Ina Nikolova

What Are the Differences Between Active Directory und Azure AD?

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As managed service providers we are often asked by the clients whether an on-premises Active Directory or Azure AD is the best option? The decision on this question is not easy to make, because more and more cloud services are also spreading into traditional data center environments. Even though Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and Microsoft Azure Active Directory look very similar, they are not interchangeable and there are a few key differences. Administrators considering a move to Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for the authentication and authorization, need to understand exactly how the cloud-based platform differs from a traditional on-premises Active Directory (AD). With Azure Active Directory, Microsoft offers a directory service for the cloud. Even though the name is similar to Active Directory, the differences are serious. In this article, we are going to compare Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) and examine the most important differences. A local Active Directory is initially a combination of several services to manage users and systems. These include the Active Directory Domain Services and the Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS). AD DS is the central database that provides all directory services. AD DS is therefore the actual core of an Active Directory. Microsoft Azure Active Directory cannot create and manage the same domains, trees and forests that AD DS can. Instead, Azure AD treats each organisation as its own tenant, accessing Azure AD through the Azure Portal to manage its employees, passwords and access rights. Companies that opt for one of Microsoft’s cloud services, be it Office 365 or Exchange Online, are tenants or subscribers of Azure AD. On one hand, Azure Active Directory is a multitenant, cloud-based directory and identity management service from Microsoft. It combines core directory services, application access management, and identity protection into a single solution. Furthermore, Azure Active Directory is designed to support web-based services that use REST API interfaces for Office 365, Salesforce.com, etc. Unlike pure Active Directory, it uses completely different protocols (Goodbye, Kerberos and NTLM) that work with service protocols such as SAML and Oauth 2.0. With Azure AD, single sign-on scenarios can be implemented very easily. In addition to seamless networking with all Microsoft online services, Azure AD can connect to hundreds of SaaS applications via single sign-on. In this way, employees can access the company’s data without having to log in again and again. The access token is stored locally on the employee’s computer. You can also restrict access by setting up expiry dates for these tokens. On the other hand, Active Directory focuses on authenticating server services in the data centre. The service was not designed to deal with the challenges of authentication for cloud services. Active Directory does not natively support the connection and management of smartphones and tablets. In most cases, third-party tools are needed here. Azure Active Directory is directly connected to Microsoft Intune and therefore already offers functions for the management and connection of modern devices. Active Directory focuses on desktop computers and local servers. However, these devices can also become part of Azure AD and benefit from the functions of Microsoft Intune. It’s important to note that only Active Directory offers support for group policies. The group policy function does not exist in Azure AD. There are policies in Azure as well, but they are not compatible with group policies. Companies that rely on Azure AD and Active Directory must therefore build two policy infrastructures that take different approaches and thus support different settings. AAD is managed either in the Azure Portal or with PowerShell. In internal networks, Azure AD will certainly not be ready to replace Active Directory any time soon. In the cloud, Azure AD is better suited in most cases, but not every local server application can be easily moved to the cloud and use Azure AD. For example, it is not possible to extend the schema in Azure AD. Applications that require schema extensions must be installed in Active Directory. Trust positions between domains also do not exist in Azure AD. Administration in Azure Active Directory is delegated through Role Based Access Control (RBAC). Functions such as Privileged Identity Management (PIM) and Just-in-Time (JIT) are already firmly integrated here. These technologies also exist in ADDS, but must first be set up manually via server services. In most cases, separate servers are even required for this. Azure AD and local Active Directory can work together. Microsoft offers the possibility to synchronise local user accounts and group with Azure AD. The necessary tools are provided free of charge. Single sign-on scenarios can also be mapped in this way. If local Active Directory user accounts are required in Microsoft Azure, a domain controller can be operated in Azure that is connected to the local Active Directory. In most cases, companies therefore rely on Active Directory in the local data centre and Azure AD in the cloud. Through synchronisation, user accounts are available everywhere and can be used in a way that makes sense and can be implemented with the respective infrastructure. Microsoft Active Directory and Azure AD are suited to a particular IT environment. So, in which case you can use either solution or a combination of both? If you have an established on-prem intranet, then Microsoft AD is the best option. You probably have AD installed if the network is large enough and runs Windows Server. As mentioned above, Azure AD is designed for cloud authentication. This makes it the perfect IAM solution for organizations with a large cloud footprint. It also makes sense to consider Azure AD if you plan to move to the cloud. Combination of both solutions ensures seamless authentication between on-prem and cloud resources. As a conclusion we could say that Microsoft AD or Azure AD is not a matter of choice or preference. It’s more about what best works for your authentication needs. If you need a robust and integrated solution for managing user identities and access to applications

