10 Active Directory Security Gaps Irish Organisations Don’t Know They Have

There’s a good chance that Active Directory controls access to almost everything on your network. This is both good and bad. Good in that it provides a convenient central repository for authentication and authorisation. And also bad, as data shows that a significant percentage of attacks and security breaches target Active Directory.

Many organisations, in Ireland and beyond, that rely on Active Directory are operating with critical gaps that they are probably not even aware of. Cyber criminals know about common vulnerabilities associated with Active Directory, and they will try to exploit them as part of their attack plans.

Lepide Can Identify Your Active Directory Security Gaps

Lepide, who are experts in securing Active Directory, have published a white paper that covers its 10 best practices for keeping Active Directory secure. The white paper, which is free to download, provides a comprehensive guide to implementing 10 best practices for Active Directory (AD) security.

Whether you're looking to proactively fortify your AD environment or address vulnerabilities after a security assessment, the actionable recommendations in the white paper will help you mitigate risks and maintain the integrity of your systems.

By following the best practices, you can create a robust foundation that minimises your organisation’s exposure to internal and external threats, while supporting compliance with modern security models like Zero Trust.

The white paper covers threats and risks, including weak passwords, excessive privileges, invisible changes, unprotected domain controllers, vulnerable service accounts, outdated systems, Kerberos weaknesses, Group Policy misconfigurations, implicit trust models, and inadequate recovery planning. These all create attack pathways for criminals.

Lepide provides a free AD assessment questionnaire that will help you determine your current AD security management practices and where your environment stands compared to industry peers. You can also book a personalised demo to see how Lepide AD monitoring and threat detection can close your security gaps before attackers exploit them.

Irish MSPs looking to learn more about how they can use Lepide solutions to improve the Active Directory security of their clients should contact Renaissance to find out more.

Summary of the Top 10 Best Practices

You should download and read the Lepide white paper on the 10 best practices for keeping Active Directory secure to get the best insights from the Lepide experts. When you do, you’ll see advice on the following topics:

Implementing Strong Password Policies

Passwords remain critical for securing Active Directory, yet weak password policies are still one of the most common vulnerabilities across organisations. Default Windows Server password policies often fail to meet modern security requirements, and many organisations never strengthen them beyond the minimum.

Enforcing the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP)

The Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) should govern every aspect of Active Directory, yet administrative privilege sprawl remains common. IT teams often grant elevated privileges to simplify troubleshooting or accommodate specific requests, then fail to revoke those privileges once the immediate need has passed.

Regularly Auditing AD Changes

Active Directory constantly evolves as users get added, staff leave, roles change, and policies are updated. While this flexibility supports organisational operations, it also introduces opportunities for unauthorised changes and potential breaches. Most organisations do not have comprehensive visibility into ongoing AD changes, operating with no awareness of modifications that could signal compromise.

Securing Domain Controllers

Domain Controllers manage authentication, access control, and directory services, making them the security backbone of an Active Directory environment. Given their critical role, they represent prime targets for attackers looking to compromise an organisation's IT infrastructure. Securing these systems is crucial to protecting your AD environment and minimising the risk of complete domain compromise.

Limiting Service Accounts & Protecting Their Credentials

Service accounts are essential for services and automated processes within an Active Directory environment. However, their elevated privileges and often weak security configurations make them common targets for attackers. Compromising a service account can provide an attacker with persistent access and the ability to escalate additional privileges, making it critical to limit their usage and secure them.

Regularly Patching and Updating

Cybercriminals frequently target vulnerabilities in outdated software and systems, with many successful attacks exploiting known flaws that timely updates would have prevented. Regular security update patching is one of the most effective ways to protect your AD infrastructure and minimise the risk of compromise, yet many organisations fail to follow consistent patching schedules.

Protecting Against Kerberos Attacks

Kerberos authentication enables secure communication and authentication between clients and servers in your network. However, because it plays such a pivotal role in AD security, attackers increasingly target it, looking for ways to achieve privilege escalation, lateral movement, or network persistence. Protecting against Kerberos attacks is essential to maintaining the integrity and security of your AD environment.

Using Group Policy to Enforce Security Settings

Group Policy Objects (GPOs) control security settings, software deployment, and user environments across the entire AD domain, making them high-value targets for attackers. Yet many organisations fail to implement adequate security controls around GPO management or monitor GPO changes for unauthorised modifications.

Implementing Zero Trust Principles

Traditional security models assume that users and systems inside the network perimeter can be trusted. This assumption creates weaknesses that attackers routinely exploit. Once inside your network, attackers can move laterally to additional systems with relative ease, escalating privileges and accessing sensitive systems before detection occurs.

Backup and Recovery Planning

Most organisations diligently back up file servers, databases, and applications, but many neglect comprehensive AD backup and recovery planning. This oversight leaves them vulnerable to ransomware attacks specifically targeting Domain Controllers, the accidental deletions of critical objects, or AD corruption scenarios that can paralyse entire environments.