INTRODUCING ARGUS-AD: A MODERN APPROACH TO ACTIVE DIRECTORY SECURITY ASSESSMENT
THE WATCHFUL GUARDIAN OF YOUR ACTIVE DIRECTORY
In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, protecting Active Directory has never been more critical. Today, we're proud to introduce Argus-AD – a comprehensive, PowerShell-based security assessment tool designed specifically for System Administrators and IT Professionals who need to quickly gain situational awareness about security vulnerabilities in their Active Directory environments.
THE CHALLENGE: UNDERSTANDING YOUR ACTIVE DIRECTORY SECURITY POSTURE
Active Directory has been at the heart of enterprise identity management for over two decades, serving as the backbone for authentication and authorization across Windows environments worldwide. For the IT administrators managing these systems, maintaining visibility into the security state of Active Directory can feel like an overwhelming task.
Most organizations rely on their System and IT Administrators to maintain Active Directory, yet these professionals often lack specialized security tools that speak their language. Caught between managing daily operations and ensuring security, they need solutions that integrate seamlessly into their existing workflows.
Over 95% of Fortune 1000 companies use Active Directory, and AD-related attacks have featured in more than 80% of recent major security breaches. The average time to detect an Active Directory breach is still measured in months, not days. This reality creates significant pressure for IT teams already stretched thin.
The complexity of modern Active Directory environments presents unique challenges for System Administrators:
Historical configuration drift occurs gradually as organizations evolve, creating unintentional security gaps that may go unnoticed for years. Permission models grow increasingly complex as business units request specialized access, making them difficult to audit and maintain. As organizations adopt cloud services, hybrid identity scenarios introduce new attack surfaces that traditional tools may not detect. Meanwhile, legacy compatibility requirements often force compromises in security that administrators may not fully understand.
Most System Administrators lack the specialized tools and security expertise to properly assess their Active Directory security posture before an incident occurs. That's where Argus-AD comes in.
ENTER ARGUS-AD: SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FOR IT PROFESSIONALS
Named after the many-eyed giant from Greek mythology, Argus-AD provides comprehensive visibility into your Active Directory security posture, designed specifically with System Administrators and IT professionals in mind. Unlike existing tools that require deep security expertise or complex setup, Argus-AD delivers a holistic view with minimal configuration, speaking the language of IT operations rather than specialized security teams.
Argus-AD bridges the gap between day-to-day administration and security awareness, providing IT professionals with actionable insights about their environment without requiring them to become security experts. By integrating smoothly into existing administrative workflows, it enables system administrators to maintain awareness of their security posture alongside their regular duties.
WHAT MAKES ARGUS-AD VALUABLE FOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS?
Argus-AD provides immediate value to IT teams by delivering comprehensive visibility with minimal complexity. The tool performs non-intrusive, read-only assessments that won't disrupt your environment. Its user-friendly interface generates clear, actionable reports that make sense to IT professionals without specialized security training. Built entirely in PowerShell, it maximizes compatibility with existing administrative tools and requires minimal dependencies. Most importantly, each finding includes detailed explanations written specifically for IT administrators, bridging the gap between security concepts and daily operations.
UNDER THE HOOD: WHAT ARGUS-AD HELPS YOU DISCOVER
Argus-AD performs deep analysis across four critical security domains, translating complex security concepts into practical insights for system administrators:
SIMPLE MISCONFIGURATIONS
Every Active Directory environment accumulates configuration drift over time, often resulting in security gaps that are easy to fix once identified. Argus-AD helps system administrators discover these low-hanging fruit, providing clear remediation guidance that fits into regular maintenance routines.
The tool identifies issues like service accounts with weak passwords vulnerable to Kerberoasting attacks, expired certificates, excessive permissions, and problematic GPO configurations. For each finding, Argus-AD explains the security implications in terms that make sense to IT professionals, helping them understand not just what to fix, but why it matters.
Here's an example of how Argus-AD presents findings in a way that's actionable for system administrators:
{
"Category": "SimpleMisconfigurations",
"Subcategory": "Kerberoasting Vulnerability",
"Severity": "High",
"Description": "Found 12 service accounts with Service Principal Names (SPNs) that use weak passwords, making them vulnerable to Kerberoasting attacks.",
"Impact": "Attackers can request service tickets for these accounts and perform offline password cracking to gain unauthorized access.",
"AegisRemediation": "Implement strong password policies for service accounts and consider managed service accounts where possible."
