The content material of this publish is solely the accountability of the writer. AT&T doesn’t undertake or endorse any of the views, positions, or data offered by the writer on this article.
The set up of Lively Listing (AD) on Home windows Server 2019 requires a radical understanding of technical nuances and a steadfast dedication to safety finest practices. This information will stroll you thru the method of securely implementing Lively Listing, making certain the very best degree of safety for the data and sources inside your organization.
Planning and design
Begin by fastidiously planning and designing. Analyze your group’s necessities, community topology, and safety necessities in nice element. Set up the required variety of organizational items (OUs), domains, and consumer and group buildings. Make a radical design plan that complies together with your group’s compliance requirements and safety tips.
Putting in Home windows Server 2019
Set up Home windows Server 2019 on a devoted system that satisfies the system minimums. Use the latest Home windows Server 2019 ISO and cling to really helpful procedures for a safe set up. Set a powerful password for the Administrator account and allow Safe Boot whether it is supported within the BIOS/UEFI settings for {hardware} safety.
Select the suitable deployment kind
Choose the area controller (DC) set up because the Lively Listing deployment kind. By doing this, you might be assured that your server is a devoted area controller overseeing your area’s listing providers, authentication, and safety insurance policies.
Set up Lively Listing Area Providers (AD DS) function
Add the Lively Listing Area Providers (AD DS) function to Home windows Server 2019. For the set up, use Server Supervisor or PowerShell. Choose the suitable forest and area practical ranges through the process and specify the server as a website controller.
Select an applicable Forest Purposeful Stage (FFL)
Choose the very best Forest Purposeful Stage (FFL) appropriate together with your area controllers. This allows entry to the latest AD options and safety upgrades. Study the FFL specs and make sure that each area controller at present in use can assist the chosen degree.
Safe DNS configuration
AD closely depends on DNS for title decision and repair location. Be certain that DNS is configured securely by:
a. Utilizing Lively Listing Built-in Zones for DNS storage, enabling safe updates and zone replication via AD.
b. Implementing DNSSEC to guard in opposition to DNS knowledge tampering and for safe zone signing.
c. Limiting zone transfers to licensed servers solely, stopping unauthorized entry to DNS knowledge.
d. Implementing DNS monitoring and logging for suspicious actions utilizing instruments like DNS auditing and question logging.
Use sturdy authentication protocols
Configure Lively Listing to make use of sturdy authentication protocols equivalent to Kerberos. To cease credential-based assaults, disable older, much less safe protocols like NTLM and LM hashes. Guarantee area controllers are set as much as favor strong authentication methods over weak ones when performing authentication.
Securing administrative accounts
Safeguard administrative accounts by:
a. Creating difficult, one-of-a-kind passwords for every administrative account, following the password coverage tips, and rotating passwords regularly.
b. Including multi-factor authentication (MFA) to all administrative accounts to enhance login safety and scale back the chance of credential theft.
c. Implementing the precept of least privilege, role-based entry management (RBAC), and limiting the usage of administrative accounts to licensed personnel solely.
d. To scale back the assault floor and potential insider threats, administrative account privileges ought to be recurrently reviewed, and additional entry rights ought to be eliminated.
Making use of group insurance policies
Leverage Group Coverage Objects (GPOs) to implement safety settings and requirements throughout your Lively Listing area. Implement password insurance policies, account lockout insurance policies, and different security-related configurations to enhance the general safety posture.
Defending area controllers
Area controllers are the spine of Lively Listing. Safeguard them by:
a. Isolating area controllers in a separate community section or VLAN to reduce the assault floor and stop lateral motion.
b. Enabling BitLocker Drive Encryption on the system quantity of the area controller to safeguard important knowledge from bodily theft or unauthorized entry.
c. Organising Home windows Firewall guidelines to limit inbound visitors to important AD providers and thwart potential risks.
d. Performing common area controller backups and securely storing these backups to guard knowledge integrity and velocity up catastrophe restoration. Create system state backups utilizing the Home windows Server Backup function, and for redundancy, consider using off-site storage.
Monitor and audit
Implement a strong monitoring and auditing system to detect potential safety breaches and unauthorized entry. Make use of Safety Info and Occasion Administration (SIEM) options for thorough risk monitoring, arrange real-time alerts for essential safety occasions, and use Home windows Occasion Forwarding to centralize log knowledge for evaluation.
Carry out common backups
Create common system state backups of Lively Listing to make sure knowledge integrity and fast restoration in case of knowledge loss or catastrophe. Periodically check the restoration process to verify its efficacy and assure that backups are safely saved off-site.
Conclusion
By following this technical information, you may confidently and securely implement Lively Listing on Home windows Server 2019, making certain your group has a strong, reliable, extremely safe Lively Listing atmosphere that safeguards invaluable property and delicate knowledge from the continuously altering risk panorama. All the time keep in mind that safety is a steady course of, and sustaining a resilient AD infrastructure requires staying present with the most recent safety measures.
