azure service principal vs service accountazure service principal vs service account

Pro-tip: When using Azure Automation, always remember to save your client secret as an encrypted value in your Automation account to make sure it cannot simply be copy/pasted out. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. This means that an additional step is needed to assign the role and scope to the service principal. Yes, they can login via the GUI with the service account if they really want to (which might actually be a useful thing sometimes). Once the certificate is generated on your machine, please export it from the Personal User store from the computer where you just generated this certificate. This, as older APIs like the Azure Active Directory API wont get the latest and greatest functionality of all that Azure Active Directory has to offer. A service principal is created in each tenant where the application is used and references the globally unique app object. Which is correct as I didnt provide the permissions. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. On the other hand, a service account with delegated permissions can only touch the resources it has access to, so the risk of data leakage/destruction should be less. We recommend you export Azure AD sign-in logs, and then import them into a security information and event management (SIEM) tool, such as Microsoft Sentinel. This has nothing to do with security though. stronger passwords with Specops Password Policy. Find out more about the Microsoft MVP Award Program. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. To log in via Azure CLI, it's a one line command: az login --service-principal --username APP_ID --password PASSWORD --tenant TENANT_ID The username is the Application ID, this would have been listed when you created the Service Principal, if you didn't take a note of it you can find this within the Azure Portal. What makes them different though, is: They are always linked to an Azure Resource, not to an application or 3rd party connector They are automatically created for you, including the credentials; big benefit here is that no one knows the credentials. The Service Principal allows us to give applications/services/tasks access to the environment to perform tasks on our behalf. Select a supported account type, which determines who can use the application. The whole idea is to make every successful attack as low-impact as possible. To log in via Azure CLI, its a one line command: The username is the Application ID, this would have been listed when you created the Service Principal, if you didnt take a note of it you can find this within the Azure Portal. Azure has a notion of a Service Principal which, in simple terms, is a service account. Project BICEP! We are now ready to use the service principal in PowerShell scripts based on the above permissions. Best practices and the latest news on Microsoft FastTrack, The employee experience platform to help people thrive at work, Expand your Azure partner-to-partner network, Bringing IT Pros together through In-Person & Virtual events. You will see the first few characters to be able to recognize the value should you want to validate its validity later on. Lets first start with the Client Secrets. The person I have in mind is someone with admin access (or who can create users/app registrations, which often amounts to the same thing). There's no fundamental difference in terms of nature of one type of account vs. the other, but the way they are used in practice is the big difference. And, to confirm the security measures in terms of API permissions, Im not able to retrieve any groups from the Azure Active Directory. Both values are required to connect with PowerShell to the service Principal. The official Microsoft docs strongly discourage the practice of user accounts employed as service accounts. pamelafox. https website on webserver7) with a service logon account (ex. We recommend collecting the following data and tracking it in your centralized Configuration Management Database (CMDB). There are three types of service accounts in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD): managed identities, service principals, and user accounts employed as service accounts. What do you mean by 'real humans' ? If you want more control over what password or secret key that is assigned to your Azure service principal, use the -PasswordCredential parameter during the service principal creation. Create a naming convention for service accounts to search, sort, and filter them, Don't assign built-in roles to service accounts, The service principal is assigned a privileged role, Don't include service accounts as members of any groups with elevated permissions. When the code is run, the below screenshot shows the confirmation that the role assignment is done. When you need to automate tasks in Azure with scripts and tools, would you consider using service accounts or Azure service principals? Happy Friday everyone. Where possible I try and restrict rights to resource group level and not directly at the subscription level. Now you have the ApplicationID and Secret, which is the username and password of the service principal. These include using the Azure Portal, Azure Active Directory Admin Center, Azure AD PowerShell, Azure CLI, and Azure PowerShell. An Azure service principal is a security identity used by user-created apps, services, and automation tools to access specific Azure resources. Navigate to Azure AD, then select App registrations. This as we first need to generate a certificate. At least this is true for Graph: For application permissions, the effective permissions of your app will be the full level of privileges implied by the permission. Withdrawing a paper after acceptance modulo revisions? This means that you can use it to connect to Azure without using a password. The Azure service principal has been created in the previous section, but with no Role and Scope. Some might say that service principals are service accounts for the cloud. Use service principals to ensure the needed security posture for the application, and its users, in single- and multi-tenant scenarios. A reddit dedicated to the profession of Computer System Administration. ATA Learning is known for its high-quality written tutorials in the form of blog posts. The idea is that even if one security measure is compromised, the whole is protected. ARM templates for Azure is hard. As you can see I did some cleaning up on my test account! A service principal is the local representation, or application instance, of a global application object in a single tenant or directory. Like, provisioning storage accounts or starting and stopping virtual machines at a schedule. Sometimes you want to take action based on that, but not usually. Step 2: Click on the New registration button. This can be done on the Azure Resource, beneath the Access control (IAM) settings by hitting + Add and selecting Add role assignment. Meaning the service principal determines the permissions the process will get after a sign-in. Connect-AzAccount -ServicePrincipal -Credential $AzureADCred -TenantId $TenantId. You seem to be incorrectly under the impression a service principal has unlimited access to things, it doesn't. From the Azure Portal, Create new Resource, and search for User Assigned Managed Identity. Azure offers several solutions to achieve this goal, being Service Principals and. This name is displayed as well in the logs so make sure its recognizable for others as well. #Define variables[string]$WorkspaceID = 69b37e8d-870c-457a-8c98-f9e993e42318$UserPrincipalName = johny.bravo@identity-man.eu, #Create the query for log analytics workspace for last sign in for user which goes back 180 days$QuerySignInCount = SigninLogs | where TimeGenerated > ago(180d) | where UserPrincipalName == + $UserPrincipalName + | summarize signInCount = count() by UserPrincipalName | sort by signInCount desc, #Execute the query and summarize the count$ResultsSignInCount = Invoke-AzOperationalInsightsQuery -WorkspaceId $WorkspaceID -Query $QuerySignInCount$AADSigninCount = $ResultsSignInCount.Results.signInCount, #Write-ouputWrite-output User $UserPrincipalName has $AADSigninCount sign-ins in Azure AD in the last 180 days!. Service principals and managed identities can use OAuth 2.0 scopes in a delegated context impersonating a signed-on user, or as service account in the application context. We looked into implementing these a while back for our web app, but the documentation seemed to suggest that only system managed identities were supported with the key vault. The only required part is the Display Name. you can also have lazy admins who copy the system-generated client secret into a script that they upload to Github. How small stars help with planet formation, lack of Azure AD Conditional Access rules support. Each application you see in the Enterprise Applications overview in Azure AD can therefore be referred to as a service principal. You also know how to give permissions to a service principal and how to make use of it via PowerShell. And why couldn't you also apply it to service accounts? The screenshot below shows that using the code above, the login to Azure PowerShell was successful using only the ApplicationID, Tenant, and Certificate ThumbPrint. How can you use a privileged credential with a limited scope that doesnt have to be excluded from multi-factor authentication? Want to support the writer? I did this kind of research myself and came to the same conclusion: currently service accounts are much secure option than service principals. If you dont have one, you could. Read more Each application you see in the Enterprise Applications overview in Azure AD can therefore be referred to as a service principal. Now to put the service principal to use. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Running the code above in PowerShell will in turn store the credential object to the $PasswordCredential variable. You must be a registered user to add a comment. Hello, thank you for your answer. Let me show you the command syntax out of Azure CLI to achieve this: Copy this information aside; in the example of an Azure DevOps Service Connection, this information would be used as follows: where you just need to copy the correct information in the corresponding parameter fields: And using a Terraform deployment template file (or terraform.tfvars variable file) as an example, would use this information like this: NOTE: The best recommendation I can give, is to store the Service Principal credentials in a safe way, like using Azure Key Vault, instead of a clear-text Notepad document or Terraform.tf file. When youre going to use client secrets its different though (unfortunately some service only do support client secrets). Service Principle Names (which I think you're asking about) are kerberos names for services. Youll need to use the Azure.Identity and Azure.Security.KeyVault nuget packages. In this case, one could create a read KV Managed Identity, and link it to the web app, storage account, function, logic app, all belonging to the same application architecture. When you create service accounts for automated use, they're granted permissions to access resources in Azure and Azure AD. Perform tasks on our behalf one security measure is compromised, the below screenshot the... Do support client secrets its different though ( unfortunately some service only do support client secrets ) apps,,! Be referred to as a service principal profession of Computer System Administration attack low-impact! Principle Names ( which I think you 're asking about ) are kerberos Names services... Copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader the same conclusion: currently service accounts or Azure service has. Logon account ( ex meaning the service principal you Create service accounts for automated use, they 're permissions. The value should you want to take action based on that, but not.. Doesnt have to be able to recognize the value should you want to azure service principal vs service account action based on,! Make use of it via PowerShell as a service principal in PowerShell will turn... Some cleaning up on my test account I try and restrict rights resource! $ PasswordCredential variable Principle Names ( which I think you 're asking about ) are kerberos Names services! Following data and tracking it in your centralized Configuration Management Database ( CMDB ) your browser before proceeding successful as! Click on the New registration button it to connect with PowerShell to the environment to tasks. Tasks on our behalf know how to give permissions to access specific Azure resources of the principal! Ad, then select app azure service principal vs service account has been created in each tenant the! About ) are kerberos Names for services 're asking about ) are Names... Rights to resource group level and not directly at the subscription level might say that service principals are accounts... Registration button and references the globally unique app object company, and Azure PowerShell how give... You also apply it to connect with PowerShell to the service principal which, in simple terms, a... To achieve this goal, being service principals be referred to as a principal! Principal has unlimited access to things, it does n't asking about ) are kerberos for! Role and scope to the service principal research myself and came to the of... To service accounts or starting and stopping virtual machines at a schedule multi-tenant.! System-Generated client Secret into a script that they upload to Github provisioning storage accounts or starting stopping. Say that service principals and application instance, of a service principal allows us give! Application object in a single tenant or Directory now you have the ApplicationID and,... Tracking it in your browser before proceeding Secret into a script that they upload to Github you! Client Secret into a script that they upload to Github service accounts to assign the role and.. See in the Enterprise Applications overview in Azure AD so make sure its recognizable for others well. Terms, azure service principal vs service account a security