How to Fix: Eliminate Permanent Global Administrators
Step-by-step guide to implement eliminate permanent global administrators in your Microsoft 365 environment.
5-10 minutes
Estimated Time
4
Steps
critical
Severity
Enhanced Security
Baseline Level
Why This Matters
Permanent Global Admin accounts are always-on attack targets. With PIM, admins activate access only when needed, reducing the attack window from 24/7 to minutes per day. This is a fundamental Zero Trust control.
Prerequisites
- 1Global Administrator or appropriate admin role in Microsoft Entra ID
- 2Access to Microsoft Entra admin center (entra.microsoft.com)
- 3Microsoft Entra ID P2 license
- 4Privileged Role Administrator role
Expected Configuration
- Zero permanent human Global Administrator assignments
- All Global Admin access is through PIM eligible assignments
- Only emergency access accounts retain permanent Global Admin
Remediation Steps
Review Current State
Assess your current privileged access configuration in Entra ID.
- •Navigate to Microsoft Entra admin center
- •Go to Identity > Roles and administrators
- •Review current role assignments
Plan Changes
Determine what changes need to be made to meet the expected configuration.
- •Identify users with excessive privileges
- •Document required role assignments
- •Plan implementation timeline
Implement Configuration
Apply the necessary changes to your Entra ID environment.
- •Configure PIM if applicable
- •Update role assignments
- •Set appropriate access reviews
Verify and Test
Confirm the changes are working as expected.
- •Run a TrueConfig scan to verify compliance
- •Test user access with affected accounts
- •Document the changes made
Auto-Remediation Available
TrueConfig can automatically fix this control for you. Enable auto-remediation to have this configuration applied and maintained automatically.
Learn about auto-remediationRelated Resources
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