Passkey/FIDO2 for users in mainland China – recommended approach?
Hi, We are currently evaluating the adoption of Passkey/FIDO2 in Microsoft Entra ID as part of our strategy to move users away from traditional authentication methods such as SMS and voice and towards phishing-resistant authentication. Our Microsoft Entra ID tenant is a global tenant (not Azure China operated by 21Vianet), but we have a group of users who are physically located in mainland China. For users in other regions, we are evaluating Passkeys in Microsoft Authenticator and FIDO2 security keys. However, before defining the approach for our users in China, we would like to better understand the supported and recommended architecture for this particular scenario. We have reviewed the Microsoft documentation and understand that: Passkeys are not available for Microsoft Azure operated by 21Vianet. On iOS, Microsoft Authenticator Passkeys can be used to sign in to global organizations while the user is in China. On Android, Passkey authentication has dependencies such as Google Play Services, which raises questions for devices operating in mainland China. Our main questions are: For users physically located in mainland China but authenticating against a global Microsoft Entra ID tenant, what is Microsoft's recommended approach for deploying phishing-resistant authentication with Passkey/FIDO2? Is Microsoft Authenticator Passkey on iOS considered a fully supported option for users permanently located in mainland China, rather than only users temporarily traveling there? For Android users in mainland China, what is the recommended approach considering the dependency on Google Play Services? Is Passkey in Microsoft Authenticator a realistic supported option in this scenario? Would physical FIDO2 security keys be the preferred or more consistent alternative for users in China when mobile Passkeys cannot be reliably used? Are there any other Microsoft-supported Passkey providers or authentication approaches that should be considered specifically for mainland China? From an enrollment perspective, what would be the recommended bootstrap process for these users? For example, would Temporary Access Pass (TAP) be the recommended method to allow users to register their Passkey/FIDO2 credential before SMS/Voice is removed? Are there any additional regional, connectivity, mobile OS, or application compatibility considerations that should be taken into account before enforcing a phishing-resistant Authentication Strength through Conditional Access? Our objective is not simply to enable Passkey in the tenant, but to define a supported and sustainable authentication model for users located in mainland China before starting a broader rollout. Any experience, Microsoft guidance, or recommended architecture for this type of scenario would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Hacked Microsoft Account Recovery with Semi Access
I'm at a complete loss and it is infuriatingly ridiculous. I am entirely unable to get a hold of a human being at Microsoft and am being turned down by automated responses nonstop. So here's what's happening: My Microsoft account has been hijacked (obviously not this one) for its valuable Minecraft account and has now been sold. I am logged into my account via my PC, have full access of the main email address, but I have been locked out of my account using the alias email. Whenever I want to log in to my account, it wants to instead send a code to an email address I do not own and can't access. I have tried the Sign-In Helper, the Recovery Form, the hotline, the support email without any result, let alone a non-automated response. I sadly don't have the Recovery Code of my 15 year old-ish account. Since I still have full access of my email address I get updates of security info being changed and what not. Last month a stranger sent me screenshots of someone trying to sell my Minecraft account, for which I myself have received multiple buying offers, and voila yesterday I received notification of my alias mail address changing followed by Minecraft server apps being added to my Microsoft account. While I had already given up retrieving my account, whenever I get notifications my heart sinks a new while some hope sparks up again. Do you people have any idea of what I could do? I don't even rule out legal actions at this point. While I do of course have the email address of the hijacker and the buyer, I fear that contacting them results in me being locked out permanently. I'm just begging to catch the attention of anyone involved with Microsoft. This being walled out with automated responses is killing me.I built a free, open-source M365 security assessment tool - looking for feedback
