Active Directory Audit Checklist

Active Directory permeates virtually every part of a network infrastructure; failing to secure it correctly could create havoc. Use this checklist as a guideline for strengthening AD security programs.

This risk assessment checklist/program is designed for risk assurance practitioners (IT Risk Managers, Cyber/Information Security Analysts and System Control Auditors). It documents risks/vulnerabilities, control lapses and substandard practices associated with an organization’s Active Directory (Domain Controller) and Exchange Server infrastructure.

1. Access Control
An access control plan provides an organization’s security stance regarding physical and technical access, including written policies regarding password requirements, admin accounts and privileged accounts as well as their enforcement (enforcement).

Plan should include a process for regularly reviewing user access in order to maintain data and system integrity. A review should identify any accounts that no longer serve a purpose and modify or remove their permissions as appropriate.

Management of users with excessive privileges is a serious risk in any environment, as attackers can quickly exploit vulnerable accounts to gain entry. Therefore, best practice suggests that as many accounts as possible be removed from privileged groups (Domain Admins) while simultaneously creating custom role groups with just the required permissions instead of placing day-to-day users directly into Privileged Groups. Ensure you document who belongs in each group for future reference to prevent unintended changes from taking place without authorization.

2. Audit Logs
An audit trail is a detailed record of activity within an IT system. It provides invaluable insight into how devices or applications operate, who has accessed them when and can also identify potential security risks as well as demonstrate compliance.

Audit logs provide IT professionals with information on a chronological sequence of events, detailing source, destination and user login data for every logging event. This enables IT specialists to effectively monitor activity and quickly identify suspicious behaviors such as malware infections; as well as comply with various regulatory frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA or Sarbanes Oxley Act). Logging may also be required by certain regulatory frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA or the Sarbanes Oxley Act).

Implementing an Active Directory auditing tool can dramatically cut back the time administrators need to spend manually auditing their environment. Lepide’s solution automates tracking changes in permissions and offers easy-to-use reports that can be filtered, grouped, saved and exported – meaning no manual audits are needed and that all security-related events are captured; furthermore it allows Sysadmins to reduce risk by monitoring ownership of accounts as well as detecting inactive ones before they pose threats to their organization.

3. Security Policy
Tracking privileged accounts is a vital element of Active Directory security auditing. Compromised privileged accounts pose serious threats to organizations; by restricting their usage and enforcing strong password policies, it may be possible to reduce internal threats.

Active Directory auditing relies heavily on tracking unauthorized changes to object attributes and configurations regularly, as these modifications increase the chance of an attack significantly. With the right tools in place, monitoring these unauthorized modifications can alert you instantly of potential threats or security concerns.

Assuring compliance with regulatory requirements like GDPR and HIPAA can be achieved using an Active Directory auditing tool with comprehensive reports for this purpose. Furthermore, such a tool allows automated provisioning of accounts which reduces administrative workload while simultaneously improving security – especially helpful in large organizations with hundreds of privileged accounts. Automating this provisioning process reduces security risks while guaranteeing regulatory requirements are met.

4. Permissions
Permissions give users access to network resources such as files, applications, printers and scanners. Setting permissions are an integral component of Active Directory configuration that can have widespread effects across information systems through Group Policy.

Monitoring these settings is a vital element of an enterprise Active Directory auditing program, as it helps prevent breaches caused by privileged accounts abusing their access rights or abusing them incorrectly, as well as decreasing investigation time necessary for investigating suspicious activity such as account lockouts that can indicate cyberattacks are underway.

Monitoring various events and objects such as login/logoff activity, stale credentials, account lockouts and object deletions is crucial in order to detect any attempts at breach or compromise as quickly as possible. A proactive approach to these events will reduce data loss risk while saving money in the process.