Understanding Entra ID Protection

Entra ID Protection is intended to help administrators identify security risks and system breaches due to compromised user credentials. The service is used to help organizations understand how their users’ credentials are being used or abused. The service can also help encourage the use of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to protect credentials and reestablish them after a breach. The service is included as part of Entra ID P2 user subscription licenses (user SLs), and it can take considerable work to deploy effectively. The service was previously named Azure Active Directory (AAD) Identity Protection prior to the 2023 rebranding of AAD as Entra ID.

Identifying At-Risk Credentials

Entra ID Protection (sometimes referred to by Microsoft as Entra Identity Protection) assists administrators in identifying at-risk or lost credentials. It does not itself prevent credential loss, but it helps identify credentials that have been compromised or are at risk of being compromised. It can help mitigate risks of those credentials being abused in a similar manner to preventing financial loss due to abuse of a compromised credit card number.