Active Directory and Entra ID are critical to managing access across your organisation, but complex permissions, legacy configurations, and lingering accounts can create serious security gaps.
In this two-part series, Sander Berkouwer and Darryl Baker share practical guidance to help you quickly assess and strengthen your environment. You’ll learn how to secure permissions, prevent unauthorised changes, detect persistence techniques, and clean up stale objects so both new and seasoned admins can manage AD and Entra ID more effectively and securely.
Active Directory has been the foundation of access management for over 25 years, used by most organisations to control access to resources both on-premises and in the cloud. Over time, IT pros have turned to forums, videos, and online communities to troubleshoot AD issues only to discover that a forgotten configuration from years ago, or a well-meaning shortcut like copying user accounts, can lead to major problems today.
With constant security updates from Microsoft and increasingly complex permission structures, many admins new and experienced alike struggle to understand who has access to what and why. This session helps you cut through that complexity and take control of your AD environment.
In this session, Sander Berkouwer and Netwrix Solution Architect Darryl Baker show how PingCastle, Access Analyzer, and Threat Prevention help admins:
Cybersecurity Consultant and Instructor with over 20 years of experience in information security, systems architecture, and military leadership. I specialise in securing enterprise environments including Active Directory, Azure, and identity management platforms by identifying vulnerabilities, simulating real-world attack scenarios, and implementing customised remediation strategies.
My focus areas include vulnerability assessments, identity threat detection and response, and adversarial attack simulations. I have helped organisations significantly reduce their attack surface and achieve compliance with standards such as NIST and ISO 27001, ultimately strengthening their overall security posture.
Technological developments around Active Directory, Entra, and identity management are evolving at an increasingly rapid pace. Keeping up with these changes is a minor challenge compared to my real goal: ensuring that people can actually use these technologies in their everyday lives. I believe IT should not be an obstacle, but rather a gateway to endless possibilities.
My multiple recognitions as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP), Veeam Vanguard, and VMware vExpert, along with my extensive certifications, help me along the way. Thanks to my direct connection with product teams, my knowledge is always up to date, and I can provide swift feedback and support.