I work as an IT consultant, and a good chunk of my time is spent assessing Microsoft 365 environments for small and mid-sized businesses. Every engagement started the same way: connect to five different PowerShell modules, run dozens of commands across Entra ID, Exchange Online, Defender, SharePoint, and Teams, manually compare each setting against CIS benchmarks, then spend hours assembling everything into a report the client could actually read. The tools that automate this either cost thousands per year, require standing up Azure infrastructure just to run, or only cover one service area. I wanted something simpler: one command that connects, assesses, and produces a client-ready deliverable. So I built it. What M365 Assess does https://github.com/Daren9m/M365-Assess is a PowerShell-based security assessment tool that runs against a Microsoft 365 tenant and produces a comprehensive set of reports. Here is what you get from a single run: 57 automated security checks aligned to the CIS Microsoft 365 Foundations Benchmark v6.0.1, covering Entra ID, Exchange Online, Defender for Office 365, SharePoint Online, and Teams 12 compliance frameworks mapped simultaneously -- every finding is cross-referenced against NIST 800-53, NIST CSF 2.0, ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS v4.0.1, CMMC 2.0, CISA SCuBA, and DISA STIG (plus CIS profiles for E3 L1/L2 and E5 L1/L2) 20+ CSV exports covering users, mailboxes, MFA status, admin roles, conditional access policies, mail flow rules, device compliance, and more A self-contained HTML report with an executive summary, severity badges, sortable tables, and a compliance overview dashboard -- no external dependencies, fully base64-encoded, just open it in any browser or email it directly The entire assessment is read-only. It never modifies tenant settings. Only Get-* cmdlets are used. A few things I'm proud of Real-time progress in the console. As the assessment runs, you see each check complete with live status indicators and timing. No staring at a blank terminal wondering if it hung. The HTML report is a single file. Logos, backgrounds, fonts -- everything is embedded. You can email the report as an attachment and it renders perfectly. It supports dark mode (auto-detects system preference), and all tables are sortable by clicking column headers. Compliance framework mapping. This was the feature that took the most work. The compliance overview shows coverage percentages across all 12 frameworks, with drill-down to individual controls. Each finding links back to its CIS control ID and maps to every applicable framework control. Pass/Fail detail tables. Each security check shows the CIS control reference, what was checked, what the expected value is, what the actual value is, and a clear Pass/Fail/Warning status. Findings include remediation descriptions to help prioritize fixes. Quick start If you want to try it out, it takes about 5 minutes to get running: # Install prerequisites (if you don't have them already) Install-Module Microsoft.Graph, ExchangeOnlineManagement -Scope CurrentUser Clone and run git clone https://github.com/Daren9m/M365-Assess.git cd M365-Assess .\Invoke-M365Assessment.ps1 The interactive wizard walks you through selecting assessment sections, entering your tenant ID, and choosing an authentication method (interactive browser login, certificate-based, or pre-existing connections). Results land in a timestamped folder with all CSVs and the HTML report. Requires PowerShell 7.x and runs on Windows (macOS and Linux are experimental -- I would love help testing those platforms). Cloud support M365 Assess works with: Commercial (global) tenants GCC, GCC High, and DoD environments If you work in government cloud, the tool handles the different endpoint URIs automatically. What is next This is actively maintained and I have a roadmap of improvements: More automated checks -- 140 CIS v6.0.1 controls are tracked in the registry, with 57 automated today. Expanding coverage is the top priority. Remediation commands -- PowerShell snippets and portal steps for each finding, so you can fix issues directly from the report. XLSX compliance matrix -- A spreadsheet export for audit teams who need to work in Excel. Standalone report regeneration -- Re-run the report from existing CSV data without re-assessing the tenant. I would love your feedback I have been building this for my own consulting work, but I think it could be useful to the broader community. If you try it, I would genuinely appreciate hearing: What checks should I prioritize next? Which security controls matter most in your environment? What compliance frameworks are most requested by your clients or auditors? How does the report land with non-technical stakeholders? Is the executive summary useful, or does it need work? macOS/Linux users -- does it run? What breaks? I have tested it on macOS, but not extensively. Bug reports, feature requests, and contributions are all welcome on GitHub. Repository: https://github.com/Daren9m/M365-Assess License: MIT (free for commercial and personal use) Runtime: PowerShell 7.x Thanks for reading. Happy to answer any questions in the comments.