}
PRIVILEGE ESCALATION PATHS
One of the most challenging aspects of Active Directory security is understanding the often complex and non-obvious ways attackers can elevate their privileges. Argus-AD maps these pathways, making them visible and understandable to system administrators who may not be familiar with advanced attack techniques.
The tool identifies delegation issues where excessive trust relationships could be exploited, reveals ACL weaknesses where improper permissions on AD objects enable privilege escalation, uncovers shadow admin rights where accounts have administrative capabilities through non-standard means, and detects accounts with permissions to perform DCSync attacks that could extract password hashes from the domain.
This visibility allows IT administrators to prioritize security improvements based on actual risk paths in their environment, rather than generic best practices that may not apply to their specific situation.
LATERAL MOVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Once attackers gain initial access to an environment, their ability to move laterally often determines the extent of a breach. For system administrators without security backgrounds, these movement pathways can be difficult to visualize and understand.
Argus-AD helps IT professionals identify violations of Microsoft's recommended tiered administration model, excessive distribution of local administrator rights that facilitate lateral movement, configurations that enable NTLM relay attacks, and session security issues related to SMB signing, RDP security, and similar protocols.
By making these potential movement paths visible, Argus-AD helps system administrators implement effective security boundaries that align with operational requirements.
HYBRID/CLOUD AD ISSUES
As organizations increasingly adopt cloud services, the security implications of hybrid identity systems become critical. Many system administrators find themselves responsible for hybrid environments without specialized training on the unique security challenges they present.
Argus-AD examines Azure AD Connect security configurations, identifies high-value accounts being synchronized to the cloud, assesses federation security settings, and provides guidance on multi-factor authentication deployment. This helps IT teams maintain visibility across the entire identity infrastructure, not just the on-premises components.
DESIGNED FOR THE IT PROFESSIONAL'S WORKFLOW
Argus-AD was built from the ground up with the needs of System Administrators and IT professionals in mind. We understand that you're balancing numerous responsibilities beyond security, and designed the tool to integrate seamlessly into your existing workflows:
FOR SYSTEM ADMINISTRATORS
If you're responsible for maintaining Active Directory as part of broader IT operations, Argus-AD provides an easy way to perform regular security checks without needing specialized expertise. The tool speaks your language, focusing on operational concepts you already understand while providing context for security findings.
FOR IT MANAGERS
If you oversee IT operations including Active Directory management, Argus-AD gives you visibility into security issues that might otherwise remain hidden. The executive summary provides a clear overview of your environment's security posture, perfect for briefing leadership and planning remediation efforts.
FOR SECURITY-CONSCIOUS IT PROFESSIONALS
If you're an IT administrator with security responsibilities but without dedicated security resources, Argus-AD helps bridge the gap between operations and security. The tool's detailed findings and remediation guidance help you implement security improvements as part of your regular administrative duties.
GETTING STARTED WITH ARGUS-AD
Using Argus-AD is straightforward, fitting easily into your existing administrative workflows:
PREREQUISITES
You'll need Windows PowerShell 5.1 or later, the Active Directory PowerShell module, and Domain Administrator or equivalent privileges for full functionality. These are tools most system administrators already use daily.
INSTALLATION
Installation follows familiar patterns for PowerShell tools:
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/MottaSec/Argus-AD.git
# Navigate to the directory
cd Argus-AD
# Run the installation script with administrator privileges
.\Install-ArgusAD.ps1
BASIC USAGE
Unlike complex security tools that require extensive configuration, Argus-AD works out of the box with a single command:
Invoke-ArgusAD
This will execute all scan modules and generate comprehensive reports in the default "reports" directory, giving you immediate visibility into your environment's security posture.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR SCAN
The tool adapts to your specific needs with straightforward PowerShell parameters:
# Scan a specific domain
Invoke-ArgusAD -DomainName contoso.com
# Skip certain scan modules
Invoke-ArgusAD -SkipHybridAD -SkipLateralMovement
# Output reports to a custom location
Invoke-ArgusAD -OutputPath "C:\SecAudits\ADScan"
UNDERSTANDING YOUR RESULTS
Argus-AD generates three complementary reports designed to serve different aspects of the IT administrator's role:
THE INTERACTIVE HTML REPORT provides a comprehensive view of all findings with filtering capabilities and detailed explanations. This is your go-to resource for understanding and addressing specific issues.
THE CSV EXPORT contains all findings in a structured format, perfect for importing into ticketing systems, spreadsheets, or other operational tools you already use.
THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY gives you a text-based overview for management reporting, focusing on key statistics and critical findings. This helps communicate security status to leadership and justify remediation resources.
