Continuing with Microsoft Entra: Advanced Identity Management
In the previous blog Microsoft Entra Admin Center - Secure, Protect, & Manage, we explored the capabilities of the Microsoft Entra Admin Center, focusing on how it helps secure, protect, and manage your organization's identities and access. Building on that foundation, let's dive deeper into the advanced features and functionalities of Microsoft Entra ID, formerly known as Azure Active Directory, to further enhance your identity and access management strategy. Advanced Identity Management with Microsoft Entra ID Microsoft Entra ID offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline identity management in the cloud. Here are some key features that can help you take your organization's security to the next level: Conditional Access Policies Conditional access is a pivotal feature that allows you to enforce access controls based on specific conditions. By setting policies that consider user location, device state, and risk level, you can ensure that only authorized users gain access to sensitive resources. To learn more about Conditional Access click here: What is Conditional Access in Microsoft Entra ID? - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Identity Protection With the P2 plan, Microsoft Entra ID provides advanced identity protection capabilities. This includes risk-based conditional access, which assesses the likelihood of a user being compromised and adjusts access policies accordingly. It also offers tools to detect and remediate identity-based risks. To learn more about Identity Protection click here: What is Microsoft Entra ID Protection? - Microsoft Entra ID Protection | Microsoft Learn Privileged Identity Management (PIM) PIM helps you manage, control, and monitor access to important resources within your organization. By providing just-in-time privileged access and requiring approval for elevated roles, PIM reduces the risk of security breaches. To learn more about PIM click here: What is Privileged Identity Management? - Microsoft Entra ID Governance | Microsoft Learn Seamless Integration with Cloud Applications Microsoft Entra ID integrates seamlessly with a wide range of cloud applications, providing single sign-on (SSO) capabilities. This not only enhances user experience by reducing the number of login prompts but also improves security by centralizing authentication. To learn more about SSO click here: Microsoft Entra Connect: Seamless single sign-on - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Extending On-Premises Directories to the Cloud For organizations with existing on-premises Active Directory environments, Microsoft Entra Domain Services offers a bridge to the cloud. This service provides managed domain services such as domain join, group policy, and LDAP, enabling you to extend your on-premises directory to Azure without the need to manage domain controllers. To learn more about Microsoft Entra Domain Services click here: Overview of Microsoft Entra Domain Services - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Comparing Microsoft Entra ID Plans Understanding the differences between the P1 and P2 plans is crucial for selecting the right solution for your organization: P1 Plan: Ideal for organizations that need basic identity and access management features, including conditional access and self-service password reset. P2 Plan: Suited for organizations requiring advanced security features such as identity protection and privileged identity management. Optimizing Permissions Management Permissions management is crucial for maintaining a secure and efficient IT environment. Microsoft Entra provides tools to optimize permissions: Permission Insights: Gain visibility into who has access to what resources and identify any unnecessary permissions. Automated Permission Management: Automatically adjust permissions based on user roles and activities, ensuring that users only have access to what they need. Audit Logs: Keep track of all permission changes and access requests to maintain a clear audit trail. To learn more about Microsoft Entra Permissions Management click here: What is Microsoft Entra Permissions Management - Training | Microsoft Learn Ensuring Global Secure Access In today's remote work environment, secure access to resources is more important than ever. Microsoft Entra's Global Secure Access features include: Secure Remote Access: Set up secure connections for remote users, ensuring they can access the necessary resources without compromising security. Application Management: Manage and secure access to both cloud and on-premises applications. Network Security: Implement network security measures to protect your organization's data and resources from external threats. To learn more about Global Secure Access click here: What is Global Secure Access? - Global Secure Access | Microsoft Learn Conclusion Microsoft Entra ID is a powerful tool that provides robust identity and access management capabilities for both cloud and hybrid environments. By leveraging its advanced features, you can enhance your organization's security posture and streamline access management processes. For more information on this topic and to expand your knowledge, please check out Understand Microsoft Entra ID - Training | Microsoft Learn.Enabling Self-Service Password Reset for Your Organization
