Active Directory Security Assessments

Overview

Active Directory (AD) is the backbone of identity and access management for most organizations. It controls who can access what, enforces security policies across the environment, and manages the credentials that protect your most critical systems and data. In short, Active Directory holds the keys to your kingdom.

A misconfigured Active Directory environment is one of the most dangerous security risks an organization can have. Attackers who gain a foothold in your network will almost always attempt to exploit AD weaknesses to escalate privileges, move laterally, and ultimately achieve domain compromise. Misconfigurations in user accounts, group policies, access control lists, trust relationships, and password policies can all provide the path an adversary needs to take full control of your environment.

At Redfox Cybersecurity, we perform Active Directory security assessments by enumerating and analyzing the full scope of your AD environment, including users, groups, computers, domains, domain controllers, trusts, forests, password policies, ACLs, GPOs, shares, and numerous other touchpoints that adversaries or malicious insiders can exploit. Our assessments reveal the true state of your Active Directory security hygiene and provide the actionable guidance needed to protect your organization's IT infrastructure.

What is an Active Directory Security Assessment?

An Active Directory security assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of the security controls, configurations, and permissions within your AD environment. It identifies misconfigurations, excessive privileges, weak authentication controls, and other vulnerabilities that could lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, or full domain compromise.

Our team of cybersecurity specialists performs a thorough analysis of your AD infrastructure, focusing on user accounts, group policies, permissions, domain controllers, trust relationships, and authentication mechanisms. Every finding is mapped to its potential business impact and accompanied by clear, prioritized remediation guidance.

Our Active Directory security assessment examines the following areas:

• User accounts, privileges, and access controls
• Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and policy configurations
• Domain controllers and replication settings
• Trust relationships and forest configurations
• Password policies and authentication mechanisms
• Access Control Lists (ACLs) and delegation settings
• Dormant, orphaned, and over-privileged accounts
• Kerberoastable and AS-REP roastable accounts
• Service accounts and privileged identity exposure
• Active Directory attack path analysis

How We Carry Out an Active Directory Security Assessment

Our process is thorough, structured, and tailored to the specific configuration and business context of your Active Directory environment.

1. Scoping

We work closely with your team to define the scope of the assessment, taking into account your specific AD environment, domain structure, business requirements, and compliance needs. This ensures our assessment is precisely aligned to your objectives and risk profile.

2. Configuration Review

Our team conducts a comprehensive review of your Active Directory configurations, including domain controllers, group policies, domain structure, replication settings, and trust relationships. We assess adherence to security best practices and identify misconfigurations or weaknesses that could be exploited by an attacker.

3. User Account Analysis

We analyze user accounts across your AD environment to identify potential security risks including weak passwords, excessive privileges, dormant or orphaned accounts, over-privileged service accounts, and improper access controls. This assessment strengthens the overall security of your user identities and access management.

4. Group Policy Evaluation

Our specialists assess the effectiveness of your Group Policy Objects and evaluate their impact on security across the environment. We identify misconfigurations, overly permissive policies, and conflicting settings that may introduce vulnerabilities or weaken your security controls.

5. Authentication Mechanisms Review

We review the authentication mechanisms used within your Active Directory infrastructure, including password policies, multi-factor authentication controls, Kerberos configurations, NTLM usage, and smart card implementation. We identify weaknesses in authentication security and provide targeted recommendations for improvement.

6. Attack Path Analysis

We identify and map privilege escalation paths and attack chains within your AD environment, demonstrating how an attacker with limited initial access could chain misconfigurations and permissions together to achieve domain compromise. This analysis gives your team a clear view of your highest-priority remediation targets.

7. Reporting and Recommendations

You receive a detailed report outlining every finding from the assessment, including identified vulnerabilities, potential risks, their business impact, and prioritized, actionable remediation recommendations. Our team is available to guide you through implementation of security improvements and best practices to harden your Active Directory environment.