“Automating Azure Securely” explores how organizations can modernize Azure automation without creating hidden security risks. The core message is that automation is no longer optional in large Microsoft cloud environments, but poorly designed automation can quickly become a major attack surface. The episode explains that many companies still rely on outdated service accounts, excessive permissions, hardcoded credentials, and unmanaged scripts that silently weaken their Azure security posture.

The discussion highlights how secure automation should be built around Zero Trust principles, least privilege access, identity governance, and modern authentication methods such as managed identities and Microsoft Graph integrations. Instead of giving automation tools broad tenant-wide permissions, organizations should isolate workloads, scope permissions tightly, and continuously monitor automated actions.

A major focus is the transition away from legacy AzureAD and MSOnline modules toward Microsoft Graph PowerShell and API-driven automation. Modern automation is presented not simply as scripting, but as an engineering discipline that requires version control, testing, logging, approval workflows, and governance. Reusable automation frameworks are shown as far safer and more scalable than one-off administrative scripts.

The episode also examines practical Azure automation scenarios including user lifecycle management, policy enforcement, cleanup workflows, reporting, compliance checks, and cost optimization. Azure Automation, Logic Apps, Azure Functions, Azure Policy, and Resource Graph are discussed as key building blocks for secure operational automation.

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You achieve automating azure securely by combining Microsoft Graph, identity management, and Azure automation tools. Stable operational processes help you avoid mistakes before you automate tasks. Microsoft Graph acts as the backbone for secure automation in Microsoft 365 and azure. Hybrid cloud environments present unique security challenges. You must handle identity-based attacks, secure ports, and integrate proprietary tools. Managed identities, Azure Key Vault, and least privilege principles protect your automation.

Security ChallengeDescription
Higher Focus on ApplicationsMicrosoft emphasizes azure applications, shifting focus from infrastructure to APIs and SaaS.
Identity-Based AttacksOrganizations rely on Microsoft's identity tools, increasing vulnerability to identity attacks.
Issues in Securing PortsAzure Security Center's 'Just-in-Time' feature helps secure ports against common threats.

You learn actionable steps and security best practices for automating azure securely. Real-world scenarios show how you automate identity workflows and cloud operations with Microsoft Graph.

Key Takeaways

  • Combine Microsoft Graph and Azure automation tools for secure cloud automation.
  • Start with clear workflows to avoid mistakes before automating tasks.
  • Use managed identities and Azure Key Vault to protect secrets in automation scripts.
  • Implement least privilege access to minimize security risks in your automation.
  • Regularly review permissions and access to maintain a secure environment.
  • Automate identity management tasks to save time and reduce errors.
  • Monitor automation logs to detect unusual activity and ensure compliance.
  • Integrate Azure Arc for consistent management across hybrid cloud environments.

Automating Azure Securely: Benefits & Challenges

Why Automate Azure Securely

You want to automate your cloud environment to save time and reduce errors. Secure automation in azure helps you manage complex workflows and repetitive tasks with confidence. Microsoft Graph and azure automation work together as core tools. They let you control user accounts, groups, and devices through simple workflows. You can use Microsoft Entra ID to manage identity and access, making your workflows more reliable. Managed identities make authentication easier, so you do not need to handle secrets or certificates for your workflows. This approach supports the least-privilege principle, giving each workflow only the permissions it needs.

Tip: Start with clear, repeatable workflows before you automate. This process thinking helps you avoid mistakes and makes your automation more stable.

Security Risks in Automation

You face risks if you do not secure your automation workflows. Misconfigured settings or weak security for APIs can open the door to unauthorized access. Insecure API integrations and misconfigured network security groups can lead to data breaches. If you hardcode secrets in your automation scripts, you put your organization at risk. In 2022, over a million users accidentally exposed secrets in their code. Almost 6 out of every 1,000 code commits contained at least one secret. Stolen credentials, often from hardcoded secrets, caused more than 80% of web application breaches in recent years.

  • Common risks in automation workflows:
    • Vulnerabilities from misconfigured settings
    • Inadequate security for APIs
    • Unauthorized access and data breaches
    • Misconfigured databases or object storage
    • Hardcoded secrets in scripts

You can avoid these risks by using managed identities and Azure Key Vault in your workflows. These tools help you keep secrets safe and control access to your automation tasks.

