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Securing Microsoft Entra Guest Access (3/3): Monitoring with Log Analytics, KQL, and Alert Rules
Whether it’s a new partner organization, a change to a trust setting, or a guest sign-in to a sensitive application, day-to-day operations generate events that matter to the security of external access. Reviewing the logged activity helps determine whether those events align with the intended policies. Microsoft Entra provides sign-in logs and audit logs for this purpose. Sign-in logs provide information about sign-ins, authentication, and Conditional Access. Audit logs record changes within the tenant, including invitations to external users and changes to cross-tenant access settings. Microsoft describes the available information in Sign-in log activity details and Audit log activities
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Microsoft Entra Global Secure Access: Prompt Injection Protection for Generative AI
Generative AI applications such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini process user input over encrypted HTTPS connections. A prompt injection attack attempts to manipulate an AI model into ignoring its original instructions and producing unintended content or disclosing information. Microsoft Entra Prompt Injection Protection extends Microsoft Entra Internet Access with a security control for generative AI applications. It analyzes prompts at the network layer and can block detected prompt injection and jailbreak attempts before the request reaches the generative AI model. To enable this inspection, HTTPS traffic is routed through Global Secure Access and decrypted using TLS Inspection.
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Securing Microsoft Entra Guest Access (2/3): Lifecycle Management with Access Packages and Access Reviews
Securing Microsoft Entra guest access does not end with authentication and access control. A defined lifecycle is equally important. It must be clear why a guest receives access, who approves that access, how long it remains valid, and what happens when the collaboration ends. With a direct invitation through Microsoft Entra B2B Collaboration, Microsoft Entra ID creates a guest object in the resource tenant. Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 groups, SharePoint Online sites, or applications can then be assigned. However, the invitation itself does not define an approval process or an access duration. Without additional governance, the guest account and its permissions remain in place until administrators review or remove them…
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Securing Microsoft Entra Guest Access (1/3): Cross-tenant Access Settings and MFA Trust
Securing Microsoft Entra Guest Access means authenticating external users in a controlled manner and clearly defining access to your organization’s resources. Microsoft 365 supports different collaboration models for this purpose. This article focuses on Microsoft Entra B2B collaboration, where a user object in the resource tenant represents the external identity and provides access to Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, and other applications.
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Configure Exchange Online SMTP Relay with a Static Public IP Address
Microsoft has announced the gradual deprecation of Basic Authentication for SMTP AUTH in Exchange Online. Existing tenants will still be able to use the feature for now, but a complete removal is planned in the long term. Details about the current roadmap and the deprecation timeline are published in the Exchange Team Blog: Updated Exchange Online SMTP AUTH Basic Authentication Deprecation Timeline | Microsoft Community Hub