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Implementing Zero Trust Principles in Your Active Directory

 

In the past, many organizations relied on secure perimeters to trust users and devices. However, this approach is no longer viable with the geographical dispersion of workers and the need for access from various locations and devices. End-users now require access to corporate systems and cloud applications outside traditional work boundaries, expecting seamless and fast authentication processes.

Consequently, numerous organizations have adopted a zero-trust model to verify users accessing their data, recognizing Active Directory as a critical component of network authentication. Ensuring the security of credentials stored within Active Directory is paramount, prompting the question of how zero trust principles can be applied to maintain security.

The zero trust model, characterized by the principle of "never trust, always verify," requires authentication and authorization of every user, device, and network component before accessing resources or data. Implementing this model involves constructing a multi-layered security framework encompassing various technologies, processes, and policies.

One fundamental step in securing Active Directory environments is enforcing the principle of least privilege, which restricts privileges to the minimum necessary for individuals or entities to perform their tasks. This mitigates the risks associated with privileged accounts, reducing the potential impact of security breaches or insider threats.

Implementing a zero trust model also entails granting elevated privileges, such as admin rights, only when necessary and for limited durations. Techniques for achieving "just-in-time" privilege escalation include the ESAE (Red Forest) model and temporary admin accounts.

Additionally, employing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for password resets enhances security by adding extra layers of authentication beyond passwords. This mitigates vulnerabilities in password reset processes, which are often targeted by hackers through social engineering tactics.

Moreover, scanning for compromised passwords is crucial for enhancing password security. Despite the implementation of zero trust principles, passwords remain vulnerable to various attacks such as phishing and data breaches. Continuous scanning for compromised passwords and promptly blocking them in Active Directory helps prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems.

Specops Password Policy offers a solution for scanning and blocking compromised passwords, ensuring network protection from real-world password attacks. By integrating such services, organizations can enhance their password security measures and adapt them to their specific needs.

Solutions like Specops Software provide valuable tools and support through demos or free trials for organisations seeking to bolster their Active Directory security and password policies.

Passkeys: Your Safe Vault for Data Security


Passwords need to be fixed. They're difficult to remember and simple to guess, and protecting them from threat actors is a hassle. To take care of this issue, the Fast Identity Online Alliance (FIDO) created passkeys, a type of passwordless authentication tech. Passkeys take out the need to enter your email address or secret key into login handles around the web, making it harder for threat actors to take your credentials and get into your data.

What is a Passkey?

A passkey is a way of signing in to applications and sites without using a username and secret word mix. It's a couple of cryptography keys created by your gadget. Public and confidential keys squeeze to make a passkey that opens your record. Applications or sites store your unique public key. Your confidential key is just put away on your device, and after your device authenticates your identity, the two keys join to allow you to log in to your record.

Advantages of Passkeys

Passkeys have a lot of advantages; for instance, they can't be assumed or shared. Passkeys are safe from phishing attempts since they're unknown to the destinations they're made for, so they won't chip away at fake carbon copy locations. In particular, if your info is ever leaked, your passkeys can't be taken by hacking into an organization's server or data set, making the information taken out in such hacks less important to threat actors

The most effective method to Get Passkeys

Passkeys are one of a kind to each application or site and are put away in a secret phrase director's vault or your device’s keychain. Normally, the device or programming producing the passkeys uses a biometric verification instrument, like FaceID or TouchID, to confirm your identity. On the off chance that a secret hint is the passkey source, you can sign in to the application using areas of strength for a secret word rather than biometric verification.

Passkeys: Where can we use them?

Many websites, including Best Buy, eBay, Google, Kayak, and PayPal, support passkeys. 1Password, a password management company, has a community site where users may report websites that allow passkey logins. Some of the sites on that list still require a standard username and password for initial account creation and logins, such as Adobe.com, but you can set up a passkey to use for future logins by accessing the Settings menu.


New Password-sharing Rule from Netflix Can Annoy Users


Netflix puts a stop to password-sharing

Netflix is bringing new rules to stop password sharing. It can be good news for Netflix and its investors hoping to increase revenue. But it surely is bad news for customers, their families, and their friends.  

So Netflix is using a unique multi-step process for bringing out this unpopular change. First, it warned everyone about it in advance. After that, it slowly started bringing out changes in secondary markets in Latin America before touching the Canada and U.S., where Netflix gets 44% of its revenue. 

