7 tips to protect your Active Directory while working remotely

If your employee is remotely logging inside your corporate network, and an active access spot is created and this spot can be the notification sign for hackers to target a network and breach your systems. Considering that most organizations are using Active Directory (AD) as their identity and access management tool, securing the AD is the foremost thing IT department needs to do during this global pandemic.

With most companies forced to operate remotely without having sufficient time to prepare for this pandemic, their operational efficiency is always the priority over other options, and definitely cybersecurity isn’t their priority now as business continuity is the primary goal. However, without proper security hackers could breach the systems, and then business continuity will be in crisis. Especially with the amount of COVID-19 phishing scams in the web, employees could easily fall victim to one of the malicious links, or attachments.

Additionally, the sudden switch in work culture, had no time for enabling the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) for the right individuals. With RDP enabled on non-privileged users, a simple hack into the RDP via an existing vulnerability or through macro, the cyber criminals will not be inside just the infected system, but the entire network. In this article, we’ll see seven tips to secure your AD from cyber criminals, while your employees are working from home.

Seven tips to secure your Active Directory from cyber criminals

IT managers should start with strengthening their AD passwords, employing a secure VPN for all remote access, and also activating their multi-factor authentication procedures to ensure robust foundational security is in place for your AD environment.

1. Securing external access

Employing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for remote access to your corporate network, and also by limiting only to the authorized devices can ensure a decent security.

2. Strong password policies

Device passwords should be updated every 30 days, especially during the pandemic. In normal days, this be 90 days. Also defining strong passwords, by using alphabets, numbers, special characters, and a combination of upper and lower case letters can be an efficient way. Along with strong passwords, authentication methods need to be solidified using multi-factor authentication methods.

3. Deploying patches ASAP

Deploying a patch was usually done after a certain period of time during normal days, considering the issues with patches, roll ups and productivity hits. System administrators usually test it and deploy it after sometime, however now things have to be ramped up. Employing a patch management tool like PatchMyPC, Ivanti, VMware can come in handy.

4. Backup, Backup, Backup

Backups are imperative during these times, even if your data is compromised by some unforeseen cyberattack, with backups at least you can get back to business. Yes, there would be some penalties and reputation loss if there is a data breach, but without backups there is no chance of starting over where it was left.

5. Employ antivirus solutions

Antivirus solutions like Kaspersky, Avast, McAfee, BullGuard, or Norton to keep your devices secured, if you are looking to employ the best one, please check the best antivirus solutions of 2020. These tools can help detect Trojans, ransomware, and other malware if they are in any of your devices, and can help you quarantine that device from the rest of the network, or remove it using their capabilities.

6. Data leakage management

Identify data map of your organizations, sketch the overall data management lifecycle of your infrastructure. Data entry points, devices involved, validity of data, type of data, their storage, process involved and deletion, all these stages have to be studied, and proper data security configuration and policies have to be deployed at each stage to ensure the entire journey of the data is safe, smooth and secured. Businesses can also employ data leakage management tools to secure their data.

7. Cybersecurity awareness and leadership

Evangelize cybersecurity best practices to your remote workforce either through webinars, or blogs. Ensure they understand what is happening in the cyber industry and how should they keep themselves and the organizations data secured from an external threat. 

Few days back we published an article regarding how to stay safe against camfecting (webcam hack), during this pandemic. If a person’s personal life can be hacked using camfecting, imagine what these cyberattacks to businesses, webcam hacks aren’t just about webcams, it’s an entire system hack can jeopardize your business.

If you are looking to ensure effective AD security management for your business, please check the best AD security management software of 2020.

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