ITDR: detect and respond to threats targeting identities
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Identity threat detection and response monitors directories and identity providers for credential misuse, privilege escalation and weak configurations. Loonar designs, deploys and sustains ITDR across Active Directory, Entra ID and Google Workspace, connecting identity governance with 24/7 MDR. Practical training helps internal teams investigate signals and authorize containment safely.
In short
- Valid credentials can still carry an attack.
- Privilege reviews need operational context.
- Identity containment requires clear ownership.
How do you know you need identity security?
Stolen credentials look legitimate
An attacker using valid credentials can resemble an ordinary employee. Teams that focus only on failed authentication may miss successful malicious access. Without context about devices, access patterns and user behavior, a compromise can spread before anyone questions the activity.
Privileges without accountability
Administrative accounts accumulate permissions and exceptions over time. Without clear owners and reviews of sensitive changes, a compromised account may unlock other systems. Teams lose sight of who can modify security controls or reach information beyond their actual job requirements.
Departed employees retain accounts
Offboarding does not always remove every directory and application account. Identities without an active owner remain enabled, while technical dependencies complicate cleanup. Without reconciliation against the employee lifecycle, these accounts can fall outside routine reviews and remain usable for unauthorized access.
MFA and inconsistent policies
Enabling multifactor authentication does not resolve broad exceptions, unsuitable methods or compromised sessions. Inconsistent policies across environments leave alternative access routes. Teams need to identify those gaps and test corrective controls without disrupting legitimate work or disabling service identities blindly.
How does it work?
Access behavior analysis
We correlate sign-in, device and resource activity to investigate unusual behavior. Context helps separate legitimate changes from potential compromise, rather than treating a single location signal as sufficient evidence of attack.
Sensitive changes and escalation
We monitor group, permission and policy changes that could enable persistence or elevated access. Alerts include available context to verify authorization, assess impact and determine which investigative step is justified next.
Directory posture assessment
We assess configurations, inactive accounts and excessive privileges in covered directories. Findings receive owners and risk-based priorities, accounting for dependencies so cleanup does not inadvertently interrupt applications or essential business processes.
Exposed credential signals
We review exposure indicators from agreed sources and match relevant findings to organizational identities. Investigation guides credential changes and follow-up checks without claiming visibility into every leak or every compromised account.
Automated response workflows
Account blocking, credential resets and session revocation follow playbooks and available permissions. Sensitive actions require approval or preauthorized conditions, with decision records and dependency checks built into the response workflow.
Access governance and reviews
Findings feed access reviews so teams address underlying causes, not just immediate symptoms. Owners validate privilege requirements and lifecycle changes while operations track exceptions and verify that agreed corrective actions took effect.
How does Loonar deliver?
Assessment
We map directories, identity providers and critical accounts. We review logging, privileges and joiner, mover and leaver processes to identify visibility gaps and dependencies that influence safe investigation and response.
Design
Loonar designs detection use cases, risk criteria and identity playbooks. Owners agree who may disable accounts, revoke sessions or approve exceptions, considering the impact on dependent services and legitimate users.
Deployment and integration
We connect identity sources and validate collection and response permissions. Controlled tests cover suspicious access and privilege changes, linking evidence to MDR investigations and governance workflows before operational handover begins.
Training
Loonar trains security teams, infrastructure staff and access owners to interpret alerts and follow response procedures. Exercises cover administrators, absent users and application dependencies, including evidence preservation when urgent decisions are required.
Operation and improvement
Loonar sustains the service, tunes detection logic and tracks posture fixes. Recurring reviews address exceptions, orphaned accounts and environmental changes, keeping identity governance and operational response aligned with business needs.
Which technology does Loonar use to deliver it?
What results do we measure?
- Privileged accounts under control
- Tracks scoped privileged accounts with assigned owners, reviews and defined controls.
- Orphaned accounts removed
- Records identities removed after ownership and dependency checks confirm cleanup is appropriate.
- Identity compromise response time
- Measures elapsed time from confirmed compromise to the agreed response action.
- Posture findings remediated
- Counts findings whose correction has been validated in the affected directory or provider.
How does ITDR differ from IAM and PAM?
Access governance, privileged access control and threat detection serve complementary purposes.
| Aspect | IAM | PAM | ITDR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | Identity lifecycle and access | Privileged access | Identity threats |
| Signals | Requests and reviews | Privilege usage | Behavior and posture |
| Action | Provision and review | Control elevated access | Investigate and contain |
| Contribution | Defines legitimate access | Constrains privileges | Detects abuse and informs fixes |
Where do we apply it?
Financial services
A financial organization needs to investigate administrative account misuse without reflexively blocking legitimate operations. ITDR connects privilege changes with authentication and access signals. Investigators use that context to request appropriate containment approval and inform access reviews, retaining evidence for audit requests and discussions about the organization’s risk exposure.
Healthcare
Clinical and administrative staff use identities across multiple services and applications. ITDR helps investigate unusual access and accounts no longer linked to active staff. Before disabling an identity, responders check dependencies and involve service owners, balancing containment with continuity of care and the need to preserve reliable investigation evidence.
SaaS
SaaS businesses need visibility into administrative accounts and identities used to operate environments. ITDR highlights sensitive changes and signs of misuse, connecting access context with affected services. Governance teams use findings to review privileges and exceptions, while playbooks specify containment options without assuming every identity can safely be disabled immediately.
Frequently asked questions
What is ITDR?
ITDR stands for identity threat detection and response. It observes directories, authentication and privilege changes to investigate credential misuse and guide containment. Loonar designs use cases, deploys integrations, trains internal teams and sustains operations. Coverage depends on available events and granted permissions, so the service scope must state which identity sources are included and where investigative or response limitations remain.
What is the difference between ITDR and IAM?
IAM manages the identity lifecycle and establishes who should access each resource. ITDR investigates whether that access is being abused and guides the response. They are complementary: a correctly provisioned account can still be compromised. ITDR findings can trigger access reviews, while IAM context helps investigators understand whether an observed activity fits the person’s role and current employment status.
Why is Active Directory a preferred target?
Active Directory holds authentication, permissions and trust relationships in many corporate environments. Compromising significant accounts or configurations may enable lateral movement and broader access. That does not mean every directory carries the same exposure. Risk depends on configuration, privileges, integrations and existing controls. ITDR helps teams observe sensitive changes and investigate signs of misuse within that specific operational context.
Is MFA enough?
MFA is an important control, but it does not eliminate every identity threat. Compromised sessions, policy exceptions, excessive permissions and weak authentication methods can leave attack paths open. ITDR adds monitoring and response rather than replacing sound authentication design. An assessment should include employees, administrators and nonhuman identities, recognizing that available controls and response options differ across environments and account types.
How does ITDR connect to MDR?
ITDR contributes identity signals and context to the wider MDR investigation. Sign-ins and privilege changes can be correlated with endpoint, cloud and network activity. Shared responsibilities and authorization rules help prevent conflicting response actions. The operating model should also establish who verifies account recovery, checks subsequent sessions and confirms that containment addressed the observed risk rather than simply closing the original alert.
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