When will the new password-sharing rule apply

The company said that new changes might come in more places in the first months of 2023. In its newest edition, it has given more information about how the password crackdown might actually help, but it hasn't provided enough info for customers to understand how it will affect them. Or when. 

These are smart tactics from a smart company. The reaction to this latest change on social media and media is not positive. By the time these new changes are implemented in the U.S., it will feel like old news. 

Users who do password sharing may actually create new accounts, or switch to other streaming platforms like Amazon Prime, Disney+, or Hulu instead. The new rule might also trigger some existing customers to cancel their subscriptions. However, it is unlikely to see large numbers of people quit Netflix because the outrage will be dampened by then. 

New password-sharing rules will annoy users

Even if you're not a user who shares their Netflix password, the new rules can annoy you at some point- if you're traveling or watching Netflix at a cafe or at someone else's home. Netflix said the user might be asked to verify their devices in certain situations when the user is away from home. The company assures that "Verifying a device is quick and easy." 

If the process sounds complex to you, you may be thinking "how many times will I have to go through this process." Unfortunately, there's no immediate answer to this as Netflix hasn't provided many details about that. It said that if a user is away from a Netflix household for a certain amount of time, you may be sometimes asked to verify their device. 

Password-sharing may ask for periodic verifications

The rules also say that the user may have to verify their device "periodically." But if you're at home, you won't have to do it as Netflix will recognize your device from your IP address and device ID. It can annoy users who are concerned about sharing their data. 

Is the crackdown on password sharing a stupid move, especially during a time when streaming platform competition is at an all-time high? Or was Netflix foolish in the past to have a rule that it knew people would break? Will the vast number of freeloaders really buy their own Netflix accounts, or will they simply ask their friends to share the 4-digit OTP? 

We will know the answers only when the new password-sharing rule is brought in.

What Are Rainbow Table Attacks and How to Safeguard Against Them?

 

We all use password protection, which is an effective access control method. It is likely to continue to be a crucial component of cybersecurity for years to come. On the contrary hand, cybercriminals use a variety of techniques to break passwords and gain access without authorization. This includes attacks using rainbow tables. How dangerous are rainbow table attacks, though, and what are they? What can you do, more importantly, to defend yourself from them?

Passwords are never stored in plain text on any platform or application that takes security seriously. In other words, if your password is "password123" (which it should not be for obvious reasons), it won't be stored as such and will instead be stored as a string of letters and numbers.

Password hashing is the process of transforming plain text into an apparently random string of characters. And algorithms, which are automated programs that make use of mathematical formulas to randomize and obfuscate plain text, are used to hash passwords. The most popular hashing formulas include MD5, SHA, Whirlpool, BCrypt, and PBKDF2.

The result of running the password "password123" through the MD5 algorithm is 482c811da5d5b4bc6d497ffa98491e38. The hashed version of "password123" is represented by this string of characters, which is how your password would be stored online.

Therefore, let's assume that you are logging into your email account. You enter the password after entering your username or email address. When you enter plain text into the email service, it automatically converts it to its hashed value and compares it to the hashed value it initially stored when you set up your password. You are authenticated and given access to your account if the values match.
Then, what would happen in a typical rainbow table attack? 

The threat actor would need to acquire password hashes first. They would either conduct a cyberattack or figure out a way to get around a company's security measures to accomplish this. Or they might spend money on a dark web dump of stolen hashes.

Rainbow Table Attacks and How They Work

The hashes would then be converted to plain text. Obviously, in a rainbow table attack, the attacker would use a rainbow table to accomplish this. Philippe Oechslin, an IT expert, invented rainbow tables based on the research of cryptologist and mathematician Martin Hellman. Rainbow tables, named after the colors that represent different functions within a table, reduce the time required to convert a hash to plain text, permitting the cybercriminal to carry out the attack more effectively.

In a typical brute force attack, the threat actor would have to decode each hashed password separately, calculate thousands of word combinations, and then compare them. This trial-and-error method still works and will probably always work, but it is time-consuming. An attacker would only need to run an obtained password hash through a database of hashes, then repeatedly split and reduce it until the plain text is revealed in a rainbow table attack.

This is how rainbow table attacks work in a nutshell. After cracking a password, a threat actor has a plethora of options for what to do next. They can target their victim in a variety of ways, gaining unauthorized access to a wide range of sensitive data, including information related to online baking and other similar activities.