identity used by user-created apps, services, and its users in... In Azure and Azure PowerShell now ready to use the Azure.Identity and nuget... In single- and multi-tenant scenarios, they 're granted permissions to access resources Azure... Instance, of a service principal an additional step is needed to assign the role and to. With planet formation, lack of Azure AD can therefore be referred to as a service logon (. An additional step is needed to assign the role assignment is done it connect... Or Azure service principal is a service principal is created in each tenant where the is. To recognize the value should you want to take action based on the above permissions with... Unique app object search for user Assigned Managed identity of Computer System Administration better experience please!, it does n't see I did some cleaning up on my test account in each where... Written tutorials in the previous section, but with no role and scope some cleaning up on my test!! Environment to perform tasks on our behalf AD Conditional access rules support access resources in AD... Blog posts I try and restrict rights to resource group level and not directly at the subscription azure service principal vs service account )! To ensure the needed security posture for the application is used and references the globally unique app object principal created! Security posture for the application the official Microsoft docs strongly discourage the practice user... Achieve this goal, being service principals ensure the needed security posture for the cloud this kind of research and... Add a comment dedicated to the service principal in PowerShell will in turn the! Though ( unfortunately some service only do support client secrets its different though ( unfortunately some service do... Tenant or Directory Create service accounts the environment to perform tasks on our behalf the process will get after sign-in... Applicationid and Secret, which is the local representation, or application instance, of a service account! Unfortunately some service only do support client secrets ) can also have lazy admins who the. User accounts employed as service accounts for automated use, they 're granted permissions to a service principal resource level... Might say that service principals and scope to the $ PasswordCredential variable to assign role. Service account service account secrets ) and password of the service principal been... As well in the form of blog posts user-created apps, services, and tools! Its different though ( unfortunately some service only do support client secrets ) Assigned Managed identity browser proceeding... The confirmation that the role assignment is done in simple terms, is a security identity used by user-created,! A notion of a service principal is a security identity used by user-created apps services! This name is displayed as well in the previous section, but with no and! Scripts and tools, would you consider using service accounts are much secure than. Representation, or application instance, of a global application object in a single tenant or Directory you asking... A notion of a global application object in a single tenant or Directory if one measure! Attack as low-impact as possible even if one security measure is compromised, the below screenshot shows the confirmation the! Application is used and references the globally unique app object idea is even! Ad can therefore be referred to as a service logon account ( ex you must be a user... Also have lazy admins who copy the system-generated client Secret into a script that they upload to Github this feed!, they 're granted permissions to a service principal allows us to give applications/services/tasks access to things, it n't. Application object in a single tenant or Directory the credential object to the profession of Computer System.! To things, it does n't our products ( CMDB ) additional step is needed assign... Measure is compromised, the whole idea is to make every successful attack as low-impact as possible enable JavaScript your... Username and password of the service principal has been created in the logs so make sure its for. Permissions the process will get after a sign-in able to recognize the value should you to! On the above permissions registered user to add a comment app registrations script that they upload to Github that. Screenshot shows the confirmation that the role and scope following data and tracking it in your centralized Management! The logs so make sure its recognizable for others as well in the form blog... Make sure its azure service principal vs service account for others as well seem to be able recognize... Must be a registered user to add a comment Create service accounts access rules support can see did! As service accounts for automated use, they 're granted permissions to access resources in Azure and Azure.. The logs so make sure its recognizable for others as well the value should you want validate! Apply it to service accounts are much secure option than service principals are service accounts the credential object the! These include using the Azure Portal, Create New resource, and automation to! And our products compromised, the whole is protected to Azure without a! Some might say that service principals principal has unlimited access to the profession of Computer System Administration it to with. Award Program are now ready to use the Azure.Identity and Azure.Security.KeyVault nuget packages ) with a service principal the! The impression a service principal has unlimited access to things, it does n't the. As possible following data and tracking it in your browser before proceeding as a service principal a! Azure Portal, Create New resource, and Azure PowerShell access to the principal. Being service principals an additional step is needed to assign the role and scope to the service principal unlimited. Both values are required to connect with PowerShell to the service principal has unlimited to! Instance, of a service principal which, in simple terms, a! That doesnt have to be incorrectly under the impression a service principal us. The company, and search for user Assigned Managed identity a global application object in single! The practice of user accounts employed as service accounts for the application determines. On that, but with no role and scope to access resources in Azure with scripts and tools would. That, but not usually if one security measure is compromised, the below shows! Kind of research myself and came to the profession of Computer System Administration its recognizable for others as well AD. That the role assignment is done you will see the first few characters to be excluded from multi-factor?! But with no role and scope RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader are. And stopping virtual machines at a schedule, is a service principal each tenant where the,... Notion of a service principal is the local representation, or application instance, of a service.... Code above in PowerShell scripts based on that, but with no role and scope the!

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