Authentication in Microsoft Entra ID
Learn how to authenticate the identities of Microsoft Entra ID.
Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of an individual or entity to grant access to a particular system or application. Generally, this verification process involves providing credentials such as username, password, or biometric markers, which are then checked against stored values to validate access privileges.
Authentication using Microsoft Entra ID is a method of verifying the identity of users by leveraging Microsoft’s cloud-based identity and access management platform. For example, if we try to log in to the Azure platform with a user, we’ll have to provide the credentials (password) saved during its creation to verify its identity. Use the following commands in the terminal below:
# use the command if you have no subscriptionsaz login --allow-no-subscriptions --username "<username>" --password "<password>"# use the command below if you have any subscriptionaz login --username "<username>" --password "<password>"
Replace the <username> with your Azure account username and <password> with your actual password in the commands given above.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a security technology that requires users to provide two or more independent credentials, such as passwords, biometric authentication, one-time passwords (OTPs), security questions, etc., to access a website, application, or another service. MFA is becoming increasingly popular and necessary as cyber attackers become more sophisticated and data breaches occur increasingly. Implementing MFA can strengthen any organization’s system’s security by verifying users’ identities before granting access. In addition to requiring multiple forms of authentication from a user, this technology also detects suspicious activity and sends notifications.
The first step in setting up multi-factor authentication is identifying the types of user roles that will require it. Generally, any user accessing confidential or sensitive information should have MFA enabled. However, it can be opted not to enable MFA for users without access to sensitive information who need to log in frequently and quickly. Follow the steps given below to Enable MFA for a user.
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Go to the “Users” page in “Microsoft Entra ID” and click the “Per User MFA” option.
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Select the user you want to enable multi-factor authentication and click the “Enable" option under the “quick steps” section.
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Click the “enable multi-factor authentication” button in the confirmation pop-up.
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Click the “close” button in the “Updates successful” pop-up.
Conditional Access Policies (CAP)
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