Key Benefits for Organizations

When you automate azure securely, you see real improvements in your workflows and operations. Microsoft Graph reduces the need for complex workflows and insecure practices. You can manage on-premises and cloud account lifecycles with ease. In healthcare, secure automation cut incident response times by 40%. In finance, organizations reduced manual intervention by 60% using automated workflows and analytics. Passwordless authentication and behavioral analytics help you stop credential-based attacks. Azure Policy and Defender automation support operational sustainability.

  • Key benefits of secure automation workflows:
    • Faster response to security threats
    • Fewer manual tasks and errors
    • Stronger protection against credential attacks
    • Consistent management of identity and access
    • Sustainable operations across cloud environments

You build trust in your workflows when you follow best practices and use the right tools. Secure automation lets you focus on important tasks while keeping your cloud safe.

Prerequisites for Azure Automation

Before you start with azure automation, you need to set up the right tools and services. You also need to understand how identity and access management works in azure entra id. This foundation helps you use the microsoft graph api to automate tasks securely and efficiently.

Essential Tools & Services

To get started, you need a few core tools. These tools help you connect, manage, and secure your automation workflows with azure automation account and azure entra id.

Microsoft Graph API

You use microsoft graph api to interact with azure entra id and other Microsoft services. This API lets you automate user management, group assignments, and device controls. You can connect your azure automation account to microsoft graph api for seamless identity and access management. This connection gives you the power to automate tasks across your cloud environment.

Azure Automation Accounts

You must create an automation account to run your scripts and workflows. An azure automation account acts as a secure workspace for your automation jobs. You can schedule tasks, manage credentials, and monitor job status. Each azure automation account integrates with azure entra id for identity and access management. This setup ensures that your automation follows security best practices.

PowerShell & CLI

You use PowerShell and CLI to write and run automation scripts. These tools help you interact with microsoft graph api and azure automation account. PowerShell modules and CLI commands let you manage resources, trigger workflows, and handle identity and access management tasks. You can run scripts directly from your azure automation account for consistent results.

Note: You should also use Azure Key Vault for secure certificate management and lifecycle control. Azure Policy helps you monitor and enforce service configurations. Azure Resource Logs give you enhanced metrics and logging for threat detection. Data security measures, like encryption and secure credential management, protect your assets. Network isolation with Azure Private Link keeps your connections secure.

Authentication & Permissions

You need strong authentication and authorization models for secure automation. Azure automation account supports managed identities and service principals for secure access to resources in azure entra id.

Managed Identities

You can enable a system-assigned managed identity for your azure automation account. This identity lets your automation access resources protected by azure entra id, such as Azure Key Vault. You must assign only the roles and permissions needed for each task. This approach supports the principle of least privilege in identity and access management.

Service Principals

You can also use service principals for authentication. Service principals act as application identities in azure entra id. You assign permissions to each service principal, controlling what your automation can do. Always review and update permissions to follow identity and access management best practices.

Least Privilege & Security Setup

You must set up least privilege access for your azure automation account. This means you give users and automation accounts only the permissions they need. You reduce the risk of unauthorized access and prevent privilege escalation. Regularly review access permissions in azure entra id to keep your automation secure. This ongoing process strengthens your identity and access management strategy.

  • Least privilege access:
    • Limits permissions to only what is needed
    • Reduces risks of unauthorized access
    • Prevents privilege escalation
    • Encourages regular reviews of access

With these prerequisites, you build a strong foundation for secure and effective azure automation. You use microsoft graph api, azure automation account, and azure entra id to automate identity and access management with confidence.

Microsoft Graph Automation in Azure

Microsoft Graph Automation in Azure

Automating Identity Management

Automating identity management in azure helps you control user accounts, groups, and access with speed and accuracy. You can use microsoft graph powershell scripts to handle user provisioning, group membership, and deprovisioning. This approach reduces manual work and lowers the risk of mistakes.

User & Group Automation

You can automate user and group management using microsoft graph powershell scripts. These scripts let you create, update, or remove users and groups in your azure environment. Automating common identity management tasks like creating a new user or adding users to groups saves time and ensures consistency.

  • Use the microsoft graph api to manage the full identity lifecycle, including user provisioning and deprovisioning.
  • Build custom workflows that connect with your CI/CD pipelines to speed up changes in application access management.
  • Write powershell scripts to automate tasks such as bulk user creation or group assignments.

