In today’s modern network security landscape, protecting your organization’s resources requires more than just securing IP addresses. The key to a robust and adaptive security strategy is integrating user identity (User-ID) with your firewall. Palo Alto Networks offers a powerful and flexible User-ID feature, allowing you to associate network traffic with user identities, rather than relying solely on IP addresses. This approach enhances visibility and control, as well as helps to enforce policies based on user roles, groups, or other attributes.
This blog walks you through the process of configuring User-ID on a Palo Alto Networks firewall to enhance your organization’s security posture.
What is User-ID?
User-ID is a Palo Alto Networks feature that maps IP addresses to user identities. By doing so, it enables administrators to create security policies based on user identities rather than just IP addresses. This feature is particularly valuable in dynamic environments where users might be on different devices or IP addresses. With User-ID, you can enforce access control policies based on who the user is, making your network security smarter and more granular.
Benefits of User-ID
- Granular control: Create policies based on user identity, user groups, and applications.
- Improved visibility: Monitor user activity and behavior across the network.
- Dynamic IP user mapping: Users move between devices and locations while maintaining the same identity and policies.
- Simplified management: Reduce the need for manual IP address tracking and maintenance.
Deployment options: User-ID Agent or Agentless
- User-ID Agent uses an Agent installed on a server to get the user’s mapping.
- Agentless uses the firewall hardware to poll the user’s mapping.
Differences
- User-ID Agent requires software to be installed on a server.
- Agentless will use hardware resources on the firewall.
Which User-ID agent should I use?
- Use agentless (PAN-OS)
- If you have a small to medium deployment with 10 or fewer Domain controllers or Exchange servers
- If you wish to share PAN-OS sourced mappings from AD, Captive portal or Global Protect with other PA devices (max 255 devices)
- Use User-ID Agent (Windows)
- If you have medium to large deployment with more than 10 domain controllers
- If you have multi-domain setup with large number of servers to monitor
We are only going to show procedures for the User-ID Agent Deployment
Prerequisites
Before diving into the configuration, there are a few prerequisites to keep in mind:
- Active Directory Integration: Palo Alto’s User-ID feature integrates with Microsoft Active Directory (AD). Ensure that your firewall can communicate with your AD server or another authentication system (LDAP, etc.).
- Palo Alto Networks Firewall: Ensure your firewall is running the latest PAN-OS version to access the latest features and enhancements.
- User-ID Agent (Require for Agent deployments): You will need to deploy the User-ID agent on your domain controllers or dedicated machines to allow the firewall to query user information.
- Administrator Access: Ensure you have administrative access to the Palo Alto firewall and necessary permissions to configure User-ID.
Step-by-Step Guide to Configuring User-ID with User-ID Agent
Step 1: Configure the User-ID Agent
The User-ID Agent collects and maps IP addresses to usernames and groups by querying Active Directory (or other supported directories). This agent can be installed on a domain controller or a dedicated server.
- Download and Install the User-ID Agent:
- Go to Palo Alto Networks Support Portal and download the User-ID Agent installer.
- Install the agent on the selected machine (domain controller or a dedicated server).
- Ensure the User-ID agent has access to query the AD server and retrieve user information.
- Create a User account for the User-ID Agent
- Make the user a member of Event Log readers.
- Configure the User-ID Agent:
- After installation, launch the User-ID agent configuration tool.
- If Agent is running, Stop it
- Input User account information that is made for USER-ID
- Go to discovery and click on Auto Discover
- If Auto Discover did not find your Server, you can click Add to manual add it.
- Save and commit
- Start Agent
- Click on Monitor and wait for Users to populate.
- IP address and User name confirms that the Agent is retrieving user’s mapping from the Servers.
- Setup and Add Access control list. Input Firewall information. This will only allow the firewall to communicate with the Agent.
- Save and commit
- Added Certificate. If you have a certificate for the firewall or created a certificate on the firewall.
Step 2: Configure the Firewall to Connect with the User-ID Agent
Now that the User-ID agent is set up, you need to configure the Palo Alto firewall to use it.
- Access the Firewall's Web Interface:
- Log in to the Palo Alto Networks firewall using an administrator account.
- Configure the User-ID Settings:
- Navigate to Device > Data Redistribution.
- In the Agent Tab, click Add to add a new User-ID agent.
- Enter the IP address or hostname of the machine where the User-ID agent is installed.
- Port 5007 is default for User-ID
- Check the box for “IP User Mappings”
Step 3: Enable User-ID for Zones
- Go to your Zones and click on the check box to enable User-ID
Step 4: Configure Security Policies Using User-ID
With the User-ID feature enabled, you can now leverage user identity in your security policies.
- Create a Security Policy Based on User-ID:
- Navigate to Policies > Security.
- Click Add to create a new policy.
- In the Source User section, click on the user icon to select specific users or groups that the policy applies to.
- Set the desired source and destination, applications, and action (Allow, Deny, etc.) for the policy.
- Click OK to save the policy.
- Apply and Commit Changes:
- After creating the necessary policies, click Commit to apply the changes to the firewall.
Step 5: Verify User-ID Functionality
To ensure everything is configured properly, you need to verify that User-ID is working as expected.
- Monitor User-ID Logs:
- Go to Monitor > Logs > Traffic or Threat to check logs related to user activity.
- Ensure that user identities are being properly mapped to the correct IP addresses.
- Test User Access:
- Try accessing a resource or application that is protected by User-ID-based policies.
- Ensure that the appropriate access controls are being applied based on the user identity.
Troubleshooting Tips
If you encounter any issues while configuring User-ID, here are a few troubleshooting tips:
- Check Communication Between Firewall and User-ID Agent: If there’s an issue with user mappings, verify that the firewall can communicate with the User-ID agent.
- Examine the Logs: Review the firewall logs for any issues related to User-ID. Look for authentication failures or connectivity issues.
- Verify AD Configuration: Make sure the User-ID agent is correctly connected to the Active Directory server and has sufficient permissions to query user information.
Conclusion
Palo Alto Networks' User-ID feature is a powerful tool that enhances your firewall security by providing visibility and control based on user identities rather than just IP addresses. By configuring User-ID, you can create more granular policies, improve security monitoring, and ensure that your network resources are protected in a dynamic, user-aware environment.
Following the steps outlined in this blog, you should now be able to configure User-ID on your Palo Alto firewall with ease, making your security infrastructure smarter and more efficient.
As always if you have any questions on your network and would like to schedule a free consultation with us, please reach out to us at sales@lookingpoint.com and we’ll be happy to help!