If you have accounts which are affected by this and there is no alternate way of working, you may have to consider the Conditional Access approach - which allows for exceptions - or the legacy MFA approach - which allows for per-account configuration.

If you are unsure if an account is actively logging into Azure AD, check the Azure AD sign-in logs.

If you have accounts like this, you might want to consider filtering them from your Azure AD sync. Although they will be 'required' to use MFA when logging into Azure AD, if they never do so then they are unaffected. If you have service accounts that only operate on-premise and never login to Azure AD, they will remain unaffected. This includes unlicensed users, break-glass accounts, and service accounts.Īny accounts that login to Azure AD autonomously, such as service accounts, will stop working as they cannot use MFA - the only exception is the Azure AD Connect sync account. When Security Defaults is enabled, all accounts in Azure AD must use MFA. To decide if Security Defaults is right for you, you should consider four things: See Microsoft documentation: Common problems with two-factor verification and your work or school account Is this the right approach? Want to learn more about Security Defaults? Check out the official documentation and read the original blog post from Microsoft which outlines the intention and design of Security Defaults. That said, it offers sensible options that suit most small teams. Security Defaults is all or nothing - there are no choices or configuration options. Legacy authentication is disabled because it doesn't support MFA. Users will be prompted for MFA 'when necessary' (this is not strictly defined by Microsoft but includes when users show up on a new device or app, and for critical roles and tasks).Īccess to Azure portal, Azure CLI or Azure PowerShell by anyone will always require MFA. Only authenticator-style apps are permitted as MFA methods - this is a secure method and one we would recommend anyway.Īdmins will always be prompted for MFA on login. Once enabled, Security Default makes following changes in your tenant:Īll users must register for MFA within 2 weeks from their next interactive login - no users can be exempt from requiring MFA. However, it's inflexible, with no configuration options, and must be applied to all accounts.

It's simple, quick and available to everyone regardless of license. Security Defaults enables MFA for everyone.

Azure 2fa