What Is SSPR? It is a frigid February morning. The time is approximately 6:30 AM. Your morning cup of joe is interrupted by an urgent call from your system administrator Jonathan. He informs you about a suspicious email incident over the weekend that potentially impacted numerous employees. He suggests resetting all passwords to reduce any potential impact after handling most of the preliminary measures. Jonathan is thinking about enabling Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) to maximize time and efficiency. SSPR allows organizations to members to reset their own password. In this blog we will cover a useful feature that can be enabled in your Microsoft Entra Admin Center. Naturally, this blog assumes that you have not enabled this feature as you are just getting started. However, I do suggest looking into the links below for a deeper dive. Navigating to Microsoft Entra Admin Center First, before beginning to enable this feature, make sure to have your admin credentials handy. You must have the appropriate administrative role and access. Lastly, if you want to enable this policy for on-premises integration. You will need to set up a sync engine to be connected to your account. Please see the following link to learn more: Enable Microsoft Entra password writeback - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn. Let us continue to the login page. Sign In Navigate to the following website https://entra.microsoft.com. Using your administrative credentials type in your “Username and Password.” If you have forgotten your password, click on “Forgot my password” then follow the prompts accordingly. You will be prompted to authenticate using your phone via the “Microsoft Authentication app.” After you sign in, you'll arrive at the Microsoft Entra Admin Center Home directory. From there, we'll guide you through the process of enabling the feature, one step at a time. Enabling SSPR In the home screen, select the “Protection” tab in the left-hand menu, then click “Password reset.” The first menu item is “Properties” on the right side you will see “Self-service password reset enabled.” Select between three options: None: No users within the organization selected for reset (this is selected by default if never enabled). Selected: Select the Microsoft groups within your organization to apply for self-reset. All: Apply for all users within the organizations for self-reset. Select one then click the “Save” button. Now that SSPR is enabled, you will see “Forgot my password” based on the option you selected. If all options were chosen, all members would see it; otherwise, it will be visible according to the groups you specified. This allows the Systems admin to send just one email to reset their passwords. Conclusion Moving forward, this policy aims to enhance self-sufficiency and improve security measures. By enabling Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR), organizations can streamline password management, lighten IT support loads, and boost security. Users can reset their passwords quickly and securely keeps productivity high and mitigates risks associated with forgotten credentials. Monitor its effectiveness and adjust settings as needed to meet your organization's unique needs and security standards. Hyperlinks License self-service password reset - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Enable Microsoft Entra password writeback - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Self-service password reset deep dive - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Microsoft Entra Admin Center - Secure, Protect, & Manage | Microsoft Community HubManagement Made Simple with Administrative Units - Microsoft Entra ID
Microsoft Entra ID, formerly known as Azure Active Directory, is a part of Microsoft Entra that manages both internal and external resources for your organization. These resources can reside in your Azure subscription or within your Microsoft 365 Tenant. Consequently, Entra ID assists IT administrators in managing who requires access to these resources. Organizations have the option to choose from three plans: Free, Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1, and Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2. Microsoft Entra ID is accessible through the Azure portal and the Microsoft Entra Admin Center, respectively. Additionally, within the Microsoft Entra Admin Center under Identity, you can manage devices, create lifecycle workflows, handle app resignations, and much more. In this lesson, we will learn about Administrative Units and how they can be utilized to manage your administrative staff within your organization. For license information please see a brief description on the different plans. However, you can learn more about the features here: Microsoft Entra Plans and Pricing | Microsoft Security. License Information: Microsoft Entra ID Free: Provides user and group management. Offers on-premises directory synchronization. Includes basic reports. Allows self-service password change for cloud users. Supports single sign-on across Azure, Microsoft 365, and many popular SaaS apps. Microsoft Entra ID Plan 1: Includes all features of the Free plan. Allows hybrid users to access both on-premises and cloud resources. Supports advanced administration, such as dynamic groups, self-service group management, Microsoft Identity Manager, and cloud write-back capabilities for self-service password reset for on-premises users. Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2: Includes all features of the Free and Plan 1. Offers Microsoft Entra ID Protection for risk-based Conditional Access to apps and critical company data. Provides Privileged Identity Management to discover, restrict, and monitor administrators and their access to resources, and to provide just-in-time access when needed. Microsoft Entra Role Based Access Control (RBAC) Microsoft Entra ID allows for access control to be limited for Administrators if you do not need them to have tenant level administrative access. Restricting access to only what is necessary is crucial to abide the least privilege principle. This principle ensures that administrators have only the permissions necessary to perform their tasks, minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. For example, if you have external collaborations from a