In most IT environments, Windows servers and systems are an important part of the infrastructure. Local, domain, and service accounts make up core access to Windows infrastructure, so compromising any of these privileged accounts is a worst-case scenario for any organization:
- Local administrator accounts : These are powerful accounts on member servers and clients that grant absolute control over their hosts. If the local administrator password is weak, remains the same, or is reused on multiple accounts, a malicious user may gain unauthorized access to the workstation.
- Domain Administrator Accounts : These are the accounts with the broadest control over every object in the domain, providing administrative rights to: All workstations, servers, and domain controllers. Only a few trusted administrators should use domain administrator accounts. Also, they should use that account to only log on to a domain controller, the System Controller, that is as secure as the domain. This is because Windows systems are vulnerable to pass-the-hash. Windows' single sign-on feature allows users to enter their credentials once and never have to enter their password again.
As a best practice approach, the domain administrator account should not be used to log on to any system other than a domain controller. Password access should go through a one-time use workflow, after which password access should be reset. - Service Accounts : These are system programs used to run application software services or processes. These accounts usually have high or even excessive privileges. Service account passwords are usually set to "never change" due to the difficulty of discovering all dependent services and propagating password changes. , static service accounts make businesses a haven for hackers.
Implementing proper controls and other standard security practices around these privileged accounts can help reduce vulnerabilities and stop malicious attacks.
Easily find and manage privileged accounts in your Windows infrastructure
Effective password management processes for Windows infrastructures require the identification and consolidation of various privileged accounts on the network. Password Manager Pro's discovery feature helps detect local and domain administrator accounts and automatically place them in the inventory. It also helps locate services to identify accounts by identifying the various Windows server components that run using the domain, and to map services and scheduled tasks to the appropriate accounts.
Protect Windows account credentials with regular password resets
Best security practices require that privileged accounts on Windows infrastructure be reset (request release) periodically or after each use, and frequent password changes for Windows resources also ensure corporate compliance.
Manually performing password resets for all systems is cumbersome, and with Password Manager Pro , local and domain administrator passwords (including service account passwords) can be rotated regularly with scheduled reset tasks. For added security, account password access control workflows are also available, ensuring passwords are changed immediately, even after one-time use by authorized administrators.
After resetting a service account password, PMP automatically propagates the change to all dependent services associated with the account to avoid any service interruption.
Password Manager Pro password management software is an enterprise-oriented password security management software for storing and managing sensitive shared information such as corporate passwords, documents and digital identities.