How to get control of your Active Directory (AD) using IAM

1. Get an overview of your AD

The first step to regaining control is understanding what’s in your AD. By connecting an IAM system to your AD with read-only access, you can generate detailed reports showing all the accounts, groups, and other resources within your domain.

You might be surprised—or even a little frightened—by what you find. Unused accounts, outdated security groups, and accounts with privileged access that no one’s monitoring are all common issues. But seeing these problems is the first step toward fixing them.

2. Start the cleanup process

With your overview in hand, it’s time to start cleaning up. Here’s how:

Account cleanup:
Begin by identifying who is responsible for each account, especially privileged and service accounts. This is crucial because unmonitored accounts are a significant security risk. If you find accounts that aren’t being used, don’t rush to delete them—start by deactivating them and see if anyone notices. This cautious approach helps ensure you don’t accidentally delete an account that’s still needed, perhaps for an annual task.

An IAM system can help streamline this process significantly. By granting it write access to your AD, much of the work can be automated. Additionally, some IAM systems equipped with AI support can even recommend who should review each account.

Security group cleanup:
Over time, most organizations accumulate a lot of security groups in their AD. Some might be used for critical security purposes, while others might be more trivial. Cleaning these up is vital because an attacker could potentially exploit an unused group to gain higher privileges.

To manage this, you can export your group data from the IAM system to Excel, where you can add more details and filter the groups to understand which ones are still relevant. As you clean up, consider creating new, more specific groups and gradually phasing out the old ones. Again, if your IAM system has write access, it can help streamline this process.

3. Approach cleanup as a project

Cleaning up your AD isn’t something you can do overnight. It’s a significant project that might take months or even years, depending on the size of your organization and the extent of the issues. 

For companies with in-house IAM and AD experts, this can be managed internally, but many companies find it beneficial to partner with experts who have experience with these kinds of projects.

 

4. Keep your AD clean with IAM

Once you’ve invested the time and effort to clean up your Active Directory, it’s crucial to keep it that way.

A well-maintained AD not only enhances security but also ensures that your organization remains compliant with industry standards and regulations. It's where your IAM system truly shines.

Establishing formal processes 
Your IAM system can help enforce these processes automatically. When a new employee joins, IAM ensures their account is created correctly with the right permissions. When someone leaves, it can automatically deactivate their account to prevent orphaned accounts.

Automating Identity Lifecycle Management
IAM systems can automate the entire identity lifecycle, adjusting access rights as employees change roles within the company. This automation ensures that permissions are always up-to-date, reducing the workload on IT and enhancing security by eliminating outdated access.

Regular access reviews and audits
Ongoing access reviews are crucial for maintaining AD security. Your IAM system can schedule these reviews automatically, ensuring that only the right people have access to sensitive data. It also provides detailed audit trails for compliance purposes, making it easier to meet regulatory requirements.

Empowering employees with self-service
Most IAM systems include self-service features that allow employees to request access on their own. This reduces IT workload and speeds up access approvals while maintaining security through automated workflows and approvals.

Integrating with security tools
An IAM system can identify suspicious activity and promptly trigger alerts or take immediate action, thereby preventing potential breaches from escalating. By integrating your IAM system with security monitoring tools, you add an additional layer of defense.

Secure your AD for the future

With these steps, you can significantly reduce the security risks associated with a cluttered and unmanaged Active Directory. Using an IAM system to clean up and maintain your AD not only improves security but also ensures compliance with IT standards.

The effort you invest now will pay off in a safer, more efficient IT environment for your organization.