Navigating access control in Microsoft Azure can be confusing, especially with two distinct systems at play: Azure Role-based Access Control(RBAC) and Azure Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) roles. But fear not! This guide will demystify these concepts and empower you to manage access like a pro.

Principle of Least Privilege

First things first. It is essential to understand what the principle of least privilege says. NIST defines the principle of Least Privilege as “A security principle that a system should restrict the access privileges of users (or processes acting on behalf of users) to the minimum necessary to accomplish assigned tasks.” [REF]

Azure RBAC: Access Control for Azure Resources

Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) manages access to Azure resources such as subscriptions, resource groups, virtual machines, storage accounts, and web apps. It assigns roles to security principals, which can be users, groups, service principals, or managed identities. These roles define permissions that determine what actions a security principal can perform on an Azure resource.

Key characteristics of Azure Role-Based access control:

• Scope: RBAC works like a set of nested boxes. You can set permissions at the highest level (management group), and they’ll apply to everything inside. You can also get more specific and set permissions at the subscription, resource group, or individual resource level.
• Granularity: RBAC gives you incredible precision. You can define precisely what actions someone can take — whether reading data, creating resources or deleting them. This level of control ensures that people only have the access they absolutely need.
• Built-in roles: Provides a wide range of built-in roles for common scenarios, such as “Virtual Machine Contributor” or “Storage Account Blob Data Reader.”
• Custom roles: Enables you to create custom roles with specific permissions tailored to your needs.

Azure Entra ID Roles: Managing Access to Entra ID Resources

Azure Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) roles manage access to Entra ID resources and functionalities. These roles control permissions related to directory objects, users, groups, applications, and other Entra ID features.

Key characteristics of Azure Entra ID roles:

• Scope: This applies to the entire Entra ID tenant.
• Focus: Primarily deals with administrative tasks within Entra ID, such as user management, application registration, and authentication settings.
• Examples: Includes roles like “Global Administrator,” “Application Administrator,” and “User Administrator.”

Key Differences and When to Use Each

Choosing which type of role to use boils down to the scope to which you want to control access.

Managing Azure RBAC and Azure Entra ID Roles

Azure RBAC and Entra ID roles can be managed directly in the Azure portal, through Azure CLI, or through PowerShell.

• Azure portal: Provides a user-friendly interface for assigning roles, creating custom roles, and reviewing access permissions.
• Azure CLI and PowerShell: Offer more programmatic control for automating role assignments and managing access at scale.

Best Practices:

• Grant the minimum permissions required by the users and groups by following the principle of least privilege.
• Regularly review and audit role assignments to ensure they are still appropriate.
• Use Azure AD groups to simplify role management and assignments.
• Use Azure Privileged Identity Management(PIM) for privileged roles to grant just-in-time access.

Conclusion

Adequate cloud security requires a strong access control strategy. Use Azure RBAC and Entra ID to implement least privilege, carefully control access to sensitive resources, and maintain continuous monitoring to reduce risk and strengthen your cloud environment.