Service accounts are vital to any enterprise that runs automated processes, such as program or script management. However, without proper monitoring, they can pose a significant security risk due to their elevated privileges. This guide will help you find and protect these accounts Active catalog (AD) and learn how Silverfort solutions can help improve your organization’s security.
Understanding Security Accounts
Service accounts are specialized Active Directory accounts that provide the necessary security context for services running on servers. Unlike user accountsthey are not tied to individuals, but allow services and applications to interact autonomously with the network. Because of their high-level permissions, service accounts are attractive targets for attackers if left unchecked. Therefore, proper management and monitoring are critical to prevent a security breach.
Search for service accounts in Active Directory
Due to the large number of accounts in an enterprise and the complexity of AD structures, search for service accounts can be a difficult but important task.
There are countless service accounts in any organization, and more are being created every day. These accounts can become high-risk assets that, if left unchecked, can allow threats to spread across the network undetected. To learn more about this eBook security blind spots of work accounts and get advice on how to protect them.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you identify these accounts in AD:
- Review of documentation: Start with existing inventory lists or documentation that may contain service account information, including names, descriptions, and associated programs or scripts.
- Use Active Directory tools: Use the built-in Active Directory tools to find work accounts. One commonly used tool is the Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC) console. Open ADUC, navigate to your domain, and use the search function to filter out accounts with certain attributes commonly associated with service accounts, such as “ServiceAccount” in the description field.
- Look for special account flags: Service accounts often have special account flags that indicate their purpose. These flags can include “DONT_EXPIRE_PASSWORD” or “PASSWORD_NOT_REQUIRED”. You can use PowerShell commands or LDAP queries to find accounts with these flags.
- Check your group membership: Service accounts are often members of specific security groups that give them the necessary permissions to perform their tasks. Review memberships in groups such as Domain Administrators, Enterprise Administrators, or other groups known to have elevated privileges.
- Dependency Monitor: Verify that applications or services are running properly from service accounts. Check with application owners or system administrators to gather the appropriate information about service accounts.
- Audit logs: Regularly monitor event logs on domain controllers and other servers for activities such as login attempts or password changes that may indicate the use of a work account.
Remember that in addition to taking an inventory of service accounts, it’s important to regularly review and update their permissions, enforce strong password policies, and monitor their activity to ensure the security of your Active Directory environment. By following these steps, you can effectively reduce the risks associated with service accounts and strengthen your overall security posture.
Silverfort automated detection and monitoring
Silverfort provides an automated solution for identifying and monitoring service accounts in your environment. Thanks to its native integration with Active Directory, Silverfort analyzes every access attempt – regardless of the authentication protocol used – and automatically classifies any predictable and repetitive behavior typical of service accounts. Once identified, these accounts are protected by access policies.
This system ensures that any abnormal activity triggers immediate protective actions, such as blocking access to resources. Silverfort’s “virtual fencing” provides organizations with robust protection, ensuring that service accounts are protected from possible misuse by attackers.
Conclusion
In today’s cybersecurity landscape, management and protecting service accounts in Active Directory is critical to network security. Silverfort’s automated discovery, activity monitoring, and access policy generation offer a comprehensive solution that gives businesses peace of mind knowing their service accounts are secure, thereby reducing the risk of a hack.
Looking for a way to protect your service accounts? Contact our experts to find out how Silverfort can help.