How to Prevent Rainbow Table Attacks

Rainbow table attacks are less common than they once were, but they continue to pose a significant threat to organizations of all sizes, as well as individuals.  Here are five things you can do to prevent a rainbow table attack.

1. Set Up Complex Passwords
2. Use Multi-Factor Authentication
3. Diversify Your Passwords
4. Avoid Weak Hashing Algorithms

Password security is critical in preventing unauthorized access and various types of cyberattacks. However, it entails more than just coming up with a memorable phrase.

To improve your overall cybersecurity, you must first understand how password protection works before taking steps to safeguard your accounts. This may be overwhelming for some, but using dependable authentication methods and a password manager can make a significant difference.

Why are Passwords Phasing Out in 2023? Here's Everything You Need to Know

 

You are not alone if you dislike using passwords. Passwords are inconvenient, forgettable, and often not the best security solution for most of us. The best part is that passwords are likely to become obsolete. Passwords will be phased out for a few websites by 2023. 

Why are passwords becoming outdated? Eventually, a password-free future will become a reality. IT managers and security professionals have long sought better password authentication alternatives. Here are some of the reasons why:


Weak Security

Passwords are vulnerable to dictionary attacks, brute-force attacks, and other standard password-hacking techniques. Even if you use good password practices and create super-strong passwords, you could be a victim of a social engineering attack.

You may forget your master password if you utilize a password manager. In such a situation, gaining access to saved passwords can be extremely difficult. The sale of stolen passwords on the dark web demonstrates that passwords are not a secure authentication method.

High Cost

Password creation, entry, and reset all take time. As a result, using passwords as an authentication method costs money. According to a Yubico-sponsored study, an average user spends 10.9 hours per year setting, entering, and resetting passwords. Users might be surprised to learn that password-related activities cost large corporations an average of $5.2 million per year.

Inadequate User Experience


Most of us dislike creating strong passwords, remembering them, and entering them each time we access a device or account. This is why the majority of users despise passwords. Worse, because people must remember passwords, we tend to create weak ones. Utilizing a password manager makes managing passwords easier. However, not everyone wants to use a password manager to manage their passwords.  

What Is Replacing Passwords?

If you're thinking about passwordless authentication for your company or just browsing the web and wondering how you will get into your accounts, the following options are becoming more popular.

Authentication with Multiple Factors

To verify your identity, multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires more than one factor or element. Passwords are frequently replaced with PINs or OTPs in the multi-factor authentication method. Other methods include biometrics, codes on authenticator apps, codes in emails, and so on.

With so many passwordless authentication tools available, you can easily implement MFA in your company. MFA can be secure, but you should be aware of MFA fatigue attacks to be on the safe side.

Behavioral recognition

Behavioral recognition takes into account multiple data points to generate a score that determines whether or not to trust a user to grant access to a device/resource. Keystroke dynamics, gait recognition, voice ID, mouse, and touch use characteristics, and location behavior are examples of data collected and analyzed in the behavioral authentication method.

Cards and Pins

Smart cards and pins provide a secure authentication method for creating, storing, and operating cryptographic keys. Smart cards, card readers, and authentication software programs are used in the smart card authentication method.

A smart card stores your public credentials as well as a personal identification number (PIN), which serves as the secret key for authentication. To gain access to a device/resource, you must insert your smart card into the card reader and enter your PIN.

The Advantages of Passwordless Authentication:

The following are the primary advantages of passwordless authentication:

Improved Cybersecurity

Passwordless authentication protects against password-related cyberattacks like brute force and dictionary attacks. Furthermore, passwordless authentication methods are frequently resistant to phishing. This is because users will not send any login credentials to a hacker via email or text. As a result, implementing passwordless authentication can help your company's cybersecurity.

Supply Chain Security Enhancement

Many supply chain attacks make use of stolen credentials and passwords. By removing passwords from your organization, you can guarantee that your digital assets are safe from supply chain attacks.

Cost-cutting measures

Passwordless logins can lower your company's operating costs over time because users don't have to spend time creating, entering, and managing passwords.

What's Next?


Passwordless logins are becoming more popular. Apple, Google, and Microsoft have joined forces to expand support for the FIDO Alliance and World Wide Web Consortium's passwordless sign-in standard.

Humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity. This explains why phishing and social engineering attacks are so effective. Password theft, password cracking, and credential theft can all be reduced by implementing passwordless authentication.