For example, you can automate user creation with a simple script:

# Example: Creating a new user in Azure using Microsoft Graph PowerShell
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "User.ReadWrite.All"
New-MgUser -DisplayName "Alex Smith" -UserPrincipalName "[email protected]" -AccountEnabled $true -MailNickname "alexsmith" -PasswordProfile @{ ForceChangePasswordNextSignIn = $true; Password = "TempP@ssw0rd!" }

You can also automate bulk user creation by reading user data from a CSV file and looping through each entry.

Role Assignments

Role assignments help you control who can access resources in azure. You can automate role assignments with microsoft graph powershell scripts to ensure users have the right permissions. Assigning roles automatically reduces the risk of privilege creep and keeps your environment secure.

  • Assign roles to users or groups based on their job function.
  • Remove roles when users leave or change positions to support secure deprovisioning.
  • Schedule regular reviews of role assignments to maintain least privilege.

Writing Secure Graph Scripts

Security is critical when you write scripts for azure automation. You must protect credentials and sensitive data at every step. Microsoft graph powershell scripts should never include hardcoded secrets or passwords.

App-Only Authentication

App-only authentication lets your scripts access microsoft graph without user interaction. This method uses an application identity, which is safer and easier to manage in automation. You can use managed identities or service principals for app-only authentication.

Tip: Always use managed identities or certificates instead of passwords for app-only authentication. This practice keeps your credentials safe and supports secure automation.

Token & Secret Management

Managing tokens and secrets is a key part of secure azure automation. You should avoid hardcoded credentials in your scripts. Instead, use Azure Key Vault, managed identities, or certificates to store secrets securely.

  • Store all passwords and secrets in Azure Key Vault or another approved secret store.
  • Track certificate expiration dates and rotate them before they expire.
  • Use HTTPS for all redirect URIs to protect data in transit.
  • Validate the state parameter in OAuth callbacks to prevent attacks.
  • Store tokens in encrypted session storage, not in local storage.
  • Request only the permissions your script needs.
  • Log all authentication events for auditing and compliance.

Best Practices for Graph Automation

You can follow these best practices to make your microsoft graph automation secure and reliable:

  • Use microsoft graph powershell scripts for all automation tasks in azure automation.
  • Always automate identity management processes, including user provisioning and deprovisioning.
  • Integrate automation workflows with your CI/CD pipelines for faster updates.
  • Review and update permissions regularly to support least privilege.
  • Monitor automation logs to detect unusual activity.
  • Rotate secrets and certificates on a schedule.
  • Use application access management to control which apps can access your data.

Note: Secure automation in azure depends on strong process thinking. Plan your workflows, use the right tools, and review your security settings often.

By following these steps, you can automate identity management in azure with confidence. Microsoft graph powershell scripts give you the power to manage users, groups, and roles at scale. Secure script writing and careful secret management protect your environment from threats. Automation helps you keep your cloud operations efficient and safe.

Azure Automation for Identity & Operations

Runbooks & Scheduling

Creating Runbooks

You can automate admin tasks in your environment by using a runbook in azure automation. A runbook is a set of instructions that performs routine tasks, such as resetting passwords or updating user information. When you create a runbook, you define each step so that the process runs the same way every time. This consistency helps you avoid mistakes and ensures compliance with your organization’s policies.

Azure automation runbooks use managed identities. This means you do not need to store credentials in your scripts. Managed identities provide secure access to resources, which strengthens your security posture. You can schedule a runbook in azure automation to run at specific times or trigger it based on events. This flexibility allows you to handle tasks like nightly backups or immediate responses to security alerts.

Tip: Start with simple tasks, such as user onboarding, and expand your runbooks as your needs grow.

Integrating Microsoft Graph

You can extend the power of your runbooks by integrating microsoft graph. This integration lets you manage users, groups, and devices across your environment. For example, you can schedule microsoft graph powershell script to update group memberships or disable accounts automatically.

When you connect azure automation with microsoft graph, you gain the ability to automate identity management at scale. You can use PowerShell modules in your runbooks to interact with microsoft graph. This approach reduces manual work and improves accuracy.

# Example: Runbook to disable a user in Microsoft Entra ID using Microsoft Graph
Connect-MgGraph -Identity
Update-MgUser -UserId "[email protected]" -AccountEnabled $false

You can schedule these scripts to run during off-peak hours or in response to specific events, making your operations more efficient.

