a mix of letters, numbers, and special characters, and set appropriate password expiration and complexity requirements. • Access control Implement the principle of least privilege, assigning only necessary permissions to users and groups, and limit the number of end users with administrative privileges. Also utilize group policies to manage user access to resources. • Employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) Put MFA policies in place for additional security when end users log in to AD. This will significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access when dealing with threats such as phishing attacks, stolen credentials, and weak passwords. • Account management Disable unused or inactive accounts, and implement a process for managing service accounts with strong passwords. • System hardening Secure the organization’s DNS configuration to help prevent unauthorized access, restrict access to domain controllers, and patch domain controllers and other AD related systems regularly to spot and address vulnerabilities. • User awareness training Educate end users on the best practices with password security and recognizing cyberattack attempts such as phishing. With all security measures, it is critical end users are made aware of the dangers and taught best practices to avoid falling victim to bad actors. Benefits Real-world Benefits of AD Management Comprehensive AD management includes both monitoring and securing the network access system, and it provides enterprise organizations with a number of benefits when done well. From centralized controls and enhanced security to scalability and flexibility, AD management can empower organizations to prevent, detect, and recovery more quickly and suffer less damage from attacks. Centralized management enables administrators to manage network objects from a single point, and enhanced security such as authentication, authorization, and encryption better protect the entire environment. With proper management in place, AD can scale to meet the needs of a growing network and provide the flexibility to support a wide range of applications and services. From a broader perspective, proper management also can provide continuous availability of AD services across environments and avoid or reduce downtime. Comprehensive management also makes it possible to recover deleted objects and roll back to the best-known state when attributes have been overwritten. A managed AD environment enables administrators to search data and preserve information for regulatory compliance. AD security protects critical data from corruption, deletion, and attacks, enabling enterprise organizations to provide end users with the access they need to be productive while also preventing bad actors from disrupting operations or stealing data. A robust AD monitoring and security approach will provide organizations with fortified protections against cyber threats by empowering organizations with the tools they need to guard? against attacks. From early detection of unauthorized access to reducing the risk of data breaches, a solid AD management strategy will help organizations remain compliant with regulations and maintain operational efficiencies within their identity management system. Related Terms What is Active Directory? Active Directory is a directory service that stores information about objects on the network and makes this information easily accessible to administrators and users. Learn more What is Active Directory Management? Effective AD management streamlines user identity and lifecycle management while strengthening security and compliance. Learn more What is Data Protection? Data protection refers to the practices, technologies, and policies that are used to safeguard data against unauthorized access, loss, corruption, and other threats. Learn more related resources Explore related resources View all resources Solution Brief Active Directory Protection Find out how you can safeguard Microsoft AD and Azure AD data from a single solution. video Backup & Recovery for Active Directory Demo See how Commvault Cloud Backup & Recovery for Active Directory safeguards Active Directory and Azure AD (now Entra ID) to minimize loss, downtime, and cyber risk. eBook Four Things to Consider with Active Directory Protection With Active Directory at the center of secure authentication and services, protecting and securing this data is critical for businesses today.