Define approach for stand-alone groups
Implementation Effort: High – Establishing governance for stand-alone groups requires defining policies, configuring lifecycle management, and coordinating with group owners.
User Impact: Medium – Users may experience changes in group creation approval processes, membership management and approval processes, and periodic access reviews.
Overview
In addition to structured access management through business roles, organizations often require stand-alone groups for collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams or SharePoint. Defining a clear approach for these groups is essential to maintain security and compliance within a Zero Trust framework.
Stand-alone groups should have well-defined creation policies, including designated owners responsible for managing membership and ensuring appropriate use. Implementing lifecycle management policies, such as automatic expiration and renewal processes, helps prevent group sprawl and unauthorized access. Utilizing Microsoft Entra ID Governance features like access reviews ensures that group memberships remain current and relevant.
By enforcing these practices, organizations adhere to the Zero Trust principles of "Verify explicitly" and "Use least privilege access," ensuring that access is granted based on verified identities and only to the necessary resources. Neglecting to define and manage stand-alone groups can lead to uncontrolled access, data leakage, and increased risk of security breaches.