Investigating Identity Threats in Microsoft Entra: What to Watch For and How to Respond

As organizations embrace cloud services, remote work, and hybrid environments, attackers are increasingly targeting user identities instead of traditional network infrastructure. A compromised identity can provide access to sensitive data, privileged systems, and business-critical applications without triggering the same alarms as a traditional cyberattack.

This is where Microsoft Entra plays a critical role.

Whether you're a security analyst, administrator, or IT leader, understanding the signs of identity compromise can significantly reduce the time it takes to identify and contain threats.

Six Identity Risk Indicators Worth Investigating

1. Atypical Travel

One of the most common signs of account compromise is an impossible travel event.

For example, a user successfully signs in from Toronto and then appears to authenticate from another country shortly afterward. While VPNs and corporate travel can create exceptions, these events deserve investigation because they may indicate stolen credentials are being used by an attacker.

Questions to ask:

• Was the user actually traveling?
• Was a VPN involved?
• Were additional suspicious sign-ins observed?

2. Multi-Factor Authentication Changes

MFA is often the last line of defense after credentials are stolen.

Attackers who gain access frequently attempt to:

• Register their own authentication methods
• Remove legitimate MFA methods
• Reset MFA settings
• Manipulate self-service registration processes

Unexpected MFA changes should always be reviewed, especially when they occur shortly before high-risk activity.

3. New Service Principal Credentials

Service principals are often overlooked during security investigations.

Adding a new client secret or certificate to an application can provide persistent access that survives password resets and user account remediation efforts.

Watch for:

• Newly created credentials
• Unexpected application ownership changes
• Service principals receiving elevated permissions

4. Dormant Accounts Becoming Active Again

Inactive accounts frequently become attractive targets because they are less likely to be monitored.

When a dormant account suddenly signs in, investigators should verify:

• The business justification for reactivation
• Recent permission changes
• Authentication method modifications
• Access patterns after reactivation

5. Unusual Role Activity

Privilege escalation remains a common objective during identity-based attacks.

Security teams should investigate:

• New Global Administrator assignments
• Privileged role activations occurring outside normal hours
• Accounts receiving permissions inconsistent with job responsibilities

The principle of least privilege is only effective when role assignments are actively monitored.

6. Suspicious Telemetry

Context matters.

A single event may appear harmless, but multiple identity signals occurring together often tell a different story.

Examples include:

• MFA changes followed by new role assignments
• Dormant account reactivation followed by application access
• Impossible travel combined with unusual administrative activity

The most effective investigations focus on patterns rather than isolated events.

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Prevention Is Better Than Investigation

Detecting suspicious activity is important, but reducing opportunities for attackers is even better.

Organizations can strengthen their identity security posture by implementing several key controls:

• Enforce strong multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all user accounts.
• Use Conditional Access policies to evaluate risk before granting access.
• Protect privileged accounts with Privileged Identity Management (PIM).
• Conduct regular access reviews and role audits to maintain least-privilege access.
• Monitor risky users and risky sign-ins for potential indicators of compromise.
• Remove or disable dormant accounts that are no longer required.
• Review audit logs and alerting configurations regularly to detect suspicious activity.
• Require compliant and managed devices for access to sensitive resources.

When these controls are combined, organizations dramatically reduce the likelihood of successful identity-based attacks.

Final Thoughts

Identity compromise rarely begins with a dramatic security alert. More often, it starts with small indicators that are easy to dismiss when viewed individually.

An unusual sign-in. A new MFA registration. A dormant account coming back to life.

The organizations that detect and contain threats fastest are the ones that understand how these signals connect. By pairing strong investigative processes with proactive identity controls, security teams can move from reacting to incidents to preventing them altogether.