Identity Governance and Privileged Access

Why identity governance matters

Granting access is easy; ensuring access stays appropriate over time is the real challenge. Over time, users accumulate permissions from old projects, change roles but keep prior access and privileged accounts multiply. This phenomenon, known as privilege creep, silently expands the attack surface.

Identity governance is the discipline that ensures the right people have the right access, for the right time, with visibility and control. In Microsoft Entra ID it materializes in a set of integrated capabilities.

The pillars of governance in Entra

Privileged access with PIM

Privileged Identity Management (PIM) is the cornerstone of secure privileged access. Instead of granting administrative roles permanently, PIM makes those roles eligible, requiring explicit activation when needed.

When an administrator needs access, they activate it for a limited period, which can require:

• Documented justification.
• Approval from a responsible party.
• MFA at activation time.
• A maximum limited duration, with automatic expiration.

The benefits are direct. Standing high-privilege access, a favorite target of attackers, ceases to exist. Each activation generates an audit trail. And the principle of least privilege is applied in time, not just in scope.

Access reviews

Even with PIM, standing permissions to groups, apps and resources need recertification. Access reviews automate this process, periodically asking managers or the users themselves to confirm whether access is still needed.

An effective review program:

1. Prioritizes high-risk access, such as privileged roles and guest access.
2. Sets appropriate reviewers, usually the direct manager or the resource owner.
3. Applies a recurrence suited to risk, more frequent for sensitive access.
4. Automatically removes unapproved access.
5. Documents decisions for audit purposes.

Entitlement management

Entitlement management organizes access into access packages that bundle groups, apps and sites related to a role or project. A user requests a package, the approval flow is triggered and access is granted with a defined expiration date.

This solves two problems at once: it simplifies access requests for users and ensures access expires automatically, preventing creep. It is especially valuable for collaboration with external partners, where guests receive temporary, controlled access.

Identity lifecycle

Governance begins at onboarding and ends at offboarding. The identity lifecycle automates provisioning when someone joins, access adjustment when they change roles and immediate deprovisioning when they leave. Orphaned accounts of former employees are a classic risk, and offboarding automation is one of the most underrated defenses.

Integrating provisioning with the human resources system ensures identities reflect organizational reality in near real time.

Emergency accounts and monitoring

Every privileged access strategy needs break-glass accounts for emergencies, excluded from restrictions that could lock administrators out. These accounts should have long passwords, be stored securely and generate alerts on every use. Continuous monitoring of privileged activity is the final safety net.

Governance checklist

• Administrative roles configured as eligible in PIM, not permanent.
• Privileged activation requires justification, approval and MFA.
• Periodic access reviews for high-risk roles and guests.
• Access packages with approval and expiration for projects and partners.
• Provisioning and deprovisioning integrated with HR.
• Break-glass accounts monitored with dedicated alerts.

RHC, a Microsoft Solutions Partner, implements identity governance with Entra ID, applying just-in-time access and reviews that keep least privilege over time.