We’re not talking about killing the Administrator. That would be you, and that would be wrong. Rather, it’s time we eliminated the role of Administrator from our Windows servers and desktops.
Administrator privileges are Windows’ necessary evil. Why? Standard Windows user rights just aren’t powerful enough to accomplish many needed tasks, so users demand elevated rights for everything. That’s the problem with Administrator: You either have it or you don’t.
With a new approach to delegating administrative privileges, you can granularly elevate privileges in applications and the operating system. Windows itself has such a solution in its built-in AppLocker functionality. AppLocker is a good tool to whitelist apps you’ve approved to run, but it isn’t without its shortfalls.
Join Concentrated Technology’s Greg Shields and ScriptLogic’s Nick Calavancia as they compare the AppLocker approach with ScriptLogic’s Privilege Authority product. You’ll find that finding the right balance requires the right set of tools.
In this webinar, we will cover:
1. Getting to least privilege – killing admin rights
2. Administrative granularity – balancing lockdown with productivity
3. Lockdown rules that work
Cloud Frontiers: A Deep Dive into Serverless Spatial Data and FME
Kill Administrator: Fighting Back Against Admin Rights
1. Kill Administrator:
Fighting Back Against Admin Rights
Dial In: +1 (609) 318-0024
Access Code: 373-855-516
Or use your computer speakers
Greg Shields, MVP Nick Cavalancia
Partner and Principal Technologist VP, Windows Management
www.ConcentratedTech.com ScriptLogic
2. About the Speakers
Greg Shields
Greg is a Senior Partner and Principal Technologist with Concentrated
Technology. He is a Contributing Editor for TechNet Magazine and Redmond
Magazine, and a Series Editor for Realtime Publishers. Greg is a sought-after and top-
ranked speaker, seen regularly at conferences like TechMentor, Tech Ed, VMworld,
and more. He is a multiple recipient of Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" award
with has received VMware's vExpert award.
Nick Cavalancia
Nick Cavalancia, MCSE/MCT/MCNE/MCNI, is ScriptLogic’s VP of Windows
Management where he assists in driving innovation and the evangelism of
ScriptLogic solutions. He has over 17 years of enterprise IT experience and is an
accomplished consultant, trainer, speaker, columnist and author. He has authored,
co-authored and contributed to over a dozen books on Windows, Active Directory,
Exchange and other Microsoft technologies.
3. About ScriptLogic
• Founded in 2000
• Focus on 4 key areas:
• Desktop Management
• Active Directory Management
• Server Management
• Help Desk Management
• Customer Base
• 30,800+ customers worldwide
• From SMB to Fortune 100
• Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida
• Subsidiary of Quest Software since 2007
4. Privilege Authority
• Lowest cost privilege management
solution on the market
• Two editions:
Community Edition Professional
Cost FREE Starts at $12/seat
Access to Community ✔ ✔
Advanced Features ✔
Support Model Community Std. Tech. Support
5. Windows’ Necessary Evil.
• Administrator privileges are Windows’ unfortunate,
but necessary evil.
• They were built into Windows.
• They aren’t going anywhere.
• Standard user rights aren’t powerful enough.
• But “the evil” in Administrator creates a problem.
• You either have it or you don’t.
• Most of us need some subset of Administrator.
6. Your Goal: Kill Administrator
• Eliminating “the Administrator” from administrator
rights solves three big problems.
• Problem One: Getting to Least Privilege
• Problem Two: Evolving from On/Off to granular privilege
management.
• Problem Three: Finding privilege rules that work.
• The Windows OS can’t do this.
• You’ll need external tools to assist.
• More on those tools in a minute.
7. The Principle of Least Privilege
• “[The Principle of Least Privilege] requires
that…
• each subject in a system be granted the most
restrictive set of privileges…
• …needed for the performance of authorized
tasks.
• The application of this principle limits the
damage that can result from accident, error, or
unauthorized use.”
Source: U.S. Department of Defense
8. Problem #1: Getting to Least Privilege
• Least Privilege desires for…
• …each subject in a system be granted the most restrictive
set of privileges…
• …needed for the performance of authorized tasks.
• Least Privilege wants this because…
• …its application limits the damage from accident, error, or
unauthorized use.
10. Problem #1: Getting to Least Privilege
Change Time? Install Software?
Add ActiveX? Config Network?
Administrator? Elevate App? Change Properties?
What we Have What we Want
11. Problem #1: Getting to Least Privilege
• Implementing Least Privilege means thinking outside
the box of Windows rights.
• It requires collecting a catalog of possible actions a user
might need to accomplish.
• It involves gathering possible instances of each action,
• Which apps to install?
• Which properties to allow?
• Which apps to elevate?
• It means enumerating the possible users, usually by role.
• ULTIMATELY: It desires mapping users into those actions
and instances.
13. …but isn’t this in Windows?
