Analyzing the security of Active Directory (AD) in an organization involves multiple steps to ensure that

the system is secure and compliant with best practices. Auditing the security of Active Directory (AD) is a
crucial task to ensure the integrity and security of an organization's IT environment. Here's a structured
approach to conducting this analysis:

1. Preparation
- Define Scope:
-- Determine the extent of the Active Directory environment to be analyzed, including domains, forests,
organizational units, and trust relationships.
- Approvals and Permissions:
-- Obtain necessary approvals and permissions for conducting the audit.
-- Notify relevant stakeholders, including IT staff and management, about the audit process and
objectives.
- Gather Documentation:
-- Collect existing documentation on the AD environment, including network diagrams showing domain
structure and trust relationships, AD schema, AD design documents, Group Policy Objects (GPOs),
security policies, previous audit reports, and configuration settings.
-- Get information about Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans.
- Set Objectives:
-- Clearly define the objectives of the security analysis, such as identifying vulnerabilities, ensuring
compliance with security policies, enhancing security policies, preparing for an external security audit,
and improving overall security posture.

2. Initial Assessment
- Inventory AD Objects:
-- Create an inventory of all AD objects, including AD Domains, domain controllers, users, groups,
groups membership, computers, and organizational units (OUs).
-- Document Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and their linkages. This inventory will provide a clear
understanding of your AD environment's scope and complexity.
- Review AD Structure:
-- Assess the AD structure, including domain and forest functional levels, and the use of OUs for
delegation and management.
-- Review administrative delegation model and privileged groups.
-- Assess authentication protocols and Kerberos settings.
- Examine Trusts:
-- Review all trust relationships between domains and forests to ensure they are necessary and secure.

3. Account and Group Analysis

- User Accounts:
-- Check for inactive, orphaned, obsolete, unused, dormant, or disabled accounts.
-- Identify accounts with no password expiration.
-- Check password policies, including complexity, expiration, and history requirements. Ensure strong
password policies are in place. Consider using tools like Hashcat or John the Ripper.
-- Review lockout policies to ensure they are appropriately configured to mitigate brute force attacks.
-- Audit user permissions to ensure they are appropriate for their roles.
- Privileged Accounts:
-- Review accounts with elevated privileges, such as Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, and other
privileged groups. Check the permissions of all administrative accounts, ensuring that they follow the
principle of least privilege.
-- Verify that privileged accounts, such as Domain Admins and Enterprise Admins, are used sparingly
and appropriately. Ensure that these accounts are monitored.
- Group Memberships:
-- Analyze group memberships to ensure users have appropriate access rights.
-- Review memberships of privileged groups such as Domain Admins, Enterprise Admins, and Schema
Admins.
-- Review the membership and permissions of built-in and custom administrative groups.
-- Identify any nested group structures that may complicate security by granting excessive permissions.
- Examine Access Control Lists (ACLs):
-- Review file and folder permissions, especially for sensitive data.
-- Overly permissive ACLs granting access to unauthorized users or groups
-- Missing ACLs that leave data unprotected

4. Policy and Configuration Review

- Group Policy Objects (GPOs):
-- Examine GPOs for security settings, such as user rights assignments, audit policies, and security
options. Verify the enforcement of these policies.
 -- Ensure GPOs are linked appropriately and do not contain redundant or conflicting settings.
-- Verify GPO inheritance and application
-- Use the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) to analyze GPOs.
- Security Settings:
-- Assess account lockout policies, password policies, disabled firewalls, and other security-related
settings.
-- Review AD security settings and configurations against industry best practices and security
benchmarks (e.g., CIS Benchmarks, Microsoft Security Baselines).
-- Check for Unconstrained Delegation, which can allow an attacker to move laterally through your
network. Use tools like BloodHound to identify potential delegation issues.

