The best multi-factor authentication (MFA) solutions for Active Directory

Threat actors often target Active Directory (AD) user login credentials, making security measures like multi factor authentication (MFA) critical. Here's a guide to the best on premises MFA solutions for Active Directory environments, and how to choose the right fit for your team.

Active Directory MFA adds a critical security layer to system access control. MFA builds on a username and password by requiring one or more additional authentication factors to verify AD identities. And many cybersecurity compliance standards, industry-specific regulations, and cyber insurance providers now require MFA.

The problem is, AD doesn’t natively support MFA. Secure on-premises AD MFA requires a third-party solution. 

When you evaluate solutions, start with what you need. Then, look at how each vendor handles AD integration, user experience, and threat protection.

Key considerations:

1. Your environment. Are your systems on-premises, hybrid or cloud-based? Choose a solution that will fit your setup for the next 1-3 years.

2. AD integration. Choose a solution that integrates with your existing AD setup. Save resources by avoiding cloud-based identity providers (IdPs) and duplicate directories. 

3. Granular policy controls. The best MFA solutions put IT in control of finding the optimal balance between security and productivity. Make sure you can define different policies based on user risk, connection type, session context, and more.

4. Scalability. Look for a solution that deploys easily and has flexible licensing to grow with your team.

5. Resilience. Enable MFA offline and off-domain – often essential for compliance and cyber insurance.

6. Budget. Evaluate the licensing model, cost per user, and any hidden costs such as third-party integration or support.

Successful MFA implementations bring effective security while allowing IT and end users to focus on work that adds value.

How do the best MFA solutions for Active Directory stack up against each other? Several MFA solutions support Active Directory. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, which you’ll want to weigh against the factors above. 

UserLock allows you to keep everything on-premises. With UserLock, manage easy-to-use MFA for Active Directory, single sign-on (SSO), context-aware access, and session-based controls. Plus, take the headache out of audits and compliance reporting thanks to a searchable dashboard and predefined reports. 

Unlike cloud-reliant identity security providers, UserLock operates fully on-premises alongside your AD infrastructure. This means you can implement secure access all the time, even without internet or a network connection. You get total access control, while granular controls prevent authentication fatigue. 

• One solution for MFA across Windows login, IIS, RDP and RD Gateway, VPN, SaaS, and user access control (UAC) prompts.

• Offline and off-domain MFA, ideal for airgapped networks, too. Get offline MFA for logins when there is no internet or network connection. Use off-domain MFA when there’s no network connection. 

• Native AD integration brings real-time visibility on user access events. Any updates to AD user or group policies immediately reflect in UserLock policies. 

• Quick setup and lightweight management since UserLock follows AD logic. Your team already knows how to set up policies for AD users, groups, and OUs. 

• Conditional access controls based on session type, device, IP address, geolocation, time, number of concurrent logins, and more. Automatically block authentication attempts that don’t meet your requirements.

• Session-based access controls allow IT to enforce policies for session duration, concurrent sessions, and more.

• Single sign-on (SSO) extends on-prem AD authentication for secure access to SaaS resources.

• Self-enrollment and backup recovery codes for easy user onboarding.

• Support up to two MFA methods per user. Offer end users push notifications, authenticator apps, and security keys such as YubiKey and Token2.

• Granular MFA application doesn’t frustrate end users, prevents authentication fatigue, and allows users and IT to stay productive. Apply MFA based on:

  • Connection type: Apply MFA differently for connections inside the network, outside the network, or both.

  • Session type: Apply MFA by workstation, server, IIS, VPN, SaaS, or UAC.

  • Frequency: For each connection and session type, apply MFA every n days/hours/minutes.

Most MFA solutions for Active Directory rely on a cloud-based IdP, which means managing a duplicate directory. They may also require a constant internet connection, or come with technical tradeoffs. 

Some solutions, such as Duo, Okta, and Silverfort, are designed for hybrid or cloud-based environments. These solutions can fit complex, multi-platform environments and large enterprise environments where risk based authentication is key. For an AD-centric environment, they can add complexity and reduce IT control. Consider:

• Will the value you get from the solution justify the cost? 

• Are features such as adaptive MFA available at an additional cost?

• Are there any hidden costs, such as professional installation and integration requirements?

Other solutions, such as AuthLite or ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus, are built for AD. These solutions might not need duplicate directories. However, limited MFA methods or complex deployment can make these solutions hard to scale beyond privileged users. When evaluating total cost, evaluate your support needs, and whether or not support is an extra cost. 

Shift Technologies was looking for a two-factor authentication (2FA) system to deploy for multiple clients. The clients needed MFA for Active Directory to meet cyber insurance requirements. To meet the requirements, the 2FA solution had to:

• Enforce MFA without an internet connection

• Manage all access attempts within the network

• Allow for customization of each user's access policies.

UserLock appeared in a Google search as a clear choice. The insurance company also approved UserLock. After implementing UserLock across multiple clients, the Shift Technologies team finds it easy to use and effective.

A European Ministry of Defense was looking for an on-premise MFA solution. It needed to align with national and NATO access control requirements. The solution needed to be easy to configure with their existing AD infrastructure. It also should allow remote MFA enrollment to integrate with their automated mission deployments.

The Ministry of Defense chose UserLock to deploy MFA and access security for their classified networks and admin accounts. UserLock meets national and NATO security standards and performs well in a dynamic mission environment. Today, the Ministry of Defense relies on UserLock to safeguard their networks with strong, on-premises MFA.

The Quebec Police Services needed to implement MFA to meet local compliance regulations. Since the City of Trois-Rivières had 250 YubiKey tokens, they wanted to find an MFA platform that worked with YubiKeys. UserLock came up as an ideal solution. It supports YubiKeys to apply MFA on RDP and Windows domain connections.

After installing UserLock MFA, the Quebec Police Services now meets MFA requirements. They also simplify their daily work. UserLock’s centralized console and logon reports help the City of Trois-Rivières better manage and monitor user access.