AD Query

AD Query is an easy to deploy, clientless identity acquisition tool. It is based on Active Directory integration, and it is completely transparent to the user.

AD Query works when:

• An identified user or computer tries to access a resource that creates an authentication request. For example, when a user logs in, unlocks a screen, shares a network drive, reads emails through Exchange, or uses an Intranet portal.
• AD Query is selected as a way to acquire identities.

The technology is based on querying the Active Directory Security Event Logs and extracting the user and computer mapping to the network address from them. It is based on Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), a standard Microsoft protocol. The Identity Awareness Gateway communicates directly with the Active Directory domain controllers and does not require a separate server.

No installation is necessary on the clients, or on the Active Directory server.

AD Query extracts user and computer identity information from the Active Directory Security Event Logs. The system generates a Security Event Log entry when a user or a computer accesses a network resource. For example, this occurs when a user logs in, unlocks a screen, or accesses a network drive. Security Event Logs are not generated when a user logs out because Active Directory cannot detect this action.

When you work with AD Query, it is important that you understand and comply with these limitations:

• User/IP association timeout - After a predefined period of network inactivity, a user session closes automatically. The user must log in again with the Captive Portal.
• Many user accounts connected from the same IP address - AD Query cannot detect when a user logs out. Therefore, more than one user can have open sessions from the same IP address. When this occurs, the permissions for each account remain active until their User/IP association timeout occurs. In this scenario, there is a risk that currently connected users can access network resources, for which they do not have permissions.

How AD Query Works - Firewall Rule Base

Flow of events:

1. The Identity Awareness Gateway (1) gets security event logs from the Active Directory Domain Controllers (2).
2. A user logs in to a computer with Active Directory credentials (3).
3. The Active Directory Domain Controller (2) sends the security event log to the Identity Awareness Gateway (1).
4. The Identity Awareness Gateway gets the user name (@domain), computer name and source IP address).
5. The user opens a connection to the network resource (4).
6. The Identity Awareness Gateway confirms the user identity and allows or blocks access to the resource based on the policy.