Re: Securing workstations from IT guys

["Kurt Buff" <kurt.buff () gmail com>]

1) If the workstations are joined to the domain, the default security
settings place 'yourdomain\Domain Admins' as members of the local
Administrators group. With that kind of access, it's very simple to
grab the hashes of the local accounts and crack them.

2) Group Policy can operate through the computer's account to effect
changes - this is a definite way to make changes to many settings on
the machine.

I suggest installing a syslog client on the workstations in question
that casts eventlog entries to a machine under your control and
turning up the audit policy to maximum. The client I'm familiar with
is the SNARE client from www.intersectalliance.com - it works really
well.

However, if you can't trust your admins, fire them.

On Nov 25, 2007 10:24 AM, WALI <hkhasgiwale () gmail com> wrote:
> It's a catch 22 situation and I need to make our Windows Xp workstations
> appropriately secure. Secure from rogue Helpdesk personnel as well as
> network admins.
> The HR guys are complaining that their 'offer' letters to prospective
> employees and some of the CVs that they recieve are finding their way into
> unwanted hands. I suspect both HR application vulnerability, for which I am
> undertaking some vulnerability analysis but I also need to protect the PCs
> that belong to Dept. of HR employees from rogue IT guys.
>
> Here are the basics of what I intend to do:
> 1. Advise all HR users to shutdown their PC before they leave for the day.
> 2. Change all Local Admin passwords so that even IT helpdesk/other doesn't
> know them.
> 3. Advise HR guys to assign passwords to their excel/word files.
> 3. Do not create shares off c drive giving 'everyone' access.
>
> But...because they are all connected to Windows 2003 domain, I still risk
> someone from domain admin group to be able to start C$/D$ share and browse
> into their c: drive, what should I do?
>
> Also, it's easy to crack open xls/doc passwords, what else can be done?
>
> Alternatively, Is there an auditing on PC that can be enabled to track/log
> incoming connections to C$ and pop up and alert whenever someone tries it
> out from a remote machine.
>
> Pls advise!!