Change the Default Admin Passwords

The system administrator's user account is installed with NetWitness. The username is admin and the default password is the password that was entered in the Text-based User Interface (TUI) during the NetWitness installation process. The Administrators role is assigned to admin. This role has full system privileges to control what a user can do and which services a user can access. The only modification you can make to this account is to change the password. Unlike other NetWitness users, changes to the admin user password do not automatically propagate to downstream services. When you configure the password strength settings, they apply to all NetWitness users, including the admin user.

Passwords, an important aspect of computer security, are the front line of protection for your system. The admin user is pre-installed in NetWitness and on each Core service. For security, you create the users and roles for your organization in NetWitness, and on each Core service.

Best Practices

NetWitness recommends the following best practices:

  • Change the admin password of each service from the default.
  • Create a different password for the admin account on each service.

Change the admin Password for the NetWitness

Change the admin password for the NetWitness in the Profile view. See "Change Password" in the NetWitness Getting Started Guide. The password of the admin user does not propagate to Core services.

Note: After you change the admin password, you must remove and re-add a data source on the Reporting Engine. For more information, see the Remove and re-add a Data Source on the Reporting Engine section below.

Change the admin Password for Core Services

To change the admin password for a Core service:

  1. Go to netwitness_adminicon_25x22.png (Admin) > Services.
  2. Select a service, and then select netwitness_ic-actns.png > View > Security.
  3. On the Users tab, select the admin user.
    netwitness_chgadmsrvpwd_750x249.png
  4. In the Password field, type a new admin password for the selected service.
  5. In the Confirm Password field, retype the new password.
  6. Click Apply.

Note: After you change the admin password, you must remove and re-add a data source on the Reporting Engine. For more information, see Remove and re-add a Data Source on the Reporting Engine below.

Remove and Re-add a Data Source on the Reporting Engine

Reporting Engine validates a data source using the data source username and password. If you change the username or password of a data source, you must remove and re-add the data source.

To remove and re-add a data source on the Reporting Engine:

  1. Go to netwitness_adminicon_25x22.png (Admin) > Services.
  2. In the Services view, select Reporting Engine and netwitness_ic-actns.png View > Config.
  3. Click the Sources tab.
  4. Select a service to remove and click netwitness_ic-delete.png.
  5. Click netwitness_ic-add.png and select Available Services.
  6. Select the service you removed in step 4 and click OK.
  7. When prompted, enter the new username and password for the service.

Change the admin Password for a Service Using the REST API

In rare circumstances, you may need to change the admin password for a Core service outside of the NetWitness user interface. This is simply another way to perform the Core service password change, and is not the preferred method.

To change the admin password for the service using the REST User Interface:

  1. Open a web browser, and go to the following URL:
    <hostname>:<port>
    where the hostname is the name of a NetWitness Core service and port is the port used for REST communication. Here is an example for a Decoder: http://10.20.30.40:50104
    The authentication dialog is displayed.
    netwitness_newdeviceconnect_678x203.png
  2. In the dialog, enter the user name and password used for authentication as admin on the service, and click OK. The default user name is admin and the default password is netwitness.
    The REST window for the service is displayed.
  3. Navigate through the node structure to users/accounts/admin/config.
    The user configuration fields for admin are displayed in the browser window.
    netwitness_pwrestpwnedit_750x253.png
  4. In the Password field, type a new admin password and click Set.