REAL-WORLD IMPACT FOR IT TEAMS
System administrators across various organizations have already incorporated Argus-AD into their regular workflows with significant benefits:
A REGIONAL HEALTHCARE PROVIDER with limited security resources uses Argus-AD as part of their quarterly maintenance cycle. Their IT team discovered multiple service accounts with excessive permissions and several domain controllers missing critical patches—both issues they were able to remediate as part of their standard change management process.
A MID-SIZE MANUFACTURING COMPANY incorporated Argus-AD into their disaster recovery testing routine. While validating their backup systems, they simultaneously ran Argus-AD to assess security, making efficient use of their limited IT resources. This approach identified several privilege escalation paths that had developed over years of organic growth, allowing them to address these issues methodically without disrupting operations.
A MANAGED SERVICE PROVIDER now uses Argus-AD during client onboarding to establish security baselines. This allows them to identify security issues before assuming responsibility for client environments, create remediation roadmaps prioritized by risk, and demonstrate value through regular reassessments showing security improvements.
A CONTINUOUS JOURNEY: ARGUS-AD'S ONGOING EVOLUTION
Argus-AD is not a static tool but a continuously evolving platform. Our development team regularly updates the tool with new findings as attack techniques evolve and new vulnerabilities are discovered in Active Directory. Every update aims to maintain the tool's core value: translating complex security concepts into actionable insights for system administrators.
Upcoming releases will include enhanced reporting capabilities with additional visualization options, performance optimizations for scanning very large directories efficiently, support for organization-specific security checks, and programmatic access to assessment results for integration with other administrative tools.
Our long-term vision extends to continuous monitoring capabilities with alerting for security changes, guided remediation assistance for common findings, integration with threat intelligence to correlate findings with known attack patterns, and expanded checks for Microsoft 365 and other cloud services as they become increasingly central to identity management.
UNDERSTANDING ARGUS-AD'S ROLE IN YOUR SECURITY STRATEGY
While Argus-AD provides valuable visibility into your Active Directory security posture, it's important to understand its role in a broader security strategy. The tool is designed to help system administrators identify potential security issues and understand their implications, but it is not a replacement for a comprehensive security evaluation by specialized professionals.
Think of Argus-AD as an essential diagnostic tool in your administrative toolkit—it provides critical awareness of potential issues, but addressing complex security challenges often requires additional expertise and context. The findings from Argus-AD serve as an excellent starting point for conversations with security professionals and can dramatically improve the efficiency of professional security assessments by highlighting areas of concern in advance.
For organizations with limited security resources, Argus-AD helps you make the most of what you have by focusing attention where it's most needed. For those with dedicated security teams, it bridges the gap between security and operations, creating a common understanding of Active Directory risks.
FROM AWARENESS TO ACTION
Discovering security issues is only the first step; addressing them effectively requires carefully planned remediation. For system administrators who identify significant security concerns through Argus-AD, remediation options range from handling simple issues in-house to engaging specialized assistance for more complex challenges.
Many organizations find that while they can address some findings through standard administrative procedures, others benefit from specialized guidance. For those situations, MottaSec's complementary Aegis-AD solution provides systematic remediation assistance that builds on Argus-AD's findings. This approach allows organizations to prioritize improvements based on business impact, implement technical controls according to best practices, and maintain their enhanced security posture over time.
CONCLUSION: EMPOWERING IT PROFESSIONALS
In today's complex threat landscape, Active Directory security awareness is essential for every IT team. Argus-AD provides system administrators with the visibility they need to understand their security posture without becoming security specialists.
By combining comprehensive security checks with operation-focused insights, Argus-AD empowers IT professionals to incorporate security awareness into their existing workflows. This approach not only improves security outcomes but also enhances operational efficiency by addressing issues before they lead to incidents.
GET STARTED TODAY
Ready to gain visibility into your Active Directory environment? Take the first step toward improved situational awareness:
- Check out Argus-AD on GitHub (https://github.com/MottaSec/Argus-AD): Explore the code, documentation, and examples
- Star the repository (https://github.com/MottaSec/Argus-AD): Show your support and stay updated on new releases
- Open an issue (https://github.com/MottaSec/Argus-AD/issues): Report bugs, request features, or provide feedback
For more information or to discuss how MottaSec can help secure your Active Directory environment, contact us at [email protected] or visit www.mottasec.com.
---
Argus-AD is released under the CC BY-NC 4.0 License - free for non-commercial use with attribution.