plan and implement privileged identity management for Azure AD roles

Understanding Privileged Identity Management

PIM provides the ability to manage roles for Azure AD and Azure resources. This includes activating role assignments on a just-in-time basis, enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) to activate roles, setting activation duration, and requiring approval to activate privileged roles.

Setting up Privileged Identity Management

To get started with PIM, you need Azure AD Premium P2 or Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) E5 licenses for your tenant.

1. Enable PIM: First, you must enable PIM in your Azure AD tenant, which can be done from the Azure portal. Navigate to the Azure AD directory, select “Privileged Identity Management,” and then follow the instructions to enable it.
2. Discover Privileged Roles: Identify the roles that have more permissions than a regular user, such as Global Administrator or Privileged Role Administrator.
3. Assign Eligible Roles: Rather than assigning users as permanent administrators, assign them as “eligible” for the role. This means the user will have to activate the role when they need to use the privileges, and it won’t be a persistent threat in your environment.
4. Configure Role Settings: Define the requirements for activating a role, including approval from a select group of administrators, justification, time-based limits on role activation, and MFA requirements.
5. Access Reviews: Set up periodic access reviews to ensure the right individuals have access to privileged roles. During reviews, you can check if users still require their assigned privileges.

Implementing Just-In-Time Access

One of the core principles of PIM is just-in-time (JIT) role activation. Instead of assigning permanent roles to a user, JIT grants the necessary permissions only when needed and for a limited time. For example, you can require that a user request activation of their eligible role. This activation can last from 1 hour to a few days, and after it expires, the user loses the privileged access until they activate it again.

Requiring Approval for Role Activation

For especially sensitive roles, you can require that a user’s request to activate a role be approved by another person. This provides a dual control mechanism where one person requests access and another person reviews and approves the activation. Approval may be required every time a user activates a role, or you could set up a policy where trusted users can bypass approval under certain conditions.

Enforcing Multi-Factor Authentication and Other Conditions

You can and should enforce MFA when activating a role to ensure that the person trying to activate the role is indeed the eligible user. Additionally, you can apply conditional access policies that require certain conditions to be met before the role can be activated, such as requiring the user to be on a secure network or in a specific location.

Monitoring with Azure AD PIM

PIM also provides robust monitoring capabilities. You can view audit history for activations, changes in configuration, and access review history. This enables you to gain insights into how privileges are being used in your environment and to detect irregular patterns that could signal a security risk.

Using PIM to Stay Compliant

Lastly, the implementation of PIM helps organizations meet compliance requirements by providing evidence of who has access to what roles, when, and under what conditions. This can be especially important for organizations that are subject to regulations around access control and data protection.

Summary

Incorporating PIM into your Azure AD deployment allows your organization to take a proactive stance on managing privileged access. By assigning roles on an as-needed basis, enforcing strong authentication measures, requiring approval, conducting regular reviews, and monitoring activity, you can enhance your security posture and reduce the risk of unauthorized access to critical resources.

Remember, the key to successful implementation of PIM is to keep the principle of least privilege at the forefront: give users the minimum level of access necessary to perform their job and no more. This mitigated risk approach, combined with the powerful features of PIM, will help your organization maintain robust security protocols and compliance standards.

By following these steps and best practices, you’ll be better prepared for scenarios covered in the MS-100 Microsoft 365 Identity and Services exam and ready to implement a more secure and compliant Azure AD environment.