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The need for employees to access privileged Azure resources and Azure AD roles changes over time. To reduce the risk associated with stale role assignments, you should regularly audit access. You can use Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Privileged Identity Management (PIM) to create access assessments for privileged access to Azure resources and Azure AD roles. You can also configure recurring access assessments that are performed automatically. This article describes how to create one or more access ratings.
Prerequisites
Use of this feature requires Azure AD Premium P2 licenses. To find the right license for your requirements, seeCompare the general Azure AD features available. For more information about PIM licenses, seeLicense requirements for using Privileged Identity Management.
To create access ratings for Azure resources, you must map toOwneror theUser access managerrole for Azure resources. To create access ratings for Azure AD roles, you must be assigned toGlobal Administratoror thePrivileged Administratorrole.
Access Reviews forService Managersrequires an Entra Workload Identities Premium plan in addition to the Azure AD Premium P2 license.
- Workload IDs Premium licensing: You can view and acquire licenses atIdentities blade workloadin the Azure portal.
Create access reviews
Register atAzure portalas a user assigned to one of the prerequisite roles.
ChooseIdentity governance.
ForAzure AD roles, selectAzure AD rolesunderPrivileged Identity Management. ForAzure resources, selectAzure resourcesunderPrivileged Identity Management.
ForAzure AD roles, selectAzure AD rolesdown againThey manage. ForAzure resources, select the subscription you want to manage.
Under Manage, selectAccess to reviewsand then selectYoungto create a new access review.
(Video) How to conduct an Azure AD Access ReviewName the access review. Optionally, give the review a description. The name and description are displayed to reviewers.
Set it upStart date. By default, access control is performed once, starting at the same time it is created and ending in one month. You can change the start and end dates to start access control in the future and last as many days as you like.
See AlsoPlan and address principal user name changes in Azure Active Directory - Microsoft EntraIdentity Synchronization and Dual Feature Resilience - Microsoft EntraTo make the access control repeatable, change itFrequencysetting fromOncetoWeekly,Monthly,Quarterly,Annually, theBiannual. use itDurationslider or text box to set how many days each review in the recurring series will be open for reviewer input. For example, the maximum duration you can set for a monthly review is 27 days, to avoid overlapping reviews.
use itEndsetting to specify how to terminate the repeating access control sequence. The series can end in three ways: it runs continuously to start reviews indefinitely, until a certain date, or after a set number of shows have been completed. You or another admin who can manage reviews can stop the series after creation by changing the dateSettings, to expire on that date.
In theUser scopesection, select the scope of the assessment. ForAzure AD roles, the first range option is Users and Groups. Direct user assignment andgroups with the ability to assign roleswill be included in this selection. ForAzure resource roles, the first field will be Users. Groups assigned to Azure resource roles are expanded to show transient user assignments in the review with this option. You can also chooseService Managersto control machine accounts with direct access to either the Azure resource or Azure AD role.
Alternatively, you can create access reviews for inactive users only (preview). In theRange of userssection, here it isInactive users only (tenant level).totrue. If toggle is set totrue, the scope of the review will only focus on inactive users. Then specifyInactive dayswith number of inactive days up to 730 days (two years). Users who are inactive for the specified number of days will be the only users in the audit.
UnderMembership Check, select the privileged Azure resource or Azure AD roles to check.
Note
Selecting more than one role will create multiple access ratings. For example, selecting five roles will create five separate access ratings.
(Video) Microsoft Entra Deep Dive: Azure Active Directory - Roles & AdminsInassignment type, scope the revision based on how the master was assigned to the role. Chooseonly eligible jobsto check the appropriate tasks (regardless of activation status when the assessment was created) oronly active tasksto check active tasks. Chooseall active and eligible tasksto check all jobs regardless of type.
In theReviewerssection, select one or more people to check all users. Or you can choose to ask members to control their own access.
- Selected users- Use this option to designate a specific user to complete the assessment. This option is available regardless of the scope of the review, and selected reviewers can review users, groups, and service principals.
- Members (this)- Use this option for users to revise their own role assignments. This option is only available if the control is intendedUsers and GroupstheUsers. ForAzure AD roles, role assignable groups will not participate in auditing when this option is selected.
- Director– Use this option to ask the user's administrator to review the role assignment. This option is only available if the control is intendedUsers and GroupstheUsers. By selecting Manager, you will also have the option to specify an alternate reviewer. Alternate reviewers are asked to review a user when the user does not have an administrator defined in the directory. ForAzure AD roles, role assignable groups will be reviewed by the backup reviewer if one is selected.