Automating Entra ID Governance

PowerShell with Microsoft Graph

You can automate Entra ID governance by using PowerShell scripts in azure automation. This process helps you manage access, monitor compliance, and enforce policies without manual intervention. To get started, follow these steps:

  1. Create an azure automation account.
  2. Generate a self-signed certificate and upload it.
  3. Create the necessary variables in azure automation.
  4. Write a PowerShell runbook to authenticate using the certificate.
  5. Extend the runbook to interact with Microsoft Entra features.

This method allows you to automate tasks such as user provisioning, access reviews, and policy enforcement. You can ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive resources.

Entitlement Management

Entitlement management helps you control who can access what in your environment. You can use azure automation to manage access packages, approval workflows, and access reviews. By automating these processes, you reduce the risk of unauthorized access and keep your environment secure.

You can create runbooks that assign or remove access based on role changes or project needs. This automation ensures that users have the right permissions at the right time.

  • Benefits of automating entitlement management:
    • Faster response to access requests.
    • Consistent enforcement of policies.
    • Reduced risk of privilege creep.

Hybrid Cloud Automation

Azure Arc Integration

Many organizations use both on-premises and cloud resources. Managing these environments can be challenging. Azure Arc helps you bring all your resources under one management plane. You can use azure automation with Azure Arc to apply consistent policies and automate tasks across hybrid environments.

Here is a table that shows common challenges and solutions for hybrid cloud automation:

ChallengeSolution
Data Security and ComplianceAzure Arc applies consistent security policies and compliance standards across environments.
Resource VisibilityAzure Arc provides visibility into resources across different environments.
Consistency Across EnvironmentsAzure Arc allows for unified management and consistent governance across hybrid environments.
Operational OverheadAzure Arc reduces operational complexity by managing multiple platforms from a single portal.
Security ManagementAzure Arc extends Azure Security Center to non-Azure resources for better security management.

You can deploy and manage infrastructure as code, create event-based automation for issue resolution, and orchestrate automation with both Azure and third-party services.

Secure Data Exchange

Hybrid cloud automation requires secure data exchange between on-premises and cloud systems. You can use azure automation to move data safely, enforce encryption, and monitor transfers. Managed identities and Azure Key Vault help you protect credentials and sensitive information during these processes.

You can set up runbooks to transfer logs, synchronize user data, or trigger alerts when data moves between environments. This approach keeps your operations secure and compliant with industry standards.

Note: Regularly review your automation workflows to ensure they meet your organization’s security and compliance requirements.

By using azure automation, you can streamline identity management, enforce governance, and manage hybrid environments with confidence. You gain control over your tasks and reduce the risk of errors or security breaches.

Security & Compliance in Automation

Security & Compliance in Automation

Security Best Practices

You must protect your automated workflows from threats and mistakes. Azure automation gives you several tools to help you do this. Start by using managed identities for runbook authentication. This lets your automation access Microsoft Entra protected resources without storing secrets in your scripts. You should rotate your automation keys on a regular schedule. This step prevents unauthorized access and keeps your environment safe.

You also need to secure credentials and certificates. Azure automation uses multiple layers of encryption to protect these assets. Avoid printing sensitive information in job outputs. This practice stops others from seeing secrets by accident. Always keep valid backups of your automation configurations. Backups help you recover quickly if something goes wrong. For hybrid runbook workers, use Azure Private Link to create secure connections.

Azure Key Vault Usage

Azure key vault plays a key role in improving security for your automation. It stores secrets, certificates, and keys in a central location. You can automate certificate renewals and secret rotations. This means you do not need to update secrets by hand. Azure key vault also provides real-time monitoring. You get alerts if credentials expire or if someone tries to access secrets without permission.

Centralized secret storage makes it easier to enforce access policies. You reduce the risk of credential leaks in your automated workflows. Azure key vault generates detailed audit logs. These logs help you track who accessed what and when. You can use this information to spot unusual activity and respond quickly.

Managed Identity Implementation

Managed identities make it simple to secure your automation. You assign a managed identity to your automation account. This identity lets your automation access Microsoft Graph and other Azure resources. You do not need to manage passwords or certificates. Managed identities support the principle of least privilege. You only give your automation the permissions it needs.

You should review permissions often. Remove access that is no longer needed. This practice keeps your environment secure and supports compliance.

Monitoring & Auditing

You need to monitor your automation to catch problems early. Azure automation supports logging and alerts. You can track every action your automation takes. Set up alerts for failed jobs or unusual activity. This helps you respond to issues before they become bigger problems.

Logging & Alerts

Logging and alerts give you visibility into your automation. You can see when jobs run, what actions they take, and if they fail. Set up alerts for important events. For example, get notified if a runbook fails or if someone changes a configuration.

