Microsoft announced that it will enforce mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all sign-in attempts to the Azure portal and other administrative interfaces.
The new requirement, which builds on Microsoft’s long-standing commitment to security, aims to block unauthorized access to high-value cloud resources by adding an extra layer of verification beyond passwords.
According to Microsoft’s own research, enabling MFA can prevent over 99.2 percent of account compromise attacks, making it one of the most effective defenses against credential theft.
With this statistic in mind, the company has laid out a two-phase rollout plan designed to give organizations ample time to comply and prepare.
Phase 1: Portal and Admin Interfaces
Beginning in October 2024, any account signing into the Azure portal, Microsoft Entra admin center, or Microsoft Intune admin center to perform create, read, update, or delete operations must use MFA. This change will roll out gradually to all tenants globally.
Starting February 2025, MFA enforcement extends to the Microsoft 365 admin center. Administrators who already enforce MFA, or who use passwordless methods (such as passkeys or FIDO2), will see no change in their sign-in experience.
Phase 2: Command-Line and API Tools
From October 1, 2025, Microsoft will require MFA for operations performed through the Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, the Azure mobile app, infrastructure-as-code (IaC) tools, and Control Plane REST API endpoints when creating, updating, or deleting resources.
Read-only commands will remain unaffected. This phase ensures that automation and scripting workflows, when authenticated with user credentials, also benefit from MFA’s protection.
A detailed list of application names, IDs, and enforcement start dates accompanies the announcement.
Key Phase 1 targets include the Azure portal (App ID: c44b4083-3bb0-49c1-b47d-974e53cbdf3c) and Microsoft Entra admin center, both kicking off in the second half of 2024.
Phase 2 applications, such as Azure PowerShell (App ID: 1950a258-227b-4e31-a9cf-717495945fc2) and Azure CLI (App ID: 04b07795-8ddb-461a-bbee-02f9e1bf7b46), will enforce MFA starting October 1, 2025.
Microsoft cautions against using user accounts for automated tasks. Organizations are encouraged to migrate user-based service accounts to secure, cloud-based workload identities such as managed identities or service principals.
These identities are not subject to the MFA enforcement phases and provide a safer alternative for scripts and automation.
To prepare, administrators should review existing Conditional Access policies or enable security defaults to require MFA.
For tenants requiring additional time, Microsoft allows postponement of Phase 1 until September 30, 2025, and Phase 2 until July 1, 2026, through designated management portals.
However, Microsoft warns that delaying MFA increases risk, as administrative sign-ins remain prime targets for attackers.
As cyberthreats continue to evolve, Microsoft’s MFA requirement reinforces its zero-trust security strategy.
By ensuring every administrative action on Azure is authenticated with multiple factors, the company aims to safeguard customer workloads and uphold the integrity of cloud environments worldwide.
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