• It is, of a sort: User Account Control.
• Where it works: Everyone is a standard
user until they need elevation. Only
administrators get elevated.
14. …but isn’t this in Windows?
• It is, of a sort: User Account Control.
• Where it works: Everyone is a standard
user until they need elevation. Only
administrators get elevated.
• Where it fails: Individuals must still be
Administrator. UAC is person-centric by
nature, Least Privilege is action-centric.
15. Get there with Privilege Authority
• GPO-based elevation using
• Executable path
• Folder path
• ActiveX
• Digital Certificate
• DEMO!
16. Problem #2: Getting the Granularity
• Eliminating administrator won’t happen overnight.
• Developers need application installations.
• Users on the road require special consideration.
• Even applications themselves require elevation when
they’re not properly coded.
• The largest consumer of project time will be in
figuring out the mapping between…
• Users, possible actions, and permitted actions.
17. Problem #2: Getting the Granularity
Change Time? Install Software?
Catalog
of Actions Add ActiveX? Config Network?
Change
Elevate App?
Properties?
Directory
of Users
List
of Policies
18. Problem #2: Getting the Granularity
• Thing #1: Catalog of Actions
• Changing the time
• Installing software
• Adding ActiveX Controls
• Changing System Properties
• Elevating Applications
• An effective privilege management solution will
deliver this catalog via its administrative console.
19. Problem #2: Getting the Granularity
• Thing #2: Directory of Users
• This part’s easy…
• For most of us, this directory is something we already have
through our Active Directory.
• The Groups and Organizational Units that already
exist in your AD define user roles.
• Finance, Sales, Executives, etc.
20. Problem #2: Getting the Granularity
• Thing #3: List of Policies
• These policies are not technical in nature.
• They are procedural in nature.
• While your company policies may not be documented in a
format that directly translates, you probably have a
general understanding of which actions are approved.
• Gathering your list of policies and translating them
into user actions is the final step in this process.
21. Problem #2: Getting the Granularity
Change Time? Install Software?
Catalog
of Actions Add ActiveX? Config Network?
Change
Elevate App?
Properties?
Directory Least
of Users Privilege
List
of Policies
23. …isn’t this also in Windows?
• Also true, sort of: Applocker.
• Where it works: Facilitates central control
of execution and elevation.
24. …isn’t this also in Windows?
• Also true, sort of: Applocker.
• Where it works: Facilitates central control
of execution and elevation.
• Where is fails: Centers its catalog around
executables, MSIs, and scripts. What you
need is a catalog of actions.
26. Problem #3: Rules that Work
• Having a catalog of actions is one thing.
• Having the entire list of action instances is another.
27. Problem #3: Rules that Work
• Just installing a privilege management solution
doesn’t automatically bring Least Privilege.
• Any solution is a framework within which rules must be
created.
• That framework enables you to map users to policy-
approved actions.
• Finding the rules that work is a significant challenge!
28. Problem #3: Rules that Work
• SOLUTION: It takes a community.
• Getting the rules that work requires the assistance of an
entire community of Least Privilege Followers
• An effective solution will enable you to share rules with
others.
• With a clearinghouse of effective rules, populated by
others with similar situations, you can quickly find those
that work for you.
• …then you arrive at Least Privilege much more cleanly and
faster!
30. …but who needs a community?
• Is Google really your friend?
31. …but who needs a community?
• Is Google really your friend?
• Allow a non-admin user to install an Adobe executable based installer (such as ending in
".exe") when the installer has been digitally signed by Adobe.
• Allow installation of MS Live Meeting Windows Client, protected with publisher cert
information.
• Allow file operations from the File | Open menu with unrestricted editing, but without
enabling 'child processes' because then you can 'run as administrator' and launch
executables.
• Allow Firefox to be installed to the users profile without admin rights by matching both a
digital certificate and file hash to ensure it is valid only for the current version.
• Allow users to run ActiveX controls to view Olsen field webcam.
• Allow users to install/update an array of preapproved applications on their own, while
giving administrators the ability to create repositories for additional software.
• Allow privilege elevation for Security Explorer on Windows 7 to remove the need to
specify UAC credentials when the application starts.
32. The Privilege Authority Community
www.privilegeauthority.com
• Forums
• Rules Exchange
• DEMO!
33. Privilege Management is
the Death of Administrator
• Finding the balance between security and user
productivity requires a granular approach.
• You can’t get that with Administrator rights alone.
• You can’t get that with Privilege Management alone.
• It takes a community.
• Be part of that community…
34. Resources
• Privilege Authority Community
www.privilegeauthority.com
• Privilege Authority Pro
www.scriptlogic.com/pa
• Greg Shields
www.concentratedtech.com
35. “SMB IT Simplified”
www.scriptlogic.com/smbit
• Real-world articles
• Industry experts
• Vendor-agnostic
Connect with us and Win!