Reviewing Automation Logs

Review your automation logs on a regular basis. Look for patterns or changes that do not match your normal operations. Use logs to support audits and compliance checks. The table below shows common monitoring and auditing practices:

Practice TypeDescription
Process automationAutomate frequent, time-consuming, and error-prone tasks.
Configuration managementApply and maintain desired state configurations.
Change trackingMonitor configuration changes across files, registry, services, and software.
Inventory collectionTrack software and configurations across machines.
Security automationImplement automated incident response and scheduled security scans.

Compliance in Automated Workflows

You must follow compliance rules when you automate tasks. Azure automation supports tools that help you meet these requirements. Azure Blueprints lets you define repeatable resource setups and role assignments. Azure Policy gives you dashboards and remediation tools for governance. Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager offers assessments and a compliance score to help you manage risks. Azure Information Protection classifies and protects your data.

The table below lists common compliance tools and frameworks:

ToolKey Features
Azure BlueprintsRepeatable resource definitions, role assignments, policy assignments, ARM template deployment.
Azure PolicyCompliance dashboards, policy assignments, remediation capabilities.
Microsoft Purview Compliance ManagerPre-built assessments, workflow capabilities, compliance score.
Azure Information ProtectionSensitivity labels, encryption, information protection scanning.

You may also need to follow frameworks like NIST SP 800-66, NIST SP 800-53, CSA Cloud Controls Matrix, GDPR, or CCPA. These frameworks guide you in protecting data and meeting legal requirements.

By following these practices, you keep your automation secure, reliable, and compliant. You build trust in your processes and protect your organization from risks.

Troubleshooting & Advanced Scenarios

Common Automation Issues

You may face challenges when you use azure automation in your environment. Some problems happen often and have clear solutions. The table below shows common issues and how you can resolve them:

Common IssueResolution
Unable to create a new Automation job in the West Europe region.Follow the steps in the provided link to resolve scalability limits in that region.
Runbook bugs or Azure Automation issues.Refer to the troubleshooting guide for common scenarios.
Runbook output and message issues.See the link for retrieving runbook output and messages.
PowerShell module issues in Azure Automation.Update Azure PowerShell modules as per the guidance in the link.

You might also run into other problems. Sometimes, you spend more than planned because of idle or over-provisioned resources. Security risks can increase if you do not understand your responsibilities. You may miss important events if you do not set up monitoring and alerts. To avoid these issues, review your automation jobs often and use alerts to catch problems early.

Advanced Use Cases

You can unlock more value from azure automation by exploring advanced scenarios. These use cases help you respond to security threats and manage incidents faster.

Cross-Tenant Automation

Cross-tenant automation lets you manage resources across different organizations or business units. For example, you can use azure automation runbooks to block attacking IP addresses in an on-premises firewall when Microsoft Sentinel detects an attack. You can also automate blocking IP addresses in an Azure Network Security Group if Defender for Cloud finds a brute force attack. These actions help you protect your environment quickly.

Use Case DescriptionAutomation ToolResponse Action
Blocks attacking IP addresses in an on-premises firewall in response to an attack detected by Microsoft Sentinel.Azure Automation runbookAdds an IP address to a blocked addresses group in the firewall.
Blocks attacking IP addresses in an Azure Network Security Group in response to a brute force attack alert detected by Defender for Cloud.Logic app (BlockBruteForceAttack)Automates blocking of IP addresses.
Opens Service Now incidents when new incidents occur in Microsoft Sentinel, setting appropriate priorities.Playbook (Create-SNOW-record)Creates and prioritizes incidents in Service Now.

Custom Security Automations

You can build custom security automations to fit your needs. For example, you can create playbooks that open Service Now incidents when Microsoft Sentinel finds a new threat. You can set priorities and assign tasks automatically. These automations help you respond to incidents without delay.

Continuous Improvement

You should always look for ways to improve your azure automation processes. Start by using version control for your runbooks. This helps you track changes and work with your team. Add error handling and logging to your runbooks for better troubleshooting. Review and optimize your automation regularly to keep it efficient.

Use tags in azure automation to organize your jobs. Apply least privilege access with role-based controls. Test your automation in a non-production environment before you deploy. Hybrid Runbook Workers let you automate tasks securely across different environments. Set up monitoring and alerts with Azure Monitor to track performance and spot issues.