Upon completion of the settings
To determine what happens after an assessment is complete, deploy itUpon completion of the settingsUnity.
If you want to automatically remove access for rejected users, here you goAutomatically apply results to the resourcetoallow. If you want to manually apply the results when the review is complete, set the setting toIndispose.
use itIf the reviewer does not respondlist to specify what happens to users who are not reviewed by the reviewer within the review period. This setting does not affect users rated by reviewers.
- No change- Leave user access unchanged
- Remove access- Remove user access
- Grant access- Approve user access
- Get recommendations- Get the system's recommendation to deny or approve the user's continued access
use itAction to apply to rejected visitorslist to specify what happens to rejected visitors. This setting is not editable for Azure AD and Azure resource role reviews at this time. Guest users, like all users, will always lose access to the resource if denied.
You can send notifications to additional users or groups to receive review completion updates. This feature allows stakeholders other than the reviewer to be informed of the review's progress. To use this feature, selectSelect Users or Group(s)and add an additional user or group when you want to get the completion status.
(Video) Azure - How to setup Azure AD Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
Advanced settings
To specify additional settings, expand itAdvanced settingsUnity.
SeriesShow suggestionstoallowto show reviewers system recommendations based on user access information. Recommendations are based on a 30-day period where users who have logged in in the last 30 days are recommended access, while users who have not logged in are recommended to be denied access. These links are regardless of whether they were interactive. Along with the recommendation, the user's last login is also displayed.
SeriesA reason is required for approvaltoallowrequire the reviewer to provide a reason for approval.
SeriesMail notificationstoallowfor Azure AD to send email notifications to reviewers when access control starts and to administrators when a review is complete.
SeriesReminderstoallowAzure AD to send reminders about access reviews in progress to reviewers who have not completed their review.
The content of the email sent to reviewers is automatically generated based on the review details, such as review name, resource name, due date, etc. If you need a way to communicate additional information, such as additional instructions or contact information, you can specify those details atAdditional content for review emailswhich will be included in the invitation and reminder emails sent to assigned reviewers. The section highlighted below is where this information will appear.
Manage access control
You can track progress as reviewers complete their reviews atoverviewaccess control page. No directory access rights are changed until the check is complete. Below is a screenshot showing the overview page forAzure resourcesandAzure AD rolesaccess to reviews.
If this is a one-time review, then after the access control period expires or the administrator stops access control, follow the steps inComplete an Azure resource access overview and Azure AD rolesto see and apply the results.
To manage a series of access reviews, go to access control and you'll find upcoming appearances under Scheduled reviews and edit the due date or add/remove reviewers accordingly.
Based on your choices inUpon completion of the settings, the automatic application will run after the check end date or when you manually stop the check. The rating status will change fromCompletedthrough intermediate states such asApplicationand finally to declareApplied. You should expect to see non-rejected users, if any, being removed from roles in a few minutes.
The impact of groups assigned to Azure AD roles and Azure resource roles on access ratings
•ΓιαAzure AD roles, role assignable groups can be assigned to the role usinggroups with the ability to assign roles. When a review is created on an Azure AD role with role-assignable groups assigned, the group name appears in the review without extending the group membership. The reviewer can approve or deny the entire team's access to the role. Rejected groups will lose their role assignment when the audit results are applied.
•ΓιαAzure resource roles, any security group can be assigned to the role. When a review is created on an Azure resource role with an assigned security group, the users assigned to that security group will be fully expanded and displayed in the role reviewer. When a reviewer denies a user who has been assigned the role through the security group, the user will not be removed from the group, and therefore the denial effect will fail.
Note
It is possible for a security group to have other groups assigned to it. In this case, only users who are directly assigned to the security group to which the role is assigned will appear in the role control.
Update access control
After starting one or more access controls, you may want to modify or update the settings of existing access controls. Here are some common scenarios you might want to consider:
Add and remove reviews- When updating access reviews, you can choose to add an alternate reviewer in addition to the primary reviewer. Primary reviewers may be removed when updating an access review. However, alternate reviewers cannot be removed from the design.
Note
Alternate reviewers can only be added when the reviewer type is admin. Primary reviewers can be added when the reviewer type is user selected.
Reminding the critics- When updating access reviews, you can choose to enable the reminder option in Advanced Settings. Once enabled, users will receive an email notification midway through the review period, regardless of whether they have completed the review or not.
