Microsoft Entra Break-Glass Access: Your Fail-Safe for Admin Lockouts
Break-glass access in Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) is a controlled, emergency method for regaining administrative control. It exists for scenarios when all other privileged accounts are unavailable—whether due to lost credentials, conditional access misconfigurations, or identity provider outages. Without a tested break-glass account, recovery can be delayed for hours or days.
A break-glass design starts with one or more cloud-only accounts. These accounts bypass conditional access policies, MFA requirements, and identity governance rules. They must be stored securely—offline, air-gapped, and documented in an incident runbook. Microsoft recommends at least two accounts, each with Global Administrator rights, kept in different secure locations.
Key steps for implementing Microsoft Entra Break-Glass Access:
- Create dedicated emergency accounts that are not synced from on-premises directories.
- Exclude them from conditional access and MFA policies to guarantee access even during outages.
- Set strong, unique passwords and store them in an offline password vault or encrypted media.
- Monitor for usage with alert rules. Any sign-in attempt should trigger an immediate review.
- Test regularly to ensure the accounts work under simulated failure conditions.
Security and availability are in tension here. The accounts must be fully capable of bypassing locked configurations, but also heavily guarded from misuse. Break-glass access should be documented in your incident response plan, with clear responsibilities for who, when, and how to activate it.
Microsoft Entra Break-Glass Access is not a set-and-forget feature. It’s a living safeguard that demands audits, logging, and drills. Ignore it, and you risk your entire tenant when the unexpected happens. Maintain it with the same rigor as production systems.
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