Access Management , Active Defense & Deception , Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Protecting Active Directory from Ransomware Intrusions

According to a panel of experts, protecting the Active Directory, a rich target for increasing ransomware attacks, will require organizations to audit privileged accounts and endpoints with continuous monitoring and an identity governance approach.

See Also: Real-World Strategies for Securing Remote Workforces and Data

Malaysia-based Soumo Mukherjee, head of security architecture for cybersecurity at Petronas, a petroleum company, says a tiered and role-based security model is needed to assess any vulnerabilities found in privileged IDs and user endpoints.

Singapore-based Sreekumar Raman, senior manager for technology risk and compliance at Allianz, an insurance company, says continuous monitoring and establishing a change management process across SIEM and SOC will help prevent attacks against Active Directory.

Philippines-based Charmaine R. A. Valmonte, vice president of IT security and IT infrastructure at the Aboitiz Group of Companies, a financial services organization, says, "As Active Directory is moving from on-premises to cloud, it is important to have a process of assessing security and auditing privileged IDs using identity governance and administrative solutions."

In this video panel discussion, the experts discuss:

• Securing the backdoors to prevent ransomware attacks;
• Integrating privileged access with security;
• Establishing continuous monitoring of Active Directory for unauthorized changes.

Mukherjee is the head of security architecture for cybersecurity at Petronas. He is responsible for end-user security, identity and access management, cloud security, and Microsoft 365. During his long career in information technology services, he has been a transformation leader, a change agent, and someone who keeps challenging the status quo.

Raman is senior manager for technology risk and compliance at Allianz. He has more than 22 years of experience working in multiscaled organizations in a competitive business environment.

Valmonte is vice president of IT security and IT infrastructure at the Aboitiz Group of Companies. She has more than 30 years of experience in the U.S. military and the private sector. She is experienced in building cyber risk and IT security programs to reduce the risks of security breaches and minimize disruptions.