Update settings- If an access control is repeated, there are separate settings in the Current section versus the Sequence section. Updating the settings in the Current section will only apply changes to the current access revision, while updating the settings in the Series section will update the setting for all future iterations.
(Video) How do you implement Azure PIM? Privileged Identity Management | AzureAD
Next steps
- Perform access control of Azure resource and Azure AD roles in PIM
- Complete an overview of Azure resource access and Azure AD roles in PIM
FAQs
What are Azure AD roles and Azure resource roles? ›
Differences between Azure roles and Azure AD roles
At a high level, Azure roles control permissions to manage Azure resources, while Azure AD roles control permissions to manage Azure Active Directory resources.
Sign in to the Azure portal and open the Identity Governance page. On the left menu, select Access reviews. Select New access review to create a new access review. In the Select what to review box, select which resource you want to review.
How do I give a PIM access to Azure? ›- Sign in to the Azure portal.
- Select All services and find the Azure AD Privileged Identity Management service.
- Select the Privileged Identity Management Quick start.
- Select Pin blade to dashboard to pin the Privileged Identity Management Quick start page to the dashboard.
Privileged Identity Management (PIM) is a service in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) that enables you to manage, control, and monitor access to important resources in your organization. These resources include resources in Azure AD, Azure, and other Microsoft Online Services such as Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Intune.
What is the difference between Azure resources and Azure AD roles? ›Azure AD roles are used to manage access to Azure AD resources, whereas Azure roles are used to manage access to Azure resources. The scope of Azure AD roles is at the tenant level, whereas the scope of Azure roles can be specified at multiple levels including management group, subscription, resource group, resource.
What are the 3 types of Azure roles? ›- Owner – Full rights to change the resource and to change the access control to grant permissions to other users.
- Contributor – Full rights to change the resource, but not able to change the access control.
- Reader – Read-only access to the resource.
- Sign in to the Azure portal using one of the roles listed in the prerequisites section.
- Select Azure Active Directory, and then select Enterprise applications.
- Select the application that you want to restrict access to.
- Select Permissions.
- Sign in to the Azure portal.
- Select Azure Active Directory > Roles and administrators.
- Select the Grant permissions to manage user and group assignments role.
- Select Add assignment, select the desired user, and then click Select to add role assignment to the user.
Privileged identity management (PIM) gives users the ability to control, manage, and monitor the access privileges that people have to crucial resources within an organization.
What is role setting in PIM? ›Role settings are defined per role: all assignments for the same role follow the same role settings. Role settings of one role are independent from role settings of another role. PIM role settings are also known as “PIM Policies”.
Which users can enable Azure AD PIM? ›
For Azure AD roles in PIM, only a user who is in the Privileged Role Administrator or Global Administrator role can manage assignments for other administrators. Global Administrators, Security Administrators, Global Readers, and Security Readers can also view assignments to Azure AD roles in PIM.
How do I access Azure roles? ›- In the Azure portal, click All services and then select any scope. ...
- Click the specific resource.
- Click Access control (IAM).
- Click the Roles tab to see a list of all the built-in and custom roles.
The most critical built-in roles in Azure AD are Global Administrator and Privileged Role Administrator, because users assigned to these two roles can delegate administrator roles.
Which role should you assign to the PIM service principal? ›For the Privileged Identity Management service to be able to access Azure resources, the MS-PIM service principal should always have be assigned the User Access Administrator role over the Azure subscription.
What is Microsoft Entra? ›What is Microsoft Entra? Microsoft Entra a family of products that encompasses all identity and access capabilities. Within the Entra family are products such as Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), Microsoft Entra Verified ID, and Microsoft Entra Permissions Management.
How many roles are there in Azure AD? ›There are about 60 Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) built-in roles, which are roles with a fixed set of role permissions.
How many types of roles are there in Azure? ›The four key roles that I want to introduce you to are contributor, owner, reader, and user access administrator. The contributor role is used to grant full access to manage all Azure resources.
What are the different types of Azure resources? ›resource - A manageable item that is available through Azure. Virtual machines, storage accounts, web apps, databases, and virtual networks are examples of resources. Resource groups, subscriptions, management groups, and tags are also examples of resources.
What are the 4 types of Azure? ›- Azure Blob Storage. Blob is one of the most common Azure storage types. ...
- Azure Files. Azure Files is Microsoft's managed file storage in the cloud. ...
- Azure Queue Storage. ...
- Azure Table. ...
- Azure Managed Disks.
