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Introduction:
Identity and Access Management (IAM) has evolved from an IT compliance task to the central nervous system of enterprise security. As highlighted at events like CyberCon25, with the proliferation of cloud services and remote work, controlling who has access to what has become the primary defense against modern cyber threats. This article provides a technical deep dive into the core IAM disciplines of Identity Governance and Administration (IGA) and Privileged Access Management (PAM), offering actionable commands and configurations to fortify your organization’s security posture.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand and implement critical IAM commands across Windows, Linux, and cloud environments.
- Configure and harden key IAM tools and protocols, including Active Directory, SSH, and cloud IAM services.
- Develop a proactive strategy for auditing access, detecting anomalies, and responding to identity-based threats.
You Should Know:
1. Auditing Active Directory for Privileged Group Membership
Verifying membership in sensitive groups like Domain Admins and Enterprise Admins is a foundational security audit.
Windows PowerShell:
Get-ADGroupMember -Identity "Domain Admins" -Recursive | Select-Object Name, SamAccountName, DistinguishedName
Step-by-step guide:
This PowerShell command, part of the Active Directory module, queries the Domain Admins group and recursively lists all direct and nested members. The `-Recursive` parameter is crucial as it uncovers users who are members of nested groups, a common misconfiguration that can lead to excessive privilege. Run this from a machine with RSAT tools installed or directly on a Domain Controller. Regularly export the results to a CSV using `| Export-Csv -Path “C:\audit\DomainAdmins.csv” -NoTypeInformation` for change tracking and compliance evidence.
2. Linux Privileged Command Auditing with `sudo`
Tracking which users can execute commands with elevated privileges is critical on Linux systems.
Linux Bash:
sudo -l grep -r "NOPASSWD" /etc/sudoers.d/ ausearch -m USER_CMD -ts today
Step-by-step guide:
The `sudo -l` command lists the allowed and forbidden commands for the current user. System-wide, you should audit the `/etc/sudoers` file and any fragments in `/etc/sudoers.d/` for the `NOPASSWD` directive, which allows password-less elevation—a significant security risk. The `ausearch` command, part of the Linux Audit daemon (auditd), queries the system’s audit logs for all commands executed by users on the current day, providing a vital audit trail for forensic investigations.
3. Hardening SSH Key-Based Authentication
While more secure than passwords, misconfigured SSH keys are a major attack vector.
Linux Bash:
Find SSH authorized_keys files and check permissions
find /home /root -name "authorized_keys" -exec ls -la {} \;
Enforce specific algorithms in /etc/ssh/sshd_config
echo "HostKeyAlgorithms ssh-ed25519,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config
echo "PubkeyAcceptedAlgorithms ssh-ed25519,ecdsa-sha2-nistp521" >> /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Restart SSH service
systemctl restart sshd
Step-by-step guide:
This process first locates all `authorized_keys` files, which should have strict permissions (e.g., 600). It then hardens the SSH server configuration by specifying modern, strong key exchange algorithms like Ed25519 and ECDSA, explicitly deprecating older, vulnerable algorithms like RSA and DSA under certain conditions. After modifying the `sshd_config` file, a service restart is required to apply the changes. Always ensure you have a concurrent session open to avoid locking yourself out.
- Querying Azure AD for User and Role Information
Cloud Identity is a core component of modern IAM. Automating user and role discovery is essential.
Microsoft Graph PowerShell:
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.Read.All","RoleManagement.Read.All"
Get-MgUser -All | Select-Object DisplayName, UserPrincipalName, AccountEnabled
Get-MgRoleManagementDirectoryRoleDefinition | Where-Object { $_.IsEnabled -eq $true } | Format-Table DisplayName, Description
Step-by-step guide:
This script connects to the Microsoft Graph API with the necessary permissions to read user and role data. The `Get-MgUser` cmdlet retrieves all users, which is vital for auditing active and inactive accounts. The `Get-MgRoleManagementDirectoryRoleDefinition` cmdlet lists all available Azure AD roles, such as Global Administrator or User Administrator. Understanding who holds these roles is paramount, as they control access to the entire tenant. This data should be integrated into a SIEM for continuous monitoring.
5. Implementing Just-In-Time (JIT) Privileged Access with PAM
PAM solutions enforce the principle of least privilege by making privileged access temporary and monitored.