consultant who performs helpdesk tasks for only certain permissions to perform their duties. If needed, you can also build custom roles. However, most built-in roles can cover most use cases. Auditing administrative units involves monitoring and reviewing the activities within these units to ensure compliance with organizational policies and security standards. External Partner Delegation You can also delegate external partner to provision and deploy services on your behalf. Organizational Global and Billing Administrators can agree to external partnership agreements for Microsoft Partners. Microsoft Solution Partners (MSP) can provide a wide variety of services. You will have to sign partner agreement authorizing the partner to provide services on your behalf. Depending on the partner will on the scope of work. You can find a Microsoft Certified Solutions Partner here: Find the right app | Microsoft AppSource. Partners will send an email that will establishes a connection to your accounts. You can find this agreement in Microsoft Entra Admin Center & Microsoft Entra Admin Center. To see your partnership relationship follow the instructions below: Microsoft 365 Admin Center - Partnership Relationship Navigate to Microsoft 365 Admin Center: https://admin.microsoft.com/. Login with your Administrative Username and Password. Authenticate with the Microsoft Authentication App when prompted. In the left-hand menu locate and click on the Show all tab. Select the Settings tab, then click on Partnership relationships. Microsoft Entra Admin Center - Delegated Admin Partners Navigate to Microsoft Entra Admin Center: https://entra.microsoft.com/. Login with your Administrative Username and Password. Authenticate with the Microsoft Authentication App when prompted. In the home directory, in the left-hand menu click on the Identity tab. Next, select Roles & Admins, then click on Delegated admin partners. In both areas, you will be able to view the active relationship with your partner, including the specific type of partnership they have with your organization. It is advisable to consult your partner for detailed information regarding your partnership agreement before making any decisions to cancel or delete the partnership. Additionally, it is common practice to create an administrative unit for managing external partners, guests, and similar entities. This ensures that all external relationships are organized and managed efficiently. What is Administrative Units? Microsoft Entra ID Administrative Units are specialized containers within the Microsoft Entra ID environment designed to help you efficiently organize and manage users, groups, and devices. These units enable you to delegate administrative tasks to specific segments of your organization, ensuring that permissions are confined to a well-defined scope. This functionality is particularly beneficial for IT professionals, as it provides numerous use cases for delegating tasks, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and security. Administrative Units Use Cases To learn how implementation works within Microsoft Entra. An understanding of common scenarios for using administrative units below: Delegating Administrative Tasks: Administrative units allow you to delegate administrative tasks to specific segments of your organization. For example, you can delegate the Helpdesk Administrator role to regional support specialists, enabling them to manage users only in the region they support. Restricting Permissions: Administrative units help in restricting permissions to a defined scope. This is particularly useful in large organizations where different departments or regions need to manage their own resources without affecting others. Managing Users, Groups, and Devices: Administrative units can contain users, groups, or devices, making it easier to manage these resources within a specific scope. For instance, you can create an administrative unit for a particular department and manage all users, groups, and devices within that department. Implementing Least Privilege Access: By using administrative units, you can implement least privilege access, ensuring that administrators have only the permissions necessary to perform their tasks. This enhances security by minimizing the risk of unauthorized access. Organizing by Geography or Division: Administrative units can be used to organize resources by geography or division. For example, you might add users to administrative units based on their location (e.g., "Seattle") or department (e.g., "Marketing"), allowing for more granular management. Managing Properties of Groups: Adding a group to an administrative unit brings the group itself into the management scope of the administrative unit. This allows administrators to manage properties of the group, such as group name or membership, without affecting the individual members of the group. Setting Policies at a Granular Level: Administrative units enable central administrators to set policies at a granular level. For example, in a large university with multiple autonomous schools, each school can have its own administrative unit with specific policies tailored to its needs. Conclusion In conclusion, Microsoft Entra ID Administrative Units offer a robust framework for managing user access and permissions within your organization. By leveraging these units, you can enhance security, improve efficiency, and maintain flexibility in your administrative tasks. Additionally, you have also learned how Administrative Units can be leveraged to manage external partners. Explore the possibilities and unlock the full potential of Microsoft Entra ID today! Hyperlink Administrative units in Microsoft Entra ID - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Overview of Microsoft Entra role-based access control (RBAC) - Microsoft Entra ID | Microsoft Learn Manage Microsoft-certified solution provider partner relationships | Microsoft Learn Find the right app | Microsoft AppSourceMicrosoft Entra Admin Center - Secure, Protect, & Manage