Aucun accès au compte administrateur général, authentification MFA hors service
Bonjour, C'est un SOS que j'écris ici : je suis administratrice générale et la seule personne de ce compte Microsoft 365. Depuis un changement de téléphone, l'authentification MFA ne fonctionne plus : j'ai supprimé mon compte Microsoft dans l'application Authenticator sur mon ancien téléphone, puis ai téléchargé l'app sur mon nouveau. Impossible de m'enregistrer sur mon nouveau téléphone ni de retrouver l’authentification sur l'ancien : cela crée une boucle infinie de demande de code Authenticator auquel je n'ai plus accès. Aujourd'hui je n'ai plus du tout accès à mon compte : j'ai dû me connecter ici avec mon adresse personnelle pour accéder au forum. Microsoft est mon outil de travail, principalement pour l'usage de Copilot Pro, car je suis formatrice à Copilot Pro (et donc, promotrice des services Microsoft !!) J'ai tenté plusieurs fois d'appeler le service téléphonique, c'est une IA qui décroche, or son niveau de qualité de service client est déplorable, je ne m'étendrais pas ici, mais c'est une honte pour Microsoft d'un point de vue expérience utilisateur et IA... Mon ticket est existant mais je n'ai eu aucun retour, pas même le mail promis par l'IA téléphonique, qui devait sur l'adresse de secours fournie pendant le 1er échange téléphonique. En bref, je tourne en rond et n'ai aucun recours, donc je sollicite ici s'il vous plaît, s'il vous plaît, le modérateur du forum qui pourrait faire remonter mon ticket au service client ? Mon numéro de ticket : 2609 3014 2000 0444 Merci infinimentMicrosoft Authenticator backup not recognized by the same recovery account
My old Android phone has completely failed, so I can no longer access Microsoft Authenticator on that device. I had previously enabled Cloud Backup in Microsoft Authenticator, and I am certain that I am signing in with the same Microsoft personal account that was originally used as the recovery account. On my new Android phone, I reinstalled Microsoft Authenticator and selected “Restore from backup / Begin recovery” before adding any accounts. I then signed in with the same Microsoft personal account. However, Authenticator says that the backup is not stored under this account and asks me to try another personal Microsoft account. I am certain that this is the correct recovery account. Both the old phone and the new phone are Android devices, so this is not a cross-platform restore issue. I would like to know: Could this be a problem with the association between the cloud backup and the recovery account? Is there any way for the Microsoft Authenticator team to verify whether a backup still exists? Is there any supported way to recover the original backup instead of manually resetting and re-enrolling every third-party 2FA account? My old device is completely inaccessible, so I cannot open Authenticator there or create a new backup. Any guidance from the Microsoft Authenticator or Identity team would be appreciated.
Need to Restore PST Files to Office 365 Mailboxes - What's the Best Approach
Hey everyone, I have a task coming up where I need to restore several PST files back into Office 365 mailboxes. Haven't done this before at this scale and honestly not sure where to begin. I've looked at Microsoft's native import service through Purview but I have a few concerns: Some of the PST files are quite large — not sure how well it handles that I need to restore only specific folders for some users, not the entire PST I'm worried about data consistency after the restore Would prefer something that doesn't require too many admin roles or complex setup For those who have done PST to Office 365 restores — what approach worked best for you? Any tools, tips, or things to watch out for that you wish you knew before starting?
Entra ID 53003: How to identify primary authentication when Authentication Details are empty?
We are investigating repeated interactive Microsoft Entra ID sign-ins with the following pattern: - ErrorCode: 53003 (BlockedByConditionalAccess) - isInteractive: true - AppDisplayName: OfficeHome - Authentication requirement: Multifactor authentication Conditional Access correctly blocks these requests because they originate outside our trusted locations. We have already confirmed through controlled testing that the authentication flow can reach 53003 after the correct credentials are provided. Our current problem is different: We need to determine what mechanism satisfied the primary/first authentication factor for the observed 53003 events. For these events, Authentication Details are empty: - Authentication method: empty - Authentication method detail: empty - Result detail: empty Therefore, we cannot determine whether primary authentication was performed using a password, an existing token/session claim, PHS, PTA, federation, Seamless SSO, or another mechanism. Our questions are: 1. Is there any tenant-visible telemetry that can identify the primary authentication mechanism when AuthenticationDetails is empty? 2. Can fields such as AuthenticationProcessingDetails, AuthenticationProtocol, IncomingTokenType, OriginalTransferMethod, or AuthenticationMethodsUsed reliably distinguish between password validation and reuse of an existing authentication/token? 3. If additional authentication infrastructure is used: - can PTA Authentication Agent logs be correlated using RequestId or CorrelationId? - should Seamless SSO generate a corresponding Kerberos 4769 event for AZUREADSSOACC$? - should federated authentication be traceable in AD FS logs? 4. For Password Hash Synchronization, is there any tenant-visible telemetry confirming that Entra ID actually validated the password for a specific sign-in request? 5. If this information is not exposed to the tenant, can Microsoft Support retrieve backend authentication telemetry for a specific Sign-in ID / RequestId / CorrelationId and determine how primary authentication was satisfied? Our goal is not to determine why Conditional Access generated 53003 — that part is already understood. We specifically need to identify what satisfied primary authentication before the Conditional Access evaluation.
