Active Directory Security: Detecting and Defending Against Credential Attacks

<p>When a vague EDR alert about unusual Kerberos ticket volume lands on security analyst Priya Nair's desk at Talus Ridge Industrial, she realizes she can't tell a real credential attack from noise without first understanding how Active Directory authentication actually works. Across five lessons she builds a detection catalog for Kerberoasting, AS-REP roasting, and pass-the-hash activity from real Windows Event Log signal, hardens the domain with gMSAs, AES-only Kerberos, and a tiered administration model, wires that detection catalog into standing SIEM correlation rules and a honeytoken tripwire account, and finally runs a full incident response playbook covering containment, credential rotation, a correct double krbtgt reset, and eradication verification when that honeytoken fires for real.</p>

Tools: active directory, kerberos, siem, blue team defense