Zero Trust Cloud Security Platform (Entra ID + Conditional Access + Private Access)

Category: Security

Architecture diagram

High-level view of the main components and data/control flows.

Low-level architecture diagram (Visio-style)

Implementation view (networking, security, ops). Click to open full size.

Low-level architecture details

Step-by-step implementation

Step 1/6

Define identity plane and device posture rules

• Define user groups, roles, and privileged access model.
• Decide device compliance requirements (Intune / MDM).
• Identify high-risk apps and admin portals.

Validation checklist

• Stakeholders have signed off the scope, SLAs, and data/security requirements.
• You have documented naming standards, environments, and ownership (RACI).

Step 2/6

Implement Conditional Access baseline

• Require MFA for all users (exclude break-glass).
• Require compliant devices for sensitive apps.
• Block legacy authentication.

Validation checklist

• Entra groups/roles are configured; privileged roles protected via PIM.
• Conditional Access/MFA policies are enforced for relevant access paths.

Step 3/6

Privileged Identity Management (PIM)

• Make admin roles eligible with just-in-time activation.
• Require approval and MFA for elevation.
• Enable access reviews for critical roles.

Validation checklist

• Security baseline applied (Defender/Policy/WAF/Firewall rules as applicable).
• No public endpoints unless explicitly approved; private endpoints verified where applicable.
• Alerts are configured for high-risk events.

Step 4/6

Reduce exposure with Private Link and segmentation

• Use private endpoints for PaaS (SQL, Storage, Key Vault).
• Adopt hub-spoke and restrict east-west traffic.
• Apply WAF for public entry points.

Validation checklist

• The target VNet/subnets/peerings/UDRs/NSGs are deployed with no errors.
• Connectivity test passes (e.g., Network Watcher connection troubleshoot / ping between subnets where allowed).
• Egress is controlled (traffic observed in Firewall logs if applicable).

Step 5/6

Threat detection and response

• Send sign-in logs to SIEM.
• Enable identity protection alerts.
• Automate account disable/reset on high risk.

Validation checklist

• Logs and metrics are flowing (check Log Analytics / Monitor).
• Alerts trigger correctly (test alert path to email/Teams/ITSM).

Step 6/6

Validate Zero Trust with audits

• Run access review reports monthly.
• Test conditional access policies in report-only mode first.
• Document exceptions with expiry.

Validation checklist

• UAT completed with representative users and scenarios.
• Performance meets baseline; issues tracked and remediated.

Video tutorials

• Azure Friday playlist (search for Zero Trust / Entra Conditional Access)
• Azure Videos (Security)

References

• Microsoft Entra documentation
• Zero Trust guidance