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Azure Privileged Identity Management

Azure Privileged Identity Management (PIM) is a service in Microsoft Entra ID for managing, controlling, and monitoring access to important resources. It provides time-based and approval-based role activation to reduce risks from excessive or misused access permissions.


Use Case: Secure Access Control

A company needs to manage and control access to sensitive resources in Azure and Microsoft Entra ID. Azure PIM enables just-in-time privileged access, enforces multi-factor authentication, and supports access reviews.

Implementation

  1. Enable PIM: Configure PIM in the Azure portal and assign roles to users who will manage PIM.
  2. Role Assignment: Assign eligible roles to users. Roles can be time-bound and require approval for activation.
  3. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Require MFA for role activation.
  4. Access Reviews: Conduct regular reviews to ensure users still need assigned roles.
  5. Audit and Monitoring: Use Azure Monitor and PIM auditing to track role activations and access history. Set up alerts for suspicious activities.

Well-Architected Framework Considerations

  • Cost Optimization: Pay-as-you-go pricing for access control.
  • Operational Excellence: Automated role assignments and access reviews.
  • Performance Efficiency: High performance for role activations.
  • Reliability: High availability and fault tolerance.
  • Security: MFA, RBAC, and Azure Active Directory integration.

References

- Microsoft Azure Privileged Identity Management documentation