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In today's digital world, managing user access to critical resources and ensuring compliance with security policies are key priorities for organizations. As businesses increasingly adopt cloud services, tools to manage and review access to resources become more crucial. Azure Entra Access Review is a powerful feature within Microsoft's Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) that helps organizations ensure the right people have the right level of access to their systems and data.

In this article, we’ll dive deep into Azure Entra Access Review, exploring what it is, how it works, its benefits, and how organizations can use it effectively.

What is Azure Entra Access Review?

Azure Entra Access Review is part of the Azure Active Directory suite that enables organizations to periodically review access to critical resources. It helps businesses enforce governance policies, enhance security, and maintain compliance by automating the process of reviewing who has access to what and whether that access is still valid.

The access review process ensures that users who no longer require access to specific resources are de-provisioned, while users who need elevated access can have their permissions verified and confirmed.

Azure Entra Access Review provides a centralized platform for performing access reviews on user accounts, group memberships, and app access across an organization. It also integrates with identity governance tools, ensuring that users' access aligns with your company's compliance and security policies.

Key Features of Azure Entra Access Review

Azure Entra Access Review provides a variety of features to simplify the process of managing and reviewing access permissions:

1. Automated Access Reviews

Azure Entra Access Review allows administrators to automate periodic access reviews, saving valuable time and reducing the risk of human error. You can schedule reviews to occur on a recurring basis, ensuring access is consistently evaluated and that any issues are flagged before they become a problem.

2. Granular Review Capabilities

Access reviews in Azure Entra can be performed on various types of resources, including:

• User accounts: Review access permissions for specific users across applications and systems.

• Group memberships: Validate if users still need to be members of certain Azure AD groups.

• App access: Verify if users still require access to specific cloud applications or services.

3. Customizable Review Workflow

The platform provides customizable workflows, allowing administrators to set up tailored review processes according to the specific needs of their organization. These workflows include the ability to define who performs the reviews (e.g., managers, resource owners, or administrators) and how access should be reviewed (e.g., via manual or automated processes).

4. Approval and Certification

Access reviews include mechanisms for approving or certifying access based on the reviewer's judgment. When users or resource owners validate that access is still required, it can be certified; if access is no longer needed, it can be revoked. This process is crucial for maintaining principle-based access, ensuring that users are not over-provisioned with permissions they no longer need.

5. Risk-Based Reviews

Azure Entra Access Review can incorporate risk factors when performing access reviews. For example, administrators can prioritize reviews of accounts with elevated privileges or access to sensitive data to reduce the risk of potential security breaches.

6. Reporting and Insights

After completing an access review, the platform provides detailed reports to track the outcomes, including users who were granted continued access and those who were removed. These reports can be valuable for auditing purposes, ensuring that your organization complies with internal policies and regulatory standards like GDPR, HIPAA, and others.

7. Seamless Integration with Azure AD and Microsoft 365

Azure Entra Access Review integrates tightly with Azure AD, enabling centralized management of user identities and access rights across both cloud and on-premises resources. It also works seamlessly with Microsoft 365 applications and other SaaS tools, providing a unified experience across multiple platforms.

Benefits of Azure Entra Access Review

1. Improved Security and Risk Management

By regularly reviewing access, organizations can ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive data and systems. This reduces the chances of privilege creep (when users accumulate excessive permissions over time) and ensures that inactive or unauthorized accounts are deactivated promptly.

2. Regulatory Compliance

Regular access reviews are a key component of many compliance frameworks, such as Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), HIPAA, GDPR, and others. Azure Entra Access Review helps organizations automate the access review process, which is crucial for meeting the requirements of these regulations. The detailed reporting features make it easier for organizations to demonstrate compliance during audits.

3. Time and Cost Savings

Manually managing access reviews can be time-consuming and error-prone. By automating and centralizing the process with Azure Entra Access Review, organizations can significantly reduce the manual workload and minimize the administrative burden. This results in cost savings and operational efficiency.

4. Enhanced User Experience

With Azure Entra Access Review, users can self-certify or acknowledge their access rights via user-friendly interfaces. This self-service approach can empower users and reduce the need for direct intervention from administrators, improving the overall experience.

5. Better Visibility and Control

Access reviews provide administrators with clear visibility into who has access to critical systems and resources. This transparency enables more informed decision-making and helps prevent unauthorized access before it leads to a security incident.

How to Set Up and Use Azure Entra Access Review

Setting up and using Azure Entra Access Review is a straightforward process. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Access the Entra  Portal

First, log in to your Azure Active Directory portal. You need to have sufficient permissions to create and manage access reviews.

2. Navigate to Identity Governance

Under Azure Active Directory, find the Identity Governance section. From there, select Access Reviews.

3. Create a New Access Review

Click on + New Review to create a new access review. Choose the type of review you wish to conduct, such as reviewing user access, group memberships, or app access.

4. Define Review Scope

Select the users, groups, or applications to be included in the review. You can configure advanced filters to specify the scope of the review further.

5. Set Up Review Workflow

Choose who will conduct the review (e.g., managers, resource owners, or system administrators). You can also define whether the review process is manual or automated.

6. Set Review Frequency

Specify the frequency of the review. Access reviews can be set to occur on a regular schedule (e.g., quarterly, yearly) or triggered by specific events (e.g., after role changes).

7. Monitor and Complete the Review

Once the review is initiated, monitor the progress through the Azure portal. Reviewers can approve, revoke, or certify access for each user. After the review, generate a report detailing the review's outcomes.

 

Conclusion

Azure Entra Access Review is an essential tool for organizations seeking to maintain secure, compliant, and efficient access management practices. By automating and streamlining the process of reviewing user access to critical resources, Azure Entra Access Review enhances security, supports compliance, and reduces operational overhead. Whether you are managing access for cloud-based apps, on-premises systems, or hybrid environments, leveraging this feature is a key step toward improving governance and mitigating security risks.

Start using Azure Entra Access Review today to enhance your organization's identity and access management framework!