Active Directory Audit is a comprehensive analysis of the access control system aimed at assessing its security, efficiency and compliance with best practices. Since Active Directory is a critical element of a company’s infrastructure, an audit helps identify potential risks that can arise from configuration errors, excessive access rights, or outdated settings.
As part of the audit, experts examine the current configuration, assess account and access management processes, and test the system’s resilience to threats. The results of the analysis include recommendations to strengthen protection, optimize access control, and ensure Active Directory is stable and up-to-date.
Testing types
User Account Auditing
User Account Auditing is an audit of the configuration and management of accounts in Active Directory. The goal is to ensure that user accounts are configured securely, up to date, and meet the minimum required access guidelines. This audit helps identify potential risks associated with unused, outdated, or excessive access rights.
During the audit process, experts evaluate current account organization, activity and security to identify weaknesses in access management. The final report includes recommendations for improving account management to minimize risk and improve overall system security.
Group Membership Auditing
Group Membership Auditing is an analysis of the group structure and access rights distribution in Active Directory. The goal is to ensure that group members have the appropriate level of privileges and access only to the resources that are necessary for their work. This helps prevent excessive access rights that could pose a security risk.
During an audit, experts evaluate the current organization of groups, their hierarchy, and associated privileges. The results of the analysis help identify inconsistencies in access management and provide recommendations for optimizing group structure to improve security and simplify access management.
GPO (Group Policy Objects) Auditing
GPO Auditing is an audit of Group Policy Objects settings in Active Directory. The goal is to assess how effectively and securely the management policies that determine the behavior of users and computers on the network are configured. Auditing helps identify configuration errors, redundant settings, or policies that may weaken overall security.
During the audit, experts analyze current group policies, their application and their impact on system security. The final report contains recommendations for optimizing and correcting settings to improve policy management and ensure compliance with current security requirements.
Permission Auditing
Permission Auditing is an audit of the permissions settings in Active Directory. The goal is to ensure that access permissions to resources and data are granted only to the users and groups that really need them. This audit helps to identify excessive privileges, incorrect settings, and potential access vulnerabilities.
As part of the audit, specialists evaluate current access rights to files, folders, services and other critical resources. The results of the analysis include recommendations for optimizing permissions to minimize the risk of unauthorized access and strengthen data protection.
Policy Auditing
Policy Auditing is an audit of the security and access control policies in place in Active Directory. The goal is to ensure that the policies are in line with best practices and provide reliable protection for resources. This helps identify weaknesses, such as insufficiently strict rules or outdated settings that can weaken security.
During an audit, experts analyze current security policies, their enforcement, and their impact on the system. The final report includes recommendations for updating or strengthening policies, allowing the company to better protect its infrastructure and create a more resilient and secure environment for users and data.
Login and Access Auditing
Login and Access Auditing is an audit of the authorization and access control processes in Active Directory. The goal is to assess how well the login and access control mechanisms are configured to prevent unauthorized use of accounts and resources. This audit helps identify potential threats associated with insecure authorization methods or incorrect access distribution.
During the audit, experts analyze login logs, authentication settings, and access levels for different users and groups. Audit results include recommendations to improve the security of authorization and access control processes, which helps protect the system from compromise attempts and strengthen control over access to critical resources.
Computer and Server Auditing
Computer and Server Auditing is an audit of the configuration and security of computers and servers managed through Active Directory. The goal is to ensure that the devices are configured correctly, protected from threats, and meet the company’s security requirements. This audit helps identify potential vulnerabilities caused by incorrect settings or outdated configurations.
During the audit, experts analyze the security settings of devices, their connections to Active Directory, as well as current updates and applied policies. The final report includes recommendations for improving computer and server protection, which helps minimize risks and ensure stable operation of the infrastructure.
Service Account Auditing
Service Account Auditing is an audit of the configuration and security of service accounts in Active Directory. Service accounts often have extended privileges to perform automated tasks, making them an important element of the infrastructure and a potential target for attackers. The goal of auditing is to ensure that these accounts are protected and configured according to the principles of minimum necessary access.
During the audit, experts analyze the use of service accounts, their activity, privileges and security measures in place, such as password complexity and frequency of password updates. Audit results include recommendations to optimize settings to minimize the risk of compromise and ensure that service processes are operating reliably.
Auditing Domain Controllers (DCs)
Auditing Domain Controllers is about auditing the security and configuration of Domain Controllers, which are a key component of Active Directory. Domain Controllers are responsible for access control, authentication, and storage of directory data, making them critical to the entire infrastructure. The goal of an audit is to ensure that DCs are configured securely and protected from potential threats.
During the audit, experts evaluate the domain controllers’ configuration, security, updates, and monitoring processes. The final report provides recommendations to improve DC security, minimize the risks of unauthorized access and ensure stable operation of the domain infrastructure.
Change Auditing
Change Auditing is the process of auditing changes made to the Active Directory configuration, including user, group, policy, and access rights settings. The goal is to track and analyze changes to prevent unauthorized actions, detect errors, and ensure compliance with security requirements. This helps maintain management visibility and control over critical infrastructure changes.
As part of Change Auditing, experts examine change logs, analyze the validity of changes, and verify that they comply with the organization’s security policies. The results of Change Auditing help identify outliers, improve change management processes, and make Active Directory more resilient to internal and external threats.
