Configure Emergency Access Accounts for Government & Public Sector
How government & public sector organizations should implement PA-03 for Microsoft 365 security and compliance.
For government & public sector companies using Microsoft 365, configure emergency access accounts is a security priority. This guide explains how PA-03 helps government & public sector organizations protect their identity infrastructure while meeting industry-specific compliance mandates.
Why Government & Public Sector Organizations Need This Control
Government & Public Sector organizations face specific regulatory requirements including fedramp, nist-800-53, cis. The PA-03 control helps address these requirements by:
- At least 2 break-glass accounts exist
- Accounts are excluded from all Conditional Access policies
- Accounts are enabled and accessible
Emergency access accounts prevent permanent lockout if MFA systems fail, Conditional Access is misconfigured, or a federation service goes down. Microsoft recommends 2 accounts with FIDO2 keys stored securely offline.
Industry-Specific Considerations
When implementing PA-03 in a government & public sector environment, consider:
- **Regulatory requirements**: fedramp, nist-800-53, cis may mandate specific configurations
- **Risk tolerance**: Government & Public Sector organizations typically have moderate to low risk tolerance
- **Audit frequency**: Plan for regular compliance reviews
- **Documentation**: Maintain detailed records for regulatory inspections
How to Configure
PA-03 requires the following configuration:
- At least 2 break-glass accounts exist
- Accounts are excluded from all Conditional Access policies
- Accounts are enabled and accessible
Creates cloud-only break-glass accounts with Global Admin role, excluded from CA policies
With TrueConfig, you can implement this control automatically using our one-click remediation feature.
Government Compliance Requirements
Government organizations must comply with these frameworks, all of which address configure emergency access accounts:
Why This Control Matters for Government
Emergency access accounts prevent permanent lockout if MFA systems fail, Conditional Access is misconfigured, or a federation service goes down. Microsoft recommends 2 accounts with FIDO2 keys stored securely offline.
Common threats in government & public sector:
- • Nation-state espionage campaigns
- • Ransomware targeting critical services
- • Insider threats from privileged users
For government & public sector organizations, PA-03 is a key component of a compliant Microsoft 365 security posture. TrueConfig helps you implement and maintain this control while meeting industry-specific requirements.
Ready to secure your government Microsoft 365 environment?
TrueConfig continuously monitors your tenant against government best practices, including this control and 6+ others.