PAM Vendor-Agnostic Logic (Example):
Script to request elevation for a specific server for 2 hours
PAM_TOKEN=$(curl -s -X POST -H "Authorization: Bearer $API_KEY" \
"https://pam.company.com/api/access/request" \
-d '{"system":"prod-db-01", "duration":"120", "reason":"Emergency patch"}')
echo "Access granted. Use token: $PAM_TOKEN"
The PAM system would then provision time-limited credentials.
Step-by-step guide:
This conceptual API call demonstrates a JIT access request. The user or automated system requests access to a target system (prod-db-01) for a specific duration and provides a business justification. The PAM system, upon approval (which can be automated or manual), returns a time-bound token or provisions temporary credentials. All actions during the access window are fully recorded and logged. This drastically reduces the attack surface by eliminating standing privileged access.
6. Detecting Kerberoasting Attacks with Windows Security Logs
Kerberoasting is a common technique for attacking Active Directory credentials.
Windows PowerShell (for Event Log Query):
Get-WinEvent -FilterHashtable @{LogName='Security'; ID=4769} | Where-Object {
$<em>.Message -like "0x17" -and $</em>.Message -like "0x0"
} | Select-Object TimeCreated, @{Name="TargetUser";Expression={$_.Properties[bash].Value}}
Step-by-step guide:
This command queries Security Event ID 4769 (A Kerberos service ticket was requested). It filters for tickets encrypted with the weaker RC4 cipher (indicated by `0x17` in the ticket encryption type) that resulted in a successful logon (0x0 status). A high volume of such events can indicate a Kerberoasting attack in progress, where an attacker requests service tickets to crack the associated password hashes offline. This query should be automated as a detection rule in your SIEM.
- Enforcing MFA Conditional Access Policies with Microsoft Graph
Modern IAM requires moving beyond simple passwords. Conditional Access policies enforce controls like MFA contextually.
Microsoft Graph API (Beta) REST Call:
POST https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/identity/conditionalAccess/policies
Content-Type: application/json
{
"displayName": "Require MFA for all Azure AD admins",
"state": "enabled",
"conditions": {
"applications": { "includeApplications": ["All"] },
"users": { "includeRoles": ["62e90394-69f5-4237-9190-012177145e10"] }
},
"grantControls": {
"operator": "OR",
"builtInControls": ["mfa"]
}
}
Step-by-step guide:
This API call creates a new Conditional Access policy. The policy targets all applications ("includeApplications": ["All"]) and specifically includes users in the role with the GUID for “Global Administrator”. The `grantControls` block mandates that to gain access, the user must satisfy an MFA requirement. This is a critical policy for protecting highly privileged cloud accounts. Policies can be refined further to include locations, device compliance states, and client applications.
What Undercode Say:
- Identity is the Primary Attack Surface: The perimeter is dead. IAM controls are now the first and most critical line of defense, making their hardening non-negotiable.
- Automation is Not Optional: The scale of modern IT environments makes manual IAM management impossible. Security must be codified into scripts, APIs, and infrastructure-as-code to ensure consistency and auditability.
The central theme from CyberCon25 and the broader industry is a decisive shift left for identity security. IAM is no longer a back-office function but a strategic, proactive security control. The technical commands outlined here are not just one-off tasks; they represent the building blocks of a continuous identity security posture. Organizations that fail to integrate these practices into their DevOps and SecOps lifecycles will find themselves constantly reacting to breaches that started with a single compromised identity. The future of security is not just about building higher walls, but about giving the right key to the right person for the right door, and watching every single time they use it.
Prediction:
The convergence of AI and IAM will redefine corporate security. We will see the rise of AI-powered identity threat detection and response (ITDR) systems that move beyond static rules to model normal user behavior in real-time, automatically flagging and neutralizing anomalous access attempts. Simultaneously, AI-driven social engineering attacks will become more sophisticated, making robust, phishing-resistant MFA and user training absolutely critical. The organizations that successfully leverage AI to augment their human security teams will create a formidable, adaptive defense, while those that don’t will face an insurmountable wave of AI-generated identity-based attacks.
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IT/Security Reporter URL:
Reported By: Anshulpandey Cybercon25 – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