DNS connections
In 2021, I bought a domain and connected it to a Microsoft 365 account at the time. Over the years, I did not renew the domain and the 365 membership. Luckily last month, the domain was still available so I bought it back. Now, I can’t connect it to my new 365 account because it is still connected with the old one. I don’t have the username so I’m stuck at the momentTrapped in an Authenticator Loop
Dear Community, please help! I am trapped in an Authenticator Loop. I've got a microsoft workplace account, but if I want to log in, I have to type in a code from the microsoft authenticator app. I downloaded the app, but in order to use it, I have to log into my account and in order to do so, I also have to type in a code from the authenticator app, which I don't get, because to get the code I would have to log into the authenticator app, what I would need a code for... No matter which link I click, I can't open anything before I enter the code, which I can't get. I am using teams on mac, either on a firefox browser or on the desktop app and the authenticator on an Iphone. Please don't just tell me "don't use teams on a mac", this wasn't my choice. Unfortunately, my emplyer's IT support also is chronically unavailable. So is here anyone who could help me? I've already gone through the usual deleting the app, using another browser etc. options. Best LukasEntra External ID email OTP send event requestType always set to "signIn" regardless of user action
Hi, In a recent workload, I'm assisting a client with implementation of Entra External ID for identity management and app authentication, which includes sending OTP codes with customized email templates. To accomplish this, a custom authentication extension has been created that authorizes the request and then communicates with an email service via an event-driven, loosely coupled architecture. While implementing and testing this feature together with the client, we noticed that it seems like the different modes or states in the user flows are not reflected in the requestType property in the request payload posted to the OnOtpSend auth extension configured. E.g., if a user tries to sign in but has forgotten their password and navigates to the password reset view and requests to send the OTP code to their email address to reset the password, the following payload is sent to the auth extension endpoint (the original payload below was logged with Application Insights, with identifiers below then redacted and formatted, otherwise intact): { "type": "microsoft.graph.authenticationEvent.emailOtpSend", "source": "/tenants/aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee/applications/11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555", "data": { "@odata.type": "microsoft.graph.onOtpSendCalloutData", "otpContext": { "identifier": "email address removed for privacy reasons", "oneTimeCode": "<REDACTED>" }, "tenantId": "aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee", "authenticationEventListenerId": "22222222-3333-4444-5555-666666666666", "customAuthenticationExtensionId": "33333333-4444-5555-6666-777777777777", "authenticationContext": { "correlationId": "44444444-5555-6666-7777-888888888888", "client": { "ip": "192.0.2.10", "locale": "en-gb", "market": "en-gb" }, "protocol": "UNDEFINED", "requestType": "signIn", "clientServicePrincipal": { "id": "55555555-6666-7777-8888-999999999999", "appId": "11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555", "appDisplayName": "Example Web App", "displayName": "Example Web App" }, "resourceServicePrincipal": { "id": "55555555-6666-7777-8888-999999999999", "appId": "11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555", "appDisplayName": "<client-app-name>-Web", "displayName": "<client-app-name>-Web" } } } } The above payload was captured using browser-based authentication (native auth is not used), with the below parameters passed (identifiers, tenant name etc. redacted, otherwise intact): https://example.ciamlogin.com/ aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee/oauth2/v2.0/authorize ?response_type=code &client_id=11111111-2222-3333-4444-555555555555 &redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Fsignin%2Fcallback%2F &scope=openid+profile+email &state=<REDACTED> &prompt=login &ui_locales=de-DE &mkt=de-DE &nonce=<REDACTED> &code_challenge=<REDACTED> &code_challenge_method=S256 Following having navigated to the authorize endpoint above, the issue can be reproduced by entering an email address or an existing user identity, then on the password entry view, press the “Forgot Password?” link under the password input field, and then press the button/element “Email code to <user-email>”. I have looked at using the requestType in the email OTP send event payload to determine which email template and email content are used as per client requirement, but noted that the requestType seemingly always contains the value "signIn" even if the OTP code was sent as part of a password reset operation. At first glance, it would seem like this property indicates which step in the UI the user is currently at, even though I’m not certain whether that is what the property is actually meant to represent or indicate or not. However, for the above scenario and requirement, some identifier or value indicating the action would be needed in order to tailor the email content. The alternatives to having a reliable context property in the payload to indicate user action would require more or less significant additional components and infrastructure, thus increasing the complexity of the solution. Based on its name and values, it would seem like the requestType property appears be a good candidate to carry a user action context identifier. A suitable alternative solution has been adopted currently, using a generalized OTP template, which works well, but the requirement that it would be preferable to tailor the content based on user context and intent, e.g., whether the request was triggered as part of a password reset action or for another authentication scenario, is still present, ideally via the event payload sent from Entra External ID to the auth extension. If there would be any further/follow-up questions on the above, e.g., to clarify the requirement, or further explain the reproduction steps and behaviour observed, or anything else, please tell, and I'll ensure to get back as soon as possible. Also, would someone have some input on potential other/additional ways to make the requestType include a context identifier, that would be much appreciated as well, thanks! Regards Kristoffer
