Practical Aspects of Attacks Against Remote MS Windows Corporate Environment

Active Directory is a widely-used concept for centrally managing the security of Windows infrastructure and access rights. Current challenges such as remote work via laptops and VPN instead of on-premise desktop computing, shadow IT practices instead of internal IT and new ways for identity management add to the importance of properly managing Active Directory. VPN access is not a straightforward process and multiple scenarios and hardening tactics exist. Gaining access to a VPN opens up options for an attacker to gain access to other resources on the corporate network. The main aim of this paper is analysis of current attack vectors related to remote access to Windows corporate environment. Based on the analysis this paper proposes a model for remote access hardening. The way the model is created allows organizations to customize it according to their use cases.