Tip: Continuous improvement keeps your automation reliable and ready for new challenges in the cloud.


You strengthen your azure automation by using microsoft graph and identity management. Start with high-impact processes and apply least privilege for permissions. Implement centralized execution and logging to maintain oversight. Adapt your automation to new security threats in hybrid environments by embedding automated controls and real-time monitoring. Review access regularly and use compliance dashboards for ongoing assessment. These steps help you build secure, efficient, and compliant automation workflows.

FAQ

What is Microsoft Graph and why should you use it for Azure automation?

Microsoft Graph connects you to Microsoft 365 and Azure services. You automate user management, access control, and workflows. You gain a single API for secure, scalable automation.

How do you secure secrets in Azure automation workflows?

You store secrets in Azure Key Vault. You use managed identities to access resources. You avoid hardcoding passwords in scripts.

Can you automate tasks across hybrid cloud environments?

You use Azure Arc to manage resources in both on-premises and cloud environments. You automate tasks and apply consistent policies everywhere.

What is a managed identity and how does it help?

A managed identity gives your automation account a secure identity. You access Azure resources without storing credentials. You reduce risk and simplify authentication.

How do you monitor and audit automated workflows?

You enable logging and alerts in Azure Automation. You review logs regularly. You use dashboards to track job status and detect unusual activity.

What are the best practices for writing secure automation scripts?

You use least privilege permissions. You store secrets in Azure Key Vault. You rotate credentials often. You validate inputs and monitor script activity.

How do you ensure compliance in automated workflows?

You use Azure Policy and Blueprints. You follow frameworks like GDPR or NIST. You classify and protect data with Azure Information Protection.

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Hello and welcome to another edition of the M65 podcast. My today guesses Amit

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Usinov, I always spelled right and I T. Amit Usinovich.

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Yeah.

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Okay. Yeah. He is an IT automation and infrastructure specialist from Salzburg

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with strong focus on PowerShell, Microsoft Graph, API, Azure Automation

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System, Center or Casting in Hybrid Microsoft and Ryan Lens.

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Amitus passionate about building automation that actually is all its real world

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operational problems, security, real and at scale.

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Behind his daily work, he actively share knowledge to blocks, community sessions,

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and conference speaker.

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Yeah. And in this episode, we will explore secure cloud automation,

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Microsoft Graph, identity driven automation, Azure Skipping and how

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organization can automate smarter without compromising security.

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So, yeah.

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How did your journey into automation and infrastructure begin?

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It begins when I started working at the company in the local IT support.

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Good. So, I was there five years and three years of that I was in the IT support.

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And there I've seen many things. So, you have to imagine I have started in the IT

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support with school knowledge. So, I come from the school, I teach at

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the teaching school and yeah, I started there and learnt so much things.

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But I have seen there are so many potential for things, what are easy to automate.

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So, because if you have a user on-boarding or you just a living,

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you have always the same same problems. So, you're sitting there and you have to use a

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living or a decade who has done the user living before.

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Something sitting there three or four hours and done 20 user living.

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And I started in my desk to automate this.

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For support, for support, for step one script, second script.

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And then we get some scripts there and it was a little bit better, but it was not

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perfect. And then my chef, so my chef said, okay, he knows something,

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something, this was my idol, also my ex-boyfriend MVP.

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And he comes to us and we have done in I think two or three days the user

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living, a file user living and this user living is working in this company as

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well today. So, they're working with that. This is really cool.

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And this was the start of my journey here. After that, I have started with the user

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on-boarding, have done some exchange tasks, some paracuda, firewall,

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rule automations and so on. And has seen, okay, there are much,

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much, many, much potential and started to look around where I can do this

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more than in the local company for the other company where I have only done

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automation and started to work with systems and orchestrate the eight

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automation, a little bit of power apps, power, automate and so on.

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So this was my pick innings here.

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And what, why you choose Microsoft technology and

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Azure and not, I don't know, other Unix or something.

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I think you can also automate a lot in script.

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I think it was like, like, it grows so you come there in the company and

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the world company is using Microsoft. So you try to automate that,

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what you have. And I have, I have also done something with Linux and

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Dresperify and these things, but this was all private stuff and

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nothing, enterprise related, I would say. And all the enterprise

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related, we had only Microsoft and then we started to automate

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this Microsoft stuff.

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You say you have started, I think, try to do traditional scripting.

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And now, yeah, we have, I think, modern cloud automation.

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How did it change over the years you working in automation