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is a cloud-based identity and access management service. Azure AD enables your employees access external resources, such as Microsoft 365, the Azure portal, and thousands of other SaaS applications.
What are the three main components of Azure? ›
It has three major components: Compute, Storage and the Fabric Controller. As depicted in Figure 3.16, Windows Azure runs on a large number of machines, all maintained in Microsoft data centers. The hosting environment of Azure is called the Fabric Controller.
How do I file permissions with Azure AD? ›In the Azure portal, go to your file share, or create a file share. Select Access Control (IAM). In the Add role assignment blade, select the appropriate built-in role from the Role list. Leave Assign access to at the default setting: Azure AD user, group, or service principal.
How do I manage permissions in Azure? ›- Go to Resource groups.
- Select a resource group.
- Select Access control (IAM).
- Select + Add > Add role assignment.
- Select a role, and then assign access to a user, group, or service principal.
- Step 1: Open the subscription. Sign in to the Azure portal. ...
- Step 2: Open the Add role assignment page. Access control (IAM) is the page that you typically use to assign roles to grant access to Azure resources. ...
- Step 3: Select the Owner role. ...
- Step 4: Select who needs access. ...
- Step 5: Assign role.
- In the list of Resource groups, open the new example-group resource group.
- In the navigation menu, click Access control (IAM).
- Click the Role assignments tab to see the current list of role assignments.
- Click Add > Add role assignment.
So, to put it in a nutshell, IAM covers all access patterns for all users and all systems and resources, and PAM and PIM cover privileged access patterns.
What is the difference between eligible and active Azure AD roles? ›There's no difference in the access given to someone with a permanent versus an eligible role assignment. An eligible administrator can activate the role when they need it, and then their permissions expire at a set time, until the next time the role is activated.
What is PIM PAM and Pom? ›PAM, PIM, IAM and other access management acronyms are related to the same thing: Solutions to secure your sensitive assets. These terms are about safeguarding data and systems by managing who has access and what they're allowed to see and do.
What is Azure resource role? ›Azure role-based access control (Azure RBAC) is the authorization system you use to manage access to Azure resources. To grant access, you assign roles to users, groups, service principals, or managed identities at a particular scope.
What are the two types of roles available for cloud services in Azure? ›There are two types of Azure Cloud Services roles. The only difference between the two is how your role is hosted on the VMs: Web role: Automatically deploys and hosts your app through IIS. Worker role: Does not use IIS, and runs your app standalone.
How many Azure AD roles are there? ›
There are about 60 Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) built-in roles, which are roles with a fixed set of role permissions.
How do I access Azure resources? ›- Sign in to the Azure portal.
- In the left pane, select the Azure service. In this case, Storage accounts. If you don't see the service listed, select All services, and then select the service type.
- Select the resource you want to open. A storage account looks like:
Virtual machines, virtual networks, and storage accounts are all examples of Azure resources.
How do I assign a role to a resource in Azure? ›Under Manage, select Roles to see the list of roles for Azure resources. Select Add assignments to open the Add assignments pane. Select a Role you want to assign. Select No member selected link to open the Select a member or group pane.
What are users groups and roles in Azure? ›You can use groups in Azure AD to assign licenses, or deployed enterprise apps, to large numbers of users. You can also use groups to assign all administrator roles except for Azure AD Global Administrator, or you can grant access to external resources, such as SaaS applications or SharePoint sites.
What are four main types of cloud services provided by Windows Azure? ›In addition, Azure offers four different forms of cloud computing: infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), software as a service (SaaS) and serverless functions.
What are the 3 types of cloud associated services? ›- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) ...
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) ...
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
The most critical built-in roles in Azure AD are Global Administrator and Privileged Role Administrator, because users assigned to these two roles can delegate administrator roles.
How do I set roles in Azure? ›- Sign in to the Azure portal using the Privileged Role Administrator role for the directory.
- Go to Azure Active Directory > Users.
- Search for and select the user getting the role assignment.
- Select Assigned roles from the side menu, then select Add assignments.
- Sign in to the Azure portal.
- Select Azure Active Directory > Roles and administrators to see the list of all available roles.
- Find the role you need.
How many custom roles are supported by each Azure AD tenant? ›
Custom roles can be shared between subscriptions that trust the same Azure AD tenant. There is a limit of 5,000 custom roles per tenant.
What are the access levels in Azure? ›All users added to Azure DevOps are assigned to an access level, which grants or restricts access to select web portal features. There are three main access levels: Stakeholder, Basic, and Basic + Test Plans.