Protect passwords previously compromised in security breaches within your Active Directory
In today's digital world, securing sensitive data from cyber threats is more crucial than ever. One of the primary entry points for attackers is weak and breached passwords, particularly in Active Directory (AD) environments and SaaS applications. To combat this, companies can employ tools like Specops Password Auditor and Specops Password Policy.
Specops Password Auditor is a read-only tool designed to proactively scan Active Directory environments for weak, reused, and breached passwords. It offers visibility into risky accounts, such as service accounts with high privileges, which are often targets for attacks like Kerberoasting. This audit enables security teams to identify and remediate weak or compromised credentials before attackers can exploit them [3].
On the other hand, Specops Password Policy integrates directly with Active Directory domain controllers, enforcing strong password policies by blocking weak or breached passwords at creation time. It uses real-time checks against a vast global database of over 4 billion compromised passwords and custom ban-lists, preventing users from setting risky passwords [2][3]. The policy can be finely tuned using organizational unit-based policies and supports integration with multifactor authentication (MFA) and Self Service Password Reset (SSPR) systems for comprehensive security.
Together, these tools provide a layered defense by continuously scanning AD for exposed or breached passwords and weak configurations, automating the reset or blocking of compromised passwords, enforcing strong, unique passphrases, supporting MFA and self-service resets, and offering auditing and reporting capabilities [2][3].
In addition to these tools, it's essential to adopt best practices such as educating users on password risks and phishing threats, integrating with endpoint and identity detection technologies for real-time attack detection, and monitoring and hardening AD against advanced threats [2][3][5].
The importance of these measures is underscored by recent events. For instance, a breach at Nvidia resulted in the leak of 71,000 employee credentials, which can be purchased and tested against additional accounts [4]. Cyber-attacks can start with a compromise of an employee's personal account before moving on to business accounts and data [6]. With the widespread adoption of SaaS services, the attack surface for businesses increases [7].
Moreover, the average company uses 254 applications, more than half of which are not managed by the IT department [8]. Stolen Active Directory credentials can be used by attackers to take over a company's infrastructure [6]. Compromised credentials can allow hackers to operate undetected and escalate attacks on other systems [6].
In a recent survey, it was found that 78% of employees who had received 'a lot' of cybersecurity training still reused their passwords [9]. Weak password practices are common among end-users, with 99% of users reportedly reusing passwords [10].
To mitigate these risks, the Specops Password Policy with the Breached Password Protection service can actively block users from selecting breached passwords. It updates its list of compromised passwords daily and provides valuable information indicating the severity of an organization's password vulnerabilities in over 15 different areas [2][3].
In summary, Specops Password Auditor and Specops Password Policy provide comprehensive prevention and mitigation for breached passwords by combining proactive scanning, policy enforcement, and automated remediation tightly integrated with Active Directory environments. This significantly reduces the risk of compromised and reused credentials leading to breaches in AD and SaaS platforms [2][3].
To fortify cybersecurity in the digital world, where data breaches pose significant threats, companies can utilise Specops Password Auditor for proactive scanning of weak, reused, and breached passwords in Active Directory (AD) environments and SaaS applications. On the other hand, Specops Password Policy, when integrated with Active Directory domain controllers, enforces strong password policies by blocking weak or breached passwords at creation time, thus improving overall cybersecurity through the use of technology.