5. Access Control and Permissions

- Permissions Review:
-- Audit permissions on AD objects (including files and folders), including user and group permissions.
Ensure that they are appropriately restricted.
-- Check for overly permissive access controls. Ensure permissions follow the principle of least
privilege.
-- Use tools like Accesschk, Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC), or PowerShell cmdlets to
review permissions on AD objects. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA). AD Explorer.
- Access Control Lists (ACLs):
-- Review ACLs on critical AD objects and administrative accounts.
-- Check for any overly permissive ACLs that could lead to security vulnerabilities.
-- Find missing ACLs leaving data unprotected.
-- Use ADUC, command-line tools like icacls.exe, or Microsoft's ACL Analyzer for ACL review.
- Review Domain and Forest Trusts:
-- Ensure trusts are established securely and only with authorized domains.
-- Trust configurations (one-way vs. two-way)
-- Authentication methods used for trust communication

6. Configuration and Hardening

- Secure Domain Controllers:
 -- Ensure physical and logical security of domain controllers (e.g., restrict access, disable unnecessary
services).
- DNS Security:
-- Review and secure DNS settings, as DNS is integral to AD functionality.
- Secure Protocols:
-- Disable insecure protocols (e.g., LM, NTLMv1) and ensure the use of secure authentication methods
(e.g., Kerberos).
- Review Trust Configurations:
-- Check the trust relationships between AD domains and external forests.
-- Ensure that trusts are necessary and configured with appropriate security settings.
- Review Replication Settings:
-- Check replication topology and schedules to ensure that they meet organizational requirements.
-- Audit Detailed Directory Service Replication
-- Monitor replication health and resolve any replication issues.

7. Logging and Monitoring

- Audit Policies:
-- Ensure auditing is enabled for critical events, such as logon attempts, account lockout events, account
changes, object access, and policy modifications. Audit policy configuration.
-- Enable Advanced Security Audit Policy
-- Audit Directory Service Access
- Log Review:
-- Regularly review security logs for suspicious activity and potential security incidents.
-- Implement a centralized logging solution for better log management and analysis.
-- Define alert rules and monitoring processes for suspicious activities
-- Automate Alerting Workflows: Automated alerting workflows can help you respond more quickly to
potential security threats

8. Vulnerability Assessment
- Security Tools:
-- Use security tools and scripts to automate the assessment of AD security.
 -- Perform regular vulnerability scans to identify and remediate weaknesses.
-- Ensure all domain controllers are up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates.
-- Use specialized AD security assessment tools (e.g., Microsoft's Attack Surface Analyzer)
-- Test for common AD vulnerabilities (e.g., Kerberos attacks, privilege escalation, etc.)
-- Assess the security of AD-integrated applications and services
-- Identify sensitive data stored in AD, such as password hashes and private keys.
- Penetration Testing:
-- Conduct periodic penetration tests to simulate attacks and identify potential vulnerabilities.

9. Remediation and Mitigation

- Action Plan:
-- Develop an action plan to address identified vulnerabilities and weaknesses.
-- Prioritize remediation efforts based on the risk level and potential impact.
-- Schedule automated reports on security events. Implementing real-time security monitoring tools
-- Conduct periodic reviews of AD security posture
-- Develop and maintain an incident response plan specific to AD security incidents.
-- Define roles and responsibilities for incident handling
-- Test and validate your incident response plan through tabletop exercises or simulations
- Implement Changes:
-- Implement a change management process for AD modifications
-- Apply necessary changes to configurations, policies, and permissions.
-- Ensure changes are tested in a controlled environment before deployment.

10. Backup and Recovery

- Backup Policies:
-- Verify that AD backups are being performed regularly and stored securely.
- Recovery Plan:
-- Ensure there is a tested recovery plan in place for AD disasters or data loss scenarios. Verify that
backup procedures are tested and documented.
11. Documentation and Reporting
- Document Findings:
-- Record all findings, issues, misconfigurations, and vulnerabilities discovered during the audit.
-- Maintain detailed documentation of the security analysis, including identified issues, remediation
steps, and improvements made.
- Report to Stakeholders:
-- Prepare and present a comprehensive report to stakeholders, highlighting key findings and
recommended actions for remediation and improvements. Prioritize the identified issues.
- Continuous Improvement:
-- Establish a process for continuous monitoring and regular security reviews to ensure ongoing
protection of the AD environment.
-- Plan for regular follow-up audits to ensure continued compliance and security. Keep abreast of the
latest security trends and updates related to AD security.
-- Establish a regular review and update process for AD security policies, configurations, and
procedures.
-- Stay updated on the latest AD security threats, vulnerabilities, and best practices
-- Monitor the implementation of remediation measures and their effectiveness.

12. Training and Awareness

- Security Training:
-- Provide regular training for IT staff on AD security best practices and emerging threats.
- User Awareness:
-- Educate end-users on security policies and practices to minimize risks from social engineering and
other attacks.