Privileged Identity Management
This blog is about the benefits of PIM and how it can enable you to secure your organization's privileged roles.
Azure Privileged Identity Management
Protecting your organization from cyber threats starts with controlling who has powerful access. Microsoft Azure’s Privileged Identity Management (PIM) is a tool for managing and securing administrator access.
PIM controls and monitors access in Azure AD (Active Directory) and Azure resources. It reduces the risk of privileged access by giving people elevated access only when they need it, and only for a set amount of time. This is called just-in-time access.
Prerequisites:
Before you set up PIM, make sure you have the right license and roles:
1. Azure AD Premium P2 license: PIM requires this license to unlock its full set of features.
2. Privileged Role Administrator role: Assign this role in Azure AD to the people who will manage PIM.
Core advantages of PIM:
Here is how PIM can strengthen your security:
1. Just-in-time access: Temporary elevated access shrinks the attack surface and makes it harder for attackers to take advantage of standing admin rights.
2. Access reviews: Review privileged access regularly so that only the people who need it keep it.
3. Multi-factor authentication (MFA): Require MFA for privileged accounts to add protection beyond a password.
4. Audit trails and alerts: Detailed audit logs and alerts for unusual activity help you spot and respond to threats quickly.
5. Role-based access control (RBAC): Define roles with specific permissions so users get only the access their work requires. This follows the principle of least privilege.
6. Conditional access policies: These policies give you finer control by allowing or blocking access based on conditions such as location or device, which lowers the risk of unauthorized access.
7. Temporary access elevation: Grant higher access for a specific task or incident, then return the person to normal access when the task is done.
Attack surface with and without PIM:
With PIM:
1. A smaller attack surface: Just-in-time, just-enough access leaves attackers fewer ways to reach privileged credentials.
2. Strong audit trails: Complete logs and real-time alerts show who used privileged access and make threats easier to detect and respond to.
3. Granular access controls: RBAC and conditional access policies let you decide who can access what, and under what conditions.
Without PIM:
1. A larger attack surface: Privileged access that is always available gives attackers more to exploit.
2. Weak audit trails: Without strong audit trails, threats take longer to detect and incidents take longer to resolve.
3. Broad access controls: Giving people more access than they need, with no fine-grained controls, raises the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
To learn more, read my Conditional Access article, which explains how Conditional Access supports SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response).
Azure Privileged Identity Management can strengthen your defenses against cyberattacks. By managing and monitoring privileged access carefully, you follow security best practices and build a strong defense against breaches. PIM also balances flexibility for your teams with strong security, which supports business growth.