Coded thoughts and verses in bits
Even after uninstalling Exchange, traces of its deep integration with Active Directory remain — powerful groups, lingering ACLs, legacy attributes, and automation leftovers. Whether Exchange is running or long gone, ignoring what it left behind could leave your domain exposed. Here's what you need to know (and clean up) before someone else does
Shadow Admins are the privilege paths you’re not watching. These accounts don’t belong to Domain Admins, but they can take over your environment anyway — thanks to ACL misconfigurations, GPO access, or SIDHistory abuse. If you're only auditing group membership, you're already exposed.
Learn how Kerberoasting exploits Kerberos authentication in Active Directory, how it works, and what steps you can take to defend against it.
What is Pass-the-Hash? Pass-the-hash (PtH) is an attack technique that allows an attacker to authenticate to a remote system using the password hash, without the need for the password in plain text. It is particularly effective in Windows environments, where the NTLM authentication protocol allows authentication using static hashes. How the attack works Initial access … Continue reading Pass-the-Hash (PtH): Attack Technique and Complete Defenses
Active Directory (AD) is the beating heart of identity and IT asset management in many organizations. Being a critical system, the AD frequently becomes the target of cyber attacks aimed at gaining elevated privileges or compromising entire corporate infrastructures. For this reason, tiering has become a critical approach to reducing risk and ensuring greater security … Continue reading Tiering in Active Directory: Effective Strategy to Increase Security and Resiliency
Account manipulation is one of the stealthiest and most effective techniques used by threat actors to maintain or escalate access in compromised environments. Once inside, attackers often attempt to secure their foothold. They do this by modifying existing accounts. Another strategy is creating new ones that blend into your environment. This can include: Changing user … Continue reading Account Manipulation: How Attackers Stay Inside Your Systems
In a world where mobility is crucial, maintaining an AD joined computer can change from an asset to a burden. Modern users are constantly on the move. They do not rely on applications that need a constant remote connection. These users often manage a device tethered to an on-premise infrastructure. Instead of simplifying their daily … Continue reading Migrating Your Windows Device from Active Directory to ENTRA ID
Prepare the migration Beginning September 30, 2025, authentication techniques can't be managed in these legacy multi-factor authentication and self-service password reset policies. Before start the migration of the new authentication techniques you need to review the action configuration of: Multi-factor Authentication Policy S.S.P.R. Policy Review the legacy MFA policy Start by documenting which techniques are … Continue reading Steps to Migrate to New Authentication Techniques
Marco Nasta' Blog 