- Article
In complex deployments, organizations might have a need to restrict authentication sessions. Some scenarios might include:
- Resource access from an unmanaged or shared device
- Access to sensitive information from an external network
- High impact users
- Critical business applications
Conditional Access controls allow you to create policies that target specific use cases within your organization without affecting all users.
Before diving into details on how to configure the policy, let’s examine the default configuration.
User sign-in frequency
Sign-in frequency defines the time period before a user is asked to sign in again when attempting to access a resource.
The Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) default configuration for user sign-in frequency is a rolling window of 90 days. Asking users for credentials often seems like a sensible thing to do, but it can backfire: users that are trained to enter their credentials without thinking can unintentionally supply them to a malicious credential prompt.
It might sound alarming to not ask for a user to sign back in, in reality any violation of IT policies will revoke the session. Some examples include (but aren't limited to) a password change, an incompliant device, or account disable. You can also explicitly revoke users’ sessions using PowerShell. The Azure AD default configuration comes down to “don’t ask users to provide their credentials if security posture of their sessions hasn't changed”.
The sign-in frequency setting works with apps that have implemented OAuth2 or OIDC protocols according to the standards. Most Microsoft native apps for Windows, Mac, and Mobile including the following web applications comply with the setting.
- Word, Excel, PowerPoint Online
- OneNote Online
- Office.com
- Microsoft 365 Admin portal
- Exchange Online
- SharePoint and OneDrive
- Teams web client
- Dynamics CRM Online
- Azure portal
The sign-in frequency setting works with third-party SAML applications and apps that have implemented OAuth2 or OIDC protocols, as long as they don't drop their own cookies and are redirected back to Azure AD for authentication on regular basis.
User sign-in frequency and multifactor authentication
Sign-in frequency previously applied to only to the first factor authentication on devices that were Azure AD joined, Hybrid Azure AD joined, and Azure AD registered. There was no easy way for our customers to re-enforce multifactor authentication (MFA) on those devices. Based on customer feedback, sign-in frequency will apply for MFA as well.
User sign-in frequency and device identities
On Azure AD joined and hybrid Azure AD joined devices, unlocking the device, or signing in interactively will only refresh the Primary Refresh Token (PRT) every 4 hours. The last refresh timestamp recorded for PRT compared with the current timestamp must be within the time allotted in SIF policy for PRT to satisfy SIF and grant access to a PRT that has an existing MFA claim. On Azure AD registered devices, unlock/sign-in would not satisfy the SIF policy because the user is not accessing an Azure AD registered device via an Azure AD account. However, the Azure AD WAM plugin can refresh a PRT during native application authentication using WAM.
Note: The timestamp captured from user log-in is not necessarily the same as the last recorded timestamp of PRT refresh because of the 4-hour refresh cycle. The case when it is the same is when a PRT has expired and a user log-in refreshes it for 4 hours. In the following examples, assume SIF policy is set to 1 hour and PRT is refreshed at 00:00.
Example 1: when you continue to work on the same doc in SPO for an hour
- At 00:00, a user signs in to their Windows 10 Azure AD joined device and starts work on a document stored on SharePoint Online.
- The user continues working on the same document on their device for an hour.
- At 01:00, the user is prompted to sign in again based on the sign-in frequency requirement in the Conditional Access policy configured by their administrator.
Example 2: when pausing work with a background task running in the browser, then interacting again after the SIF policy time has passed
- At 00:00, a user signs in to their Windows 10 Azure AD joined device and starts to upload a document to SharePoint Online.
- At 00:10, the user gets up and takes a break locking their device. The background upload continues to SharePoint Online.
- At 02:45, the user returns from their break and unlocks the device. The background upload shows completion.
- At 02:45, the user is prompted to sign in when they interact again based on the sign-in frequency requirement in the Conditional Access policy configured by their administrator since the last sign-in happened at 00:00.
If the client app (under activity details) is a Browser, we defer sign in frequency enforcement of events/policies on background services until the next user interaction.
Example 3: with 4-hour refresh cycle of primary refresh token from unlock
Scenario 1 - User returns within cycle
- At 00:00, a user signs into their Windows 10 Azure AD joined device and starts work on a document stored on SharePoint Online.