DKB Customer Success Story: IAM Tool Implementation and Segregation of Duties

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Do you enjoy reading customer success stories? If yes, download PATECCO latest whitepaper. It describes how a renowned German banking institution overcomes a number of security challenges by means of unique combination of strategies, methods, and integration of an IAM tool, coupled with robust segregation of duties practices. This customer success story serves as a good example and as an inspiration for the financial companies to be more active, to be alert and to be more responsible in providing security, efficiency, and compliance in the dynamic landscape of the banking industry. Click on the image and download the document:

What are Insider Threats and How Can Identity Governance and Administration Prevent Them?

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Insider threats are a major and growing concern for organizations, as the human factor is often the most difficult to control and predict when it comes to data security and privacy. With digitization, the amount of digital data is growing exponentially, and with it comes an increase in the number of systems and human interactions with data. More interaction means that data is exposed to more security vulnerabilities. The potential risks from insider threats are numerous, including financial fraud, data corruption, theft of valuable information and malware installation. These incidents can lead to data breaches that expose sensitive information such as personally identifiable information (PII) or intellectual property (IP) and can result in large fines, while their detection is no easy task for security teams. What are insider threats in cybersecurity? Insider threats are cybersecurity risks that originate within the organization itself. They can be caused by users with legitimate access to the organization’s assets – including current or former employees, contractors, business partners, third-party vendors, etc. Insiders can vary significantly in awareness, motivation, intent, and level of access. Traditional security measures such as firewalls or antivirus systems focus on external threats and are not always able to detect threats originating from within the organization. In addition to being invisible to traditional security solutions, attacks from insiders can be more difficult to detect or prevent than attacks from the outside and can go unnoticed for months or years. Difference between internal and external threats In many ways, insider threats can do far more damage than external threats. This is because an insider threat potentially has direct access to sensitive data and critical applications, which it can exploit by moving laterally and vertically until it reaches its desired target. For example, it is easy for cybercriminals to hack an administrator’s account to gain access to the root server and database system. Most companies are also not adequately protected against attacks from the inside, making them much easier to carry out than attacks from the outside. And in many cases, the attacker can carry out his malicious activities undetected. For example, a hacker can trick a user into giving him his credentials, which then allows him to log in as a legitimate user and steal data without being noticed. He could also gain access to a trusted insider, and then lie in wait until he achieves his goal. Without IGA tools, administrators would never notice this because there are no guardrails to guarantee a minimum level of privilege. Finally, the measures that protect against external threats are largely useless against internal attacks, as they are simply bypassed. Therefore, specialized solutions are needed to effectively combat them. How IGA can help mitigate insider threats An IGA tool is a fundamental protection against insider threats. That’s because it addresses the core of what makes insider threats dangerous and effective – identity theft. GA provides a streamlined way to manage an organization’s identities, including user accounts and access rights. Ensure that employees, contractors and outsourced IT departments can only access network resources designated for them. In addition, access rights can be granted or revoked automatically, depending on the situation. For example, if the system suspects that an account has been compromised, it can revoke all privileges to prevent the account from further penetrating the network. This is also useful for tracking down and deleting orphaned accounts that are easy targets for insider attacks. IGA tools also have monitoring and analysis capabilities that constantly check user activity. If an irregularity is detected, the account in question can be immediately blocked as a preventative measure. In other words: IGA is like a watchful eye, keeping an eye on the network around the clock. A robust IGA solution combines user lifecycle management, role-based access control, and automated auditing to reduce the risk of unauthorized data breaches. It also enables organizations to scale and keep up with changing business needs thanks to the following capabilities: Insider threat indicator monitoring Robust monitoring and security analytics detect any suspicious activity that could indicate an insider threat. This allows malicious access to be quickly detected and patterns used to identify potential threats before they cause real damage. A comprehensive IGA solution also helps protect against data loss by alerting when files are accessed without authorization. Such a solution can even detect when privileged users gain unauthorized access to sensitive data and take it out of the organization. With this feature, potential internal threats can be quickly identified and action taken before damage is caused.

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