Active Directory (AD) is a service developed by Microsoft that allows companies to centrally manage users, computers and security groups used to define access permissions to IT resources.
It can be compared to a central company directory. It contains the identities of employees, computers and other network elements, while also defining the different groups and permissions associated with them.
For example, when an employee logs in to their work computer using their username and password, Active Directory can verify their identity. It then determines which resources that person is authorised to access, such as shared folders, servers, applications or other internal services, based on their membership of one or more security groups.
Active Directory also allows IT teams to apply common rules across large numbers of users and computers. They can, for example, define password policies, manage employee accounts or restrict access to sensitive resources.
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This central role also makes Active Directory a particularly attractive target for cybercriminals. If an attacker manages to compromise an account with significant privileges in Active Directory, they may be able to gain additional access and move through the company’s IT environment.
Securing Active Directory is therefore essential. This involves good account and privilege management, multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible, monitoring for suspicious activity and restricting access rights to what is strictly necessary.
When properly configured and protected, Active Directory provides an effective way to control who can access what within a company’s IT environment.