Securing Hybrid Identity: Hardening Microsoft Entra Connect & Forest Sync
Mitigating lateral movement between on-premises Active Directory and cloud infrastructure through Entra Connect server isolation.
The Bridge Between On-Premises and Cloud
The Microsoft Entra Connect synchronization server is one of the highest-value targets in any hybrid enterprise. Because it possesses elevated privileges on both on-premises domain controllers and cloud tenants, a compromise of this host grants total environment control.
Classifying Entra Connect as a Tier-0 Asset
Treat the synchronization server with the same physical and logical isolation as your primary Domain Controllers. Block remote desktop access from general workstations, deploy EDR agents, enforce local firewall isolation, and restrict administrative sign-ins exclusively to Privileged Access Workstations (PAWs).
Enabling Password Hash Sync Security Controls
Password Hash Synchronization (PHS) provides vital security telemetry by allowing Microsoft to cross-reference tenant hashes against dark web credential dumps. Ensure Seamless Single Sign-On (SSO) Kerberos decryption keys are rotated every 30 days to mitigate Silver Ticket attacks.
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