Abu Dhabi Pensions Secures 500+ MFA Logins with AD Integration

Challenges

Abu Dhabi Pensions faced significant security and operational challenges with their existing authentication systems, putting their sensitive pension data at risk. The organization needed a robust authentication solution that could provide enhanced security while maintaining a seamless user experience for their employees. Here are some of the critical issues they regularly encountered:

• Authentication Vulnerabilities: Password-only authentication left their systems vulnerable to credential theft and unauthorized access, creating potential entry points for attackers targeting sensitive pension data and financial information.
• Offline Access Limitations: Employees working remotely or in areas with limited connectivity struggled to authenticate securely, hindering productivity and creating frustration when internet connections were unreliable.
• Active Directory Complexity: Managing user access across multiple applications and systems through their existing Active Directory infrastructure was becoming increasingly complex and time-consuming for the IT team.
• Security vs. User Experience: Balancing robust security measures with user-friendly authentication processes was challenging, often resulting in either compromised security or frustrated users seeking workarounds.
• High Availability Concerns: Any authentication system downtime would prevent employees from accessing critical pension management systems, potentially disrupting services for thousands of pensioners.
• Infrastructure Integration: Their existing IT infrastructure required seamless integration with any new authentication solution without disrupting current operations or requiring extensive reconfiguration.
• Password Reset Burden: The IT helpdesk was overwhelmed with password reset requests, diverting valuable resources from more strategic initiatives and creating delays for users needing access.

Result

The miniOrange solution provided Abu Dhabi Pensions with major enhancements for their authentication infrastructure and security posture improvement. Three essential benefits resulted from the deployment: The solution established advanced authentication security and delivered uninterrupted system operation alongside efficient user management processes. The following report provides a complete analysis of the implementation results:

• MFA Logins using MS Authenticator: Microsoft Authenticator protects Abu Dhabi Pensions through its combination of push notifications and offline TOTP. The multi-factor authentication solution protects internal systems from unauthorized access while removing password vulnerabilities without affecting user experience.
• Distributed Server Architecture Increased Uptime: The implementation of four miniOrange servers (two internal and two DMZ) in a load-balanced distributed architecture achieves 99.99% uptime. The redundant system provides authentication responses in under 2 seconds throughout maintenance and hardware failure situations.
• AD Integration for Better Operations Management: The system allows simultaneous imports from multiple organizational units through its direct Active Directory integration, which simplifies user management. The unified platform enables easier onboarding processes and decreases administrative work significantly.
• Self-Service Password Reset Dropped IT Support Tickets: The implementation of self-service password reset functionality reduced help-desk ticket numbers by 70%. Users now have the ability to handle access problems autonomously, which enables IT teams to dedicate their time to strategic work and increases overall productivity.
• Scalable Infrastructure Created: The system architecture provides scalability that surpasses its current 500+ user capacity while enabling additional authentication methods and future application integrations. The flexible system allows Abu Dhabi Pensions to perform seamless passwordless authentication transitions for Horizon Client and Office 365 tools.

About Abu Dhabi Pension Fund

Abu Dhabi Pension Fund is a government-run entity from Abu Dhabi designed for civil retirement pensions and military retirees. It aims to improve the social standard of citizens with the help of a comprehensive retirement system. They are at the forefront of securing the data of their beneficiaries and stakeholders using top-notch cybersecurity solutions. Their on-premise architecture using Active Directory consists of enhanced security layers to assist secure logins for all.