Chapter 2: Understanding Azure AD
Many cloud-related security breaches start with a compromised user identity. Once an attacker gets a foot in the door using the compromised credential, they can escalate privileges or gather intelligence to move further in the attack chain. This is why securing identity is important in any discussion on cloud security. This chapter will equip you with a thorough understanding of Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) – Microsoft's cloud-based identity and access management service, which functions as the identity provider for Azure and other cloud services. The foundational concepts discussed in this chapter are needed to fully grasp the identity security topics covered in the third and fourth chapters. Here are the topics that we will cover in this chapter with accompanying hands-on exercises:
- What Azure AD is not (what is Azure AD?)
- Modern authentication protocols
- Azure AD editions
- Azure AD object management
