Glossary

A server that runs Active Directory and handles authentication and authorization for a Windows domain, validating logins and enforcing policy. Because it holds the keys to the domain, it is one of the most security-critical systems an organization runs.

A domain controller (DC) stores the directory database and authenticates users and computers in an Active Directory domain, issuing the Kerberos tickets that grant access. Compromising a DC effectively means compromising the entire domain, since it holds all credentials and controls policy, so DCs are hardened intensively, tightly access-controlled, and closely monitored. Attacks like DCSync target exactly this central role.

Introduced in: Identity and Access Management

No related terms linked yet.