- At 00:30, the user gets up and takes a break locking their device.
- At 00:45, the user returns from their break and unlocks the device.
- At 01:00, the user is prompted to sign in again based on the sign-in frequency requirement in the Conditional Access policy configured by their administrator, 1 hour after the initial sign-in.
Scenario 2 - User returns outside cycle
- At 00:00, a user signs into their Windows 10 Azure AD joined device and starts work on a document stored on SharePoint Online.
- At 00:30, the user gets up and takes a break locking their device.
- At 04:45, the user returns from their break and unlocks the device.
- At 05:45, the user is prompted to sign in again based on the sign-in frequency requirement in the Conditional Access policy configured by their administrator, 1 hour after the PRT was refreshed at 04:45 (over 4hrs after the initial sign-in at 00:00).
Require reauthentication every time
There are scenarios where customers may want to require a fresh authentication, every time before a user performs specific actions. Sign-in frequency has a new option for Every time in addition to hours or days.
Supported scenarios:
- Require user reauthentication during Intune device enrollment, regardless of their current MFA status.
- Require user reauthentication for risky users with the require password change grant control.
- Require user reauthentication for risky sign-ins with the require multifactor authentication grant control.
When administrators select Every time, it will require full reauthentication when the session is evaluated.
Persistence of browsing sessions
A persistent browser session allows users to remain signed in after closing and reopening their browser window.
The Azure AD default for browser session persistence allows users on personal devices to choose whether to persist the session by showing a “Stay signed in?” prompt after successful authentication. If browser persistence is configured in AD FS using the guidance in the article AD FS single sign-on settings, we'll comply with that policy and persist the Azure AD session as well. You can also configure whether users in your tenant see the “Stay signed in?” prompt by changing the appropriate setting in the company branding pane.
In persistent browsers, cookies stay stored in the user’s device even after a user closes the browser. These cookies could have access to Azure Active Directory artifacts, and those artifacts are useable until token expiry regardless of the Conditional Access policies placed on the resource environment. So, token caching can be in direct violation of desired security policies for authentication. While it may seem convenient to store tokens beyond the current session, doing so can create a security vulnerability by allowing unauthorized access to Azure Active Directory artifacts.
Configuring authentication session controls
Conditional Access is an Azure AD Premium capability and requires a premium license. If you would like to learn more about Conditional Access, see What is Conditional Access in Azure Active Directory?
Warning
If you are using the configurable token lifetime feature currently in public preview, please note that we don’t support creating two different policies for the same user or app combination: one with this feature and another one with configurable token lifetime feature. Microsoft retired the configurable token lifetime feature for refresh and session token lifetimes on January 30, 2021 and replaced it with the Conditional Access authentication session management feature.
Before enabling Sign-in Frequency, make sure other reauthentication settings are disabled in your tenant. If "Remember MFA on trusted devices" is enabled, be sure to disable it before using Sign-in frequency, as using these two settings together may lead to prompting users unexpectedly. To learn more about reauthentication prompts and session lifetime, see the article, Optimize reauthentication prompts and understand session lifetime for Azure AD Multifactor Authentication.
Policy deployment
To make sure that your policy works as expected, the recommended best practice is to test it before rolling it out into production. Ideally, use a test tenant to verify whether your new policy works as intended. For more information, see the article Plan a Conditional Access deployment.
Policy 1: Sign-in frequency control
Sign in to the Azure portal as a Conditional Access Administrator, Security Administrator, or Global Administrator.
Browse to Azure Active Directory > Security > Conditional Access.
Select New policy.
Give your policy a name. We recommend that organizations create a meaningful standard for the names of their policies.
(Video) Microsoft Partner Update Entra Permissions ManagementChoose all required conditions for customer’s environment, including the target cloud apps.
Note
It is recommended to set equal authentication prompt frequency for key Microsoft Office apps such as Exchange Online and SharePoint Online for best user experience.
Under Access controls > Session.
- Select Sign-in frequency.
- Choose Periodic reauthentication and enter a value of hours or days or select Every time.
- Select Sign-in frequency.
Save your policy.
Policy 2: Persistent browser session
Sign in to the Azure portal as a Conditional Access Administrator, Security Administrator, or Global Administrator.
Browse to Azure Active Directory > Security > Conditional Access.
Select New policy.
Give your policy a name. We recommend that organizations create a meaningful standard for the names of their policies.
Choose all required conditions.
(Video) Microsoft Entra / Azure AD 2 0 Explained with Full DemoNote
Please note that this control requires to choose “All Cloud Apps” as a condition. Browser session persistence is controlled by authentication session token. All tabs in a browser session share a single session token and therefore they all must share persistence state.
Under Access controls > Session.
Select Persistent browser session.
Note
Persistent Browser Session configuration in Azure AD Conditional Access overrides the “Stay signed in?” setting in the company branding pane in the Azure portal for the same user if you have configured both policies.
Select a value from dropdown.
Save your policy.
Policy 3: Sign-in frequency control every time risky user
- Sign in to the Azure portal as a Conditional Access Administrator, Security Administrator, or Global Administrator.
- Browse to Azure Active Directory > Security > Conditional Access.
- Select New policy.
- Give your policy a name. We recommend that organizations create a meaningful standard for the names of their policies.
- Under Assignments, select Users or workload identities.
- Under Include, select All users.
- Under Exclude, select Users and groups and choose your organization's emergency access or break-glass accounts.
- Select Done.
- Under Cloud apps or actions > Include, select All cloud apps.
- Under Conditions > User risk, set Configure to Yes. Under Configure user risk levels needed for policy to be enforced select High, then select Done.
- Under Access controls > Grant, select Grant access, Require password change, and select Select.
- Under Session controls > Sign-in frequency, select Every time.
- Confirm your settings and set Enable policy to Report-only.
- Select Create to create to enable your policy.
After administrators confirm your settings using report-only mode, they can move the Enable policy toggle from Report-only to On.
Validation
Use the What If tool to simulate a sign-in from the user to the target application and other conditions based on how you configured your policy. The authentication session management controls show up in the result of the tool.
Prompt tolerance
We factor for five minutes of clock skew, so that we don’t prompt users more often than once every five minutes. If the user has done MFA in the last 5 minutes, and they hit another Conditional Access policy that requires reauthentication, we won't prompt the user. Over-prompting users for reauthentication can impact their productivity and increase the risk of users approving MFA requests they didn’t initiate. Use “Sign-in frequency – every time” only for specific business needs.
Known issues
- If you configure sign-in frequency for mobile devices: Authentication after each sign-in frequency interval could be slow, it can take 30 seconds on average. Also, it could happen across various apps at the same time.
- On iOS devices: If an app configures certificates as the first authentication factor and the app has both Sign-in frequency and Intune mobile application management policies applied, end-users are blocked from signing in to the app when the policy triggers.
Next steps
- If you're ready to configure Conditional Access policies for your environment, see the article Plan a Conditional Access deployment.
FAQs
How to setup MFA for enterprise application? ›
Go to Configuration > Self-Service > Multi-Factor Authentication > Advanced > Applications MFA. Check the box next to Enable Passwordless Login under the Cloud Application Login MFA.
How do I enable MFA Microsoft tenant? ›Enable MFA for a tenant
On the Multifactor Authentication page, look for a tenant currently not using MFA, and then select that tenant to open the tenant details pane. On the MFA enablement tab, under MFA with Security defaults, select Enable Security defaults. Select Save changes.
Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) has multiple settings that determine how often users need to reauthenticate. This reauthentication could be with a first factor such as password, FIDO, or passwordless Microsoft Authenticator, or to perform multifactor authentication (MFA).
How do I integrate Microsoft authentication? ›- Sign in to your work or school account and then go to your My Account portal.
- Select Security info in the left menu or by using the link in the Security info pane. ...
- On the Add a method page, select Authenticator app from the list, and then select Add.
Sign in to the Azure portal and select User management. Select Multifactor authentication. Select the user you want to enable and then select Enable. "Enabled" in this procedure means that the user is asked to set up MFA verification when they sign in for the first time.
What is enterprise MFA? ›Overview. Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) is another method of securing your application and your users' identities. MFA adds a layer of security during login that requires users to provide more than one credential to prove their digital identity.
How do I enable basic authentication on my tenant? ›You can enable Basic Auth support for a tenant from the Azure portal (Azure Active Directory -> Properties -> Manage Security defaults -> Enable Security defaults = No). Note a number of options under Allow access to basic authentication protocols.
How do I manage multi factor authentication in Office 365? ›- Log in to your Office 365 Control Panel.
- From the left menu, select Office 365 Admin Center.
- From the top menu, select Multi-factor authentication.
- Select the check box next to the user you need to enable multi-factor authentication for.
- Under quick steps, select Enable.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) can be used to provide an additional layer of authentication and security for users. When MFA is required, users are required to enter both a password and an MFA Token.
How do I know if MFA is enabled in Azure AD? ›- Sign in to the Azure portal as a Global administrator.
- Search for and select Azure Active Directory, then select Users > All users.
- Select Per-user MFA.
- A new page opens that displays the user state, as shown in the following example.
Is MFA mandatory for Azure AD? ›
Access to Azure portal, Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell by anyone will always require MFA. Legacy authentication is disabled because it doesn't support MFA. Security Defaults is all or nothing — there are no choices or configuration options. That said, it offers sensible options that suit most small teams.
Which three authentication methods can Azure AD users use? ›- Microsoft Authenticator.
- Authenticator Lite (in Outlook)
- Windows Hello for Business.
- FIDO2 security key.
- OATH hardware token (preview)
- OATH software token.
- SMS.
- Voice call.
Both Windows Active Directory and LDAP can be used to allow users to connect to Serv-U by using Active Directory credentials. Additionally, LDAP allows for authentication against other LDAP servers such as Apache Directory Server and OpenLDAP.
What is the difference between Windows authentication and integrated Windows authentication? ›Integrated Windows Authentication uses the security features of Windows clients and servers. Unlike Basic Authentication or Digest Authentication, initially, it does not prompt users for a user name and password.
What is entra Microsoft? ›What is Microsoft Entra? Microsoft Entra a family of products that encompasses all identity and access capabilities. Within the Entra family are products such as Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), Microsoft Entra Verified ID, and Microsoft Entra Permissions Management.
How do I change my Azure authentication method? ›Browse to Azure Active Directory > Users > All users. Choose the user for whom you wish to add an authentication method and select Authentication methods. At the top of the window, select + Add authentication method. Select a method (phone number or email).
How do I set up Azure AD authentication? ›- From the portal menu, select Azure Active Directory.
- From the left navigation, select App registrations > New registration.
- In the Register an application page, enter a Name for your app registration.
- Select Register.
Sign in to the Azure portal with an Authentication Policy Administrator account. Search for and select Azure Active Directory, then browse to Security > Authentication methods > Policies. Under Microsoft Authenticator, choose the following options: Enable - Yes or No.
What is the difference between MFA and Azure MFA? ›Azure MFA provides more security and greater flexibility. Unlike the Office 365 MFA, it can even be enforced on hybrid deployments making it a potent solution to protect against threats emanating from various sources that target not just user accounts but an organization's infrastructure as a whole.
What is the difference between MFA and 2FA Microsoft? ›MFA. The difference between two-factor authentication, 2FA, and multi-factor authentication, MFA, is that 2FA, or two-factor authentication, involves two sets of steps to identify a user. In addition, 2FA utilizes one-time passcodes that are time-sensitive to prevent identity theft.
What authentication mode used for enterprise and why? ›
In enterprise mode, designed for larger wireless networks with multiple users, WPA and WPA2 leverage the IEEE 802.1x authentication mechanism using EAP. EAP is used with an authentication server, which provides strong mutual authentication between the client and the wireless network via the access point.
Does modern authentication require MFA? ›Modern authentication methods can leverage MFA, but they do not require it. MFA is typically used when security is of the utmost importance, such as when accessing sensitive data or financial accounts, and, when one of the authentication factors is considered weak such as password.
How do I enable MFA client authentication? ›In the Microsoft 365 admin center, in the left nav choose Settings > Org settings. Under the Services tab, choose Modern authentication, and in the Modern authentication pane, make sure Enable Modern authentication is selected. Choose Save changes.
What is the difference between basic authentication and modern authentication? ›Modern authentication, which is based on ADAL (Active Directory Authentication Library) and OAuth 2.0, offers a more secure method of authentication. To put it in simple terms, basic authentication requires each app, service or add-in to pass credentials – login and password – with each request.
How to configure modern authentication Office 365? ›Using the Microsoft 365 admin center
In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings > Org Settings > Modern Authentication.
- Sign in to Microsoft 365 using your password and second verification method.
- Click here to see the Additional security verification page.
- Choose how you want to do your second verification. ...
- When complete, click Save.
Choose Settings > Office 365. Choose Security & Privacy > Additional security verification. Choose “Update your phone numbers used for account security”. Choose your preferred method.
How to configure and enforce multi factor authentication in your tenant? ›- Sign in to the Azure portal by using an account with global administrator permissions.
- Search for and select Azure Active Directory. ...
- Select Conditional Access, select + New policy, and then select Create new policy.
- Enter a name for the policy, such as MFA Pilot.
Single-tenant apps are only available in the tenant they were registered in, also known as their home tenant. Multi-tenant apps are available to users in both their home tenant and other tenants.
Is an o365 tenant the same as an Azure tenant? ›Your Microsoft 365 tenant also includes an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) tenant, which is a dedicated instance of Azure AD for user accounts, groups, and other objects. Each Azure AD tenant is distinct, unique, and separate from all other Azure AD tenants.
How do I know if my user has configured MFA? ›
From the admin panel, select users, then Active users. On top section, select Multi-factor Authentication. This list will show for whom MFA is enabled (Enforced).
How do I know if MFA is enabled in Office 365 admin? ›- Sign in to the account and click on 'Admin'.
- Click on 'Users'.
- Select 'Active Users' and click on the 'Multi Factor Authentication' option at the top of the page.
Enabled: The user has been enrolled in MFA but has not completed the registration process. They will be prompted to complete the registration process the next time they sign in. Enforced: The user has been enrolled and has completed the MFA registration process.
Which MFA option should be avoided? ›Factors that rely on your phone number, such as SMS and phone calls should be avoided if possible as they are the least secure and provide the worst user experience.
What triggers Azure MFA? ›MFA works in Azure Active Directory by requiring two or more of the following authentication methods: A password. A trusted device that's not easily duplicated, like a phone or hardware key. Biometrics like a fingerprint or face scan.
What is the default authentication method in Azure AD? ›Authentication methods
Security defaults users are required to register for and use Azure AD Multifactor Authentication using the Microsoft Authenticator app using notifications. Users may use verification codes from the Microsoft Authenticator app but can only register using the notification option.
Azure AD Multi-Factor Authentication works by requiring two or more of the following authentication methods: Something you know, typically a password. Something you have, such as a trusted device that is not easily duplicated, like a phone or hardware key. Something you are - biometrics like a fingerprint or face scan.
What is Azure AD authentication options? ›Azure AD Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) adds additional security over only using a password when a user signs in. The user can be prompted for additional forms of authentication, such as to respond to a push notification, enter a code from a software or hardware token, or respond to an SMS or phone call.
Is LDAP considered MFA? ›MFA for LDAP is a way to protect your LDAP users with Multi-Factor Authentication by introducing an extra layer of protection during application logins. LDAP MFA requires all LDAP users to provide at least two authentication factors each time they sign in to an application. The first factor is usually their password.
What is replacing LDAP? ›JSON Web Token, Auth0, Keycloak, Amazon Cognito, and OAuth2 are the most popular alternatives and competitors to LDAP. ldapdotcom.
Should I use LDAP or Kerberos? ›
Resource type: While Kerberos authenticates resources within the domain and is heavily popular with Microsoft systems, LDAP is more commonly used for technical applications and on-premises infrastructure, like file servers.
What are the two authentication protocols supported by Windows? ›Windows authentication supports two authentication protocols, Kerberos and NTLM, which are defined in the <providers> element.
Does Windows Authentication use Active Directory? ›By default, Windows credentials are validated against the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) database on the local computer, or against Active Directory on a domain-joined computer, through the Winlogon service.
What are three different authentication sources used by Windows 10? ›- Windows 10 Local Account. Signing in with a local account is still possible in Windows 10. ...
- Microsoft Account. ...
- Windows Server Active Directory Join. ...
- Azure Active Directory Join. ...
- Azure Active Directory Device Registration. ...
- Hybrid Azure Active Directory Join. ...
- Web Sign-In.
I guess we all knew it was coming (after all, Microsoft published message center notification MC477013 in December 2022), but the news that the Microsoft Entra admin center (Figure 1) will replace the Azure AD admin center from April 1, 2023 is yet another example of the ongoing and constant changes in Microsoft 365.
How does entra work? ›Entra Verified ID Service.
An issuance and verification service in Azure and a REST API for W3C Verifiable Credentials that are signed with the did:web or the did:ion method. They enable identity owners to generate, present, and verify claims. This forms the basis of trust between users of the systems.
There are two ways to enable a trial or a full product license, self-service and volume licensing. For self-service, navigate to the M365 portal at https://aka.ms/TryPermissionsManagement and purchase licenses or sign up for a free trial. The second way is through Volume Licensing or Enterprise agreements.
How do I add an MFA to my application? ›Go to the Identity Platform MFA page in the Google Cloud console. In the box titled SMS-Based Multi-Factor Authentication, click Enable. Enter the phone numbers you'll be testing your app with. While optional, registering test phone numbers is strongly recommended to avoid throttling during development.
How to implement MFA in application? ›- User logs in an application with username and password.
- They are asked to enter an active phone number.
- A distinctive one-time code is then generated on app server and is sent to user's phone number.
- They then enter the code in app, thus enabling multifactor authentication.
- Log in to the Identity Administration portal.
- Click Apps > Web Apps and select the relevant application.
- Click Policy.
- Select Add New Profile from the Authentication Profile dropdown list.
- Enter a profile name.
- Select the authentication methods.
- Click OK.
- Click Save.
How to setup MFA for external users? ›
- Sign in to the Azure portal as a Conditional Access Administrator, Security Administrator, or Global Administrator.
- Browse to Azure Active Directory > Security > Conditional Access.
- Select New policy.
- Give your policy a name. ...
- Under Assignments, select Users or workload identities.
- Near the top-right of the page, choose MFA devices.
- On the Multi-factor authentication (MFA) devices page, choose Register device. Note. ...
- On the Register MFA device page, select one of the following MFA device types, and follow the instructions: Authenticator app.
- Sign in to the Azure portal as a Conditional Access Administrator, Security Administrator, or Global Administrator.
- Browse to Azure Active Directory > Security > Conditional Access.
- Select New policy.
- Give your policy a name. ...
- Under Assignments, select Users or workload identities.
2FA is a multi-factor authentication method that requires exactly two authentication factors. MFA, compared with 2FA, has an additional dimension of authentication, requiring at least two or more authentication factors — two, three, or even more. Note that 2FA is MFA, but MFA cannot be considered a 2FA.
What are the two most commonly used authentication factors in multifactor authentication? ›Authentication using two or more factors to achieve authentication. Factors include: (i) something you know (e.g. password/personal identification number (PIN)); (ii) something you have (e.g., cryptographic identification device, token); or (iii) something you are (e.g., biometric). See authenticator.
Where should MFA be implemented? ›DEPLOY MFA ACROSS THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION
Implementing MFA across your entire organization, rather than in silos, is considered more secure and helps to reduce your organization's attack surface.
To enforce MFA, you need to create an Azure AD Conditional Access policy. MFA policies are always enforced at your organization, regardless of whether the partner has MFA capabilities. A valid external email account that you can add to your tenant directory as a guest user and use to sign in.
Is MFA automatically enabled for all the users? ›MFA is enabled on a per-user basis; however, at this time, users are not automatically enrolled in MFA. To use MFA, users must enroll themselves.
How do I setup MFA on multiple devices? ›On your original smartphone where you have set up MFA. A push notification will ask you to verify your sign-in, enter the 2-digit number from the other mobile device sign-in screen into your original smartphone & click YES. If the push notification is not immediately visible open the Microsoft Authenticator App.