Authenticate and control access #CyberSecMonth

Authenticating and controlling access, a natural reflex?

Best practices:

Account management:

Authentication elements must be modified as soon as they are installed. Indeed, default passwords are easy to obtain, but strong authentication is one more step towards a secure system. It is therefore wise to use two-factor authentication to prevent intrusions. So, you’ve just changed the lock on your door and you’re the only one with a key!

Accounts accessing the information system must be nominative to facilitate the identification of the origin of incidents or potential vulnerabilities. The use of generic accounts should therefore be prohibited. These accounts must be subject to an even stricter data protection policy. Logins, passwords and connection traces must remain a secret. Would you give a copy of your keys to a stranger you can’t fully trust? Do you want to answer “No” instinctively? Well, it’s the same for passwords.

Password management:

Items such as directories, databases or mailboxes can be a source of valuable information and therefore subject to cyber attacks. These elements require the utmost vigilance on the part of the Chief Information Security Officier (CISO). The listing of sensitive elements is not sufficiently effective, it is necessary to define, authenticate and control access to the system. Duplication and dispersion of these elements must also be avoided to ensure the security of the information system. Without too much effort, you’ve just added a lock to your precious door! But what’s the point of having a locked door if the window was left open?

The first front door for a hacker is the user’s workstation. So, even if on the admin side you have locked everything, you also need to control your users and especially their passwords. Poor password management is a huge risk for organizations, so it is important to educate your users so that their session is protected. Recycled passwords or passwords that are too easy to guess should be banned. In addition to awareness-raising actions, it is possible to take restrictive measures such as blocking accounts after several connection failures or carrying out an audit concerning password robustness. The storage of these passwords must be done through secure solutions including encryption mechanisms.

What does it take to authenticate and control access?

The CISO is the expert who guarantees the security and integrity of the information system. Often also in charge of data protection for the organisation (when there is no DPO), he is the person to turn to when questions arise about access management.

Keepass allows you to manage passwords efficiently and securely. The little extra is that it is free and Open Source. Although optimized for Windows, Keepass also supports macOS and Linux operating systems. Encrypted files can contain user names, passwords, notes or even attachments.

Your Active Directory manages the authentications and rights on your network since it lists all the information on the network, users, machines, groups and your system in general. You can use Microsoft Active Directory or its Open Source equivalent, Samba-AD. These two Active Directories are manageable via the same tools, namely the MMC console and RSATs. RSATs make it possible to control users’ rights but also their inputs and outputs. It is therefore easier to identify sources of vulnerability and act locally before a tragedy occurs.

Why chosse an Open Source Active Directory?

In France, Tranquil IT is the first integrator of Samba Active Directory, the Open Source equivalent of Microsoft Active Directory. This expertise, gained over 13 years with Samba, allows us to effectively perform IT asset audits, Active Directory migrations, domain mergers and even recognized Samba Active Directory skills transfer. Our proximity to the SambaTeam has enabled us to succeed in more than 270 projects over the years. Choosing Open Source means choosing to save on licensing costs and trust our experts!

At Tranqui lT, we favour Open Source tools for their reliability, maintainability and also for the freedom they provide. Why embark on extended contracts with outrageous licensing costs with Microsoft? Invest your money wisely in direct improvements by funding the development of an Open Source solution.

France takes up the ECSC challenge!

What you don’t want to miss:

• Data encryption: Instructions for use – Stormshield
• Google closes its social network after a security breach – Les échos 

Find all our recommendations on Twitter and LinkedIn and on hashtag: #TousSecNum, #CyberSecMonth, #ECSM2018 et #ECSM. Also follow our hashtag #CyberConseil to follow Tranquil IT’s advice and discover the following graphics