Unit 7: Plan and configure Privileged Access Groups

Privileged Access Groups extend Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management (PIM) by allowing group-based just-in-time access to privileged roles. Instead of assigning roles directly to individual users, you assign roles to a role-assignable group and then manage who can activate membership or ownership of that group using PIM.

This model simplifies privileged access management when:

• Multiple roles are commonly required together.
• Multiple administrators perform similar tasks.
• You want consistent enforcement of approval, MFA, and activation duration.

What are Privileged Access Groups?

A Privileged Access Group is a Microsoft Entra role-assignable cloud group that is brought under PIM management.

Key characteristics:

• The group itself is assigned to one or more Microsoft Entra built-in roles.
• Users are not permanent members of the group.
• Users must activate membership or ownership using PIM.
• Activation is time-bound, auditable, and optionally approval-based.

This shifts privileged access from user → role to user → group → role.

Why Privileged Access Groups exist

Without privileged access groups:

• Administrators often need multiple role activations.
• Each role has its own approval and activation workflow.
• Managing access at scale becomes complex and error-prone.

With privileged access groups:

• A single activation can grant multiple roles at once.
• Policies are enforced consistently.
• Access is easier to audit and revoke.

This design follows the principle of least privilege while improving operational efficiency.

Real-world example: Tiered administration model

Scenario

Your Tier 0 Office Admins investigate incidents daily and need temporary access to multiple Microsoft Entra roles.

Required roles:

• Exchange Administrator.
• Office Apps Administrator.
• Teams Administrator.
• Search Administrator.

Traditional approach (not ideal)

• Each admin activates four roles individually.
• Multiple approvals and MFA prompts.
• Higher risk of forgotten deactivation.

Privileged Access Group approach (recommended)

• Create a role-assignable group named Tier 0 Office Admins.
• Assign the group to the four Microsoft Entra built-in roles.
• Enable Privileged Access for the group in PIM.
• Assign users as eligible members of the group.
• Admins activate the group when needed.

Result:

• One activation.
• Time-limited access.
• Full audit trail.

How Privileged Access Groups work (conceptual flow)

• A role-assignable group is created.
• The group is assigned to one or more Microsoft Entra roles.
• The group is enabled for privileged access in PIM.
• Users are assigned as eligible members or owners.
• Users activate group membership through PIM.
• Role permissions are granted indirectly via the group.

Important behavior:

• The group is not activated.
• The user’s membership is activated.

Managing membership vs ownership in privileged access groups

Privileged Access Groups allow PIM control over:

• Group members, who gain role permissions.
• Group owners, who can manage group membership.

Both can be:

• Eligible.
• Active.
• Time-bound.

This prevents permanent group ownership, which is a common security gap.

Policy flexibility per role-assignable group

Different groups can have different PIM policies, even if they grant similar roles.

This allows organizations to:

• Apply stricter controls to external users.
• Apply lighter controls to trusted internal admins.

Example: Separate policies for employees and partners

Scenario

Your organization collaborates with partners using Microsoft Entra B2B.

Requirements:

• Employees should activate roles quickly.
• Partners should require approval and tighter controls.

Recommended design

Create two privileged access groups:

Group 1: Internal Admins

• Less strict activation requirements.
• No approval required.
• Short activation duration.

Group 2: Partner Admins

• Approval required.
• Mandatory justification.
• Shorter activation duration.
• Strong MFA enforcement.

Both groups can be assigned to the same Microsoft Entra roles, but are governed differently.

Why this matters for security

Privileged Access Groups reduce risk by:

• Eliminating standing group membership.
• Centralizing role activation.
• Preventing privilege creep.
• Improving audit and compliance visibility.

They are especially important when:

• Roles are commonly used together.
• External identities are involved.
• You want scalable governance.

Exam-critical points to remember

• Privileged Access Groups are role-assignable groups managed by PIM.
• Users activate group membership, not roles directly.
• One group can be assigned to multiple Microsoft Entra roles.
• Different groups can enforce different activation policies.
• This feature is designed for workload-specific administrators.
• Privileged Access Groups are part of Privileged Identity Management (P2).