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Identity security is critical with the amount of data generated and stored on the internet increasing daily.
Having a good security system in place is key to the success of a company. A lack of control over your management access can result in your company being at a higher risk of malicious attacks, threatening your data security.
Are you confident that you are able to securely manage user identities and access to meet your company’s security requirements? If not, carry on reading to learn about Microsoft Entra ID P2.
Microsoft Entra ID, previously known as Azure Active Directory, is a cloud-based identity and access management service, it is designed to help companies manage and secure user identities, control access to applications and resources, and ensure compliance with security policies. To put it simply, Entra ID will make sure that the only people accessing your information are those that you require and trust.
Different tiers are offered by Microsoft Entra ID, including Entra ID P1 and P2. I will be focusing on P2 in this post, which offers more advanced identity protection making it ideal for organisations with higher security and compliance demands.
Entra ID P2 offers the following features:
How can each of these features provide your company with security?
Microsoft Entra ID P2 offers a more advanced version of Identity Protection than P1. It will provide you with advanced risk-based conditional access, utilising machine learning to detect and respond to potential identity risks in real time. It also includes user risk and sign-in risk policies, with detailed reporting and automated remediation actions.
PIM will allow you to manage, control, and monitor access within your organisation to critical resources by providing just-in-time (JIT) access, time-bound access, and approval workflows for elevated privileges. This helps in reducing the risk of over-privileged access and provides visibility into privileged actions.
This feature benefits the organisation by ensuring that you stay compliant with regulatory requirements by regularly reviewing and auditing access rights. It will facilitate periodic reviews of user access to resources to ensure that only the right users have access to the right resources.
Particularly useful for complex or large organisations, this feature streamlines access governance by automating the process of granting and managing access rights.
This provides you with more detailed reports and alerts, allowing for better monitoring and quicker response to potential security incidents.
Firstly, as your organisation grows managing identities and access manually can become increasingly challenging due to a larger workforce. So automation allows identity and access management (IAM) processes to scale with your organisation without requiring proportional increases in IT staffing.
Automated IAM systems can also continuously monitor for unusual access patterns or potential security threats, alerting your IT teams immediately so they can respond quickly, rather than relying on periodic manual reviews.
The April 2024 Global Financial Stability report shows that the risk of extreme losses from cyber incidents is increasing. Using features provided by Entra ID P2 can enhance your security. It provides risk-based conditional access Since Entra ID P2 uses AI and machine learning to analyse user behaviour and assess the risk of each sign in attempt. A sign in may seem suspicious to it based on location or a new device, and it will respond by either employing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or simply blocking the sign-in altogether.
Entra ID P2 also integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security tools such as Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Sentinel, allowing for a more comprehensive security strategy, where identity-related threats can be correlated with other security data, enabling faster detection and response to attacks.
One feature of Entra ID P2 is Single-Sign on (SSO) which allows your employees to use a single-set of credentials to access multiple applications and resources, whether on-premises or on the cloud. This therefore eliminates the need to remember and enter different usernames and passwords for each system. We all know this can be a pain, so it is a great feature that will save time and reduce frustration.
Additionally, since hybrid working is on the rise and so many of your employees may be working from home, SSO and self-service features make it easier for them to access the tools they need from any location. So consequently, this positively effects productivity as remote employees can work effectively regardless of where they are.
As I’ve discussed throughout this post, Entra ID P2 will provide your company with an advanced level of security. With the increased risk of malicious attacks and security breaches, it is vital that your company has an effective security system in place.
If I’ve caught your interest, you can contact us at [email protected] and we would be happy to give you some more details!