Microsoft Entra In a Nutshell Times have changed. Organizations of every size need to plan, manage, and secure their organization’s resources. Security is the veil that protects you from bad actors that can deter your nonprofits mission. Having a plan of action is necessary, now more than ever. Microsoft Entra can be your first step to developing a plan of action. Think of Microsoft Entra Admin Center as your unified control center where you can safeguard your organization and build the best defense. This guide is a part of a series of blogs covering Microsoft Entra Admin Center. To get familiar with managing your organizational resources. This walkthrough will focus on Identity. You will learn how to find your Microsoft Tenant information and perform your first bulk operation. Microsoft Entra Admin Center Identity: The Identity tab is where you manage user accounts and their details. Manage Users, Groups, Devices, Applications, Protection, Identity Governance, External Identities, User Experiences, Hybrid Management, and Monitoring & health. Protection: The Protection tab helps keep your organization's accounts safe. It includes tools to detect and fix security risks, and you can set up multifactor authentication to add an extra layer of security. Manage Identity Protection, Conditional Access, Authentication methods, Password reset, Custom security attributes, and Risky activities, Identity Governance: The Identity Governance tab helps you control who has access to what. It includes tools to manage user access throughout their time at the company, review access regularly, and ensure compliance with security policies. Manage Dashboard, Entitlement management, Access reviews, Privileged Identity Management, and Lifecycle workflows. Verified ID: The Verified ID tab is for managing digital credentials. You can set up and issue verifiable credentials and manage them if they need to be revoked. Configure Organization settings, register Decentralized ID and Manage Credentials Permissions Management: The Permissions Management tab gives you a clear view of all the permissions assigned to users. It helps you find and fix unnecessary permissions to ensure users only have access to what they need. Global Secure Access: The Global Secure Access tab is where you manage secure access to the internet and private networks. It includes tools to set up secure connections for remote users and ensure they have the right level of access. Secure your internet, Manage Applications, Connect, Secure, Monitor and Settings. Learn & Support: Contact support related to any issues you may have concerned about governance, identity, monitoring and securing your organization. Signing Into Microsoft Entra Admin Center Before logging into the Microsoft Entra Admin Center, ensure you have your Administrator credentials and have appropriate access. Below is a walkthrough of navigating the Microsoft Entra Admin Center. We will look at the Identity tab. Navigate to https://entra.microsoft.com. You will be greeted by the “Home” menu. There is a lot of useful information for administrators including guides, documentation, recommendations, blogs, announcements, and more information about Microsoft Entra's product line. In the left-hand menu, select the “Identity” then click on “Overview.” The Overview tab shows your Microsoft Tenant information under, “Basic information” which includes Tenant ID, Primary domain, License, Users, Group, Applications, and Devices. Auditing Users & Bulk Operations Nonprofits have unique considerations when it comes to onboarding members. You may have specific hiring quarters, volunteers, and interns working with organizations at any given time. Thus, you may have only a few people or sometimes hundreds you need to have properly onboarded. Microsoft Entra has tools within the admin center to perform bulk operations. This can save you time, especially when you may be dealing with Single Sign On (SSO) issues. You can add bulk create, invite, and delete users. Please keep in mind that there is a 1-hour threshold of operation. If the Bulk operation fails, you can check the “Bulk operations results.” Navigate to Microsoft Entra Admin Center. In the left-hand menu, select “Identity”, then click “Users.” In “All users” click the third tab “Bulk operations.” You can click three of the options from the dropdown, “Bulk create", "Bulk invite", and "Bulk delete.” To create or invite users you need to download the csv template by clicking on the blue “Download” button. Enter the information inside the csv file then reupload the document, then click the “Submit” button. It may take some time to upload the user accounts based on how many you are adding. Lastly, you can also create a support ticket by clicking on “New support request” for more support if you are having issues. In Conclusion The Microsoft Entra Admin Center provides a comprehensive suite of tools to manage identities and perform bulk operations efficiently. With features like bulk creation, invitation, and deletion of users, it caters to the unique needs of nonprofits, ensuring smooth onboarding processes. The admin center is designed to save time and streamline user management, even when dealing with large volumes of accounts or SSO issues. By following the outlined steps, administrators can effectively navigate and utilize the Microsoft Entra Admin Center to maintain organized and secure user information. Hyperlinks What is Microsoft Entra? - Microsoft Entra | Microsoft Learn Microsoft Entra Single Sign-On (SSO) | Microsoft Security Zero Trust Strategy & Architecture | Microsoft Security Tenant management for Microsoft 365 for enterprise | Microsoft Learn
