Active Directory Fundamentals

Migrating from AD FS to Azure AD SSO

Many organizations built their hybrid identity strategy around Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) for single sign-on (SSO). Today, Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) can deliver the same sign-in experience for most apps—often with less infrastructure, lower operational overhead, and better native controls like Conditional Access. This guide walks you through a practical…
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Active Directory FundamentalsActive Directory PoliciesUncategorized

Role-based access control (RBAC) in Azure

Azure RBAC is the authorization system used to control who can do what across Azure resources. It is designed to keep access granular, auditable, and aligned to real operational responsibilities—without turning permissions into a messy pile of one-off exceptions. In practice, Azure RBAC works best when it is treated as an operating model, not a one-time configuration task: define roles clearly…
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Active Directory Fundamentals

Federation strategies using Entra

Federation is still a critical tool in hybrid identity—but the “best” federation strategy depends on what you’re trying to achieve: modern SSO for SaaS, partner access, legacy app support, or a phased retirement of AD FS. This guide explains practical federation patterns using Microsoft Entra ID, how to choose between them, and how to implement them safely. …
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Active Directory Fundamentals

Tracking privilege escalation in Azure AD

Tracking Privilege Escalation in Azure AD (Microsoft Entra ID) Privilege escalation in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) rarely looks like a single “hacker flips a switch” moment. In real environments, it’s usually a chain of small, legitimate-looking changes—role assignments, consent grants, group membership edits, Conditional Access exceptions, or…
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Active Directory Fundamentals

Zero Trust architecture with Entra at the core

Zero Trust Architecture with Microsoft Entra at the Core Zero Trust is not a product you “turn on.” It’s an operating model for security where every access request is treated as hostile until proven otherwise. The big shift is psychological and architectural: you stop trusting network location (VPN, office LAN, “inside”) and you start trusting verified identity +…
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Active Directory Fundamentals

Secure score improvements using Entra ID insights

Secure Score Improvements Using Entra ID Insights Microsoft Secure Score is most useful when it’s treated as a risk-reduction roadmap, not a vanity metric. If Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) is your identity control plane, then the best Secure Score gains usually come from identity-driven changes: stronger authentication, tighter access conditions, reduced privilege…
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Active Directory Fundamentals

Setting up MFA policies in hybrid environments

What you’ll build Hybrid MFA basics: where MFA can be enforced Prerequisites and guardrails (don’t skip) A practical MFA policy model for hybrid orgs Implementation steps in Entra Conditional Access Extending MFA to on-prem apps, VPN, and RADIUS Rollout plan: pilot → broad deployment Monitoring and troubleshooting Ready-to-use policy templates FAQs …
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Active Directory Fundamentals

Creating compliance alerts with Entra Identity Governance

Creating Compliance Alerts with Microsoft Entra Identity Governance “Compliance alerts” in identity land are simple: you define what should be true (policy), detect when reality drifts (signal), and notify the right owner fast enough to fix it (response). Microsoft Entra Identity Governance (Identity Governance) gives you strong policy primitives—like access reviews, …
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Active Directory Fundamentals

How to detect Golden Ticket attacks

How to Detect Golden Ticket Attacks in Active Directory A Golden Ticket attack is one of the most damaging post-compromise techniques in Active Directory: an attacker forges a Kerberos Ticket Granting Ticket (TGT) using the KRBTGT account secret, then impersonates any user (often Domain Admin) to access domain resources while blending into “normal”…
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