Hard delete service principal

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Event Information

• The Hard delete service principal event in Azure Active Directory refers to the permanent removal of a service principal object from the directory.
• This event occurs when a service principal is deleted using the “Remove-AzureADServicePrincipal” or similar command in Azure AD PowerShell or Azure CLI.
• Hard deleting a service principal means that it cannot be restored or recovered, and all associated permissions and access granted to the service principal are permanently revoked.

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Examples

1. Loss of access control: When a service principal is hard deleted in Azure Active Directory, any associated access permissions and role assignments will be permanently removed. This can lead to a loss of access control, as users or applications that relied on the service principal for authentication or authorization may no longer have the necessary permissions to perform their intended actions.
2. Disruption of service: If a service principal is hard deleted without proper planning or consideration, it can result in a disruption of service. Applications or services that relied on the service principal for authentication may no longer be able to authenticate successfully, leading to downtime or reduced functionality until alternative authentication mechanisms are implemented.
3. Audit trail gaps: Hard deleting a service principal can result in the loss of important audit trail information. Service principals are often used to represent applications or services in Azure, and their activities are typically logged for auditing and compliance purposes. By hard deleting a service principal, the associated audit logs and historical activity may be lost, making it difficult to track and investigate any potential security incidents or compliance breaches.

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Remediation

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Using Console

1. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA):
   • Sign in to the Azure portal (portal.azure.com) using your administrator account.
   • Navigate to the Azure Active Directory service.
   • Select “Security” from the left-hand menu.
   • Under “Manage,” click on “MFA” to access the Multi-Factor Authentication settings.
   • Enable MFA for all users or specific users/groups as per your organization’s requirements.
   • Configure the MFA settings, such as the verification method (phone call, text message, mobile app), and the number of days before users are prompted to re-authenticate.
2. Implement Conditional Access Policies:
   • In the Azure portal, go to the Azure Active Directory service.
   • Select “Security” from the left-hand menu.
   • Under “Manage,” click on “Conditional Access” to access the Conditional Access policies.
   • Create a new policy or modify an existing one to enforce additional security controls based on your organization’s requirements.
   • Configure conditions such as user/group, location, device state, and client app.
   • Define access controls like requiring MFA, blocking access, or granting access only from trusted locations.
   • Assign the policy to the desired users/groups.
3. Monitor and Respond to Security Alerts:
   • In the Azure portal, navigate to the Azure Active Directory service.
   • Select “Security” from the left-hand menu.
   • Under “Manage,” click on “Security alerts” to access the security alerts dashboard.
   • Review the alerts and investigate any suspicious activities or potential security threats.
   • Take appropriate actions based on the severity of the alerts, such as blocking users, resetting passwords, or escalating to the incident response team.
   • Regularly monitor the security alerts and adjust the response actions as needed to ensure the security of your Azure Active Directory environment.

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Using CLI

1. Enable MFA for Azure AD users:
   • Use the Azure CLI command az ad user update to update the user’s MFA settings.
   • Example: az ad user update --id <user-object-id> --force-change-password-next-login true
2. Configure password policies:
   • Use the Azure CLI command az ad policy password update to update the password policy settings.
   • Example: az ad policy password update --id <policy-object-id> --password-lifetime 90 --password-history 5
3. Enable Azure AD sign-in risk policy:
   • Use the Azure CLI command az ad policy update to enable the sign-in risk policy.
   • Example: az ad policy update --id <policy-object-id> --is-enabled true

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Using Python

1. Reset User Password:
   • Use the azure-identity library to authenticate with Azure Active Directory.
   • Use the azure-mgmt-graphrbac library to interact with the Azure AD Graph API.
   • Use the UserOperations class to reset the password for a specific user.
   • Here’s an example script:
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   from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
   from azure.mgmt.graphrbac import GraphRbacManagementClient
   
   # Authenticate with Azure AD
   credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
   graph_client = GraphRbacManagementClient(credential, "<your-tenant-id>")
   
   # Reset user password
   user_object_id = "<user-object-id>"
   password = "<new-password>"
   graph_client.users.update(user_object_id, password_profile={"password": password})
   

2. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for a User:
   • Use the azure-identity library to authenticate with Azure Active Directory.
   • Use the azure-mgmt-graphrbac library to interact with the Azure AD Graph API.
   • Use the UserOperations class to enable MFA for a specific user.
   • Here’s an example script:
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   from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
   from azure.mgmt.graphrbac import GraphRbacManagementClient
   
   # Authenticate with Azure AD
   credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
   graph_client = GraphRbacManagementClient(credential, "<your-tenant-id>")
   
   # Enable MFA for a user
   user_object_id = "<user-object-id>"
   user = graph_client.users.get(user_object_id)
   user.additional_properties["strongAuthenticationMethods"] = [{"type": "microsoftAuthenticator"}]
   graph_client.users.update(user_object_id, user)
   

3. Add User to a Group:
   • Use the azure-identity library to authenticate with Azure Active Directory.
   • Use the azure-mgmt-graphrbac library to interact with the Azure AD Graph API.
   • Use the GroupOperations class to add a user to a specific group.
   • Here’s an example script:
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   from azure.identity import DefaultAzureCredential
   from azure.mgmt.graphrbac import GraphRbacManagementClient
   
   # Authenticate with Azure AD
   credential = DefaultAzureCredential()
   graph_client = GraphRbacManagementClient(credential, "<your-tenant-id>")
   
   # Add user to a group
   user_object_id = "<user-object-id>"
   group_object_id = "<group-object-id>"
   graph_client.groups.add_member(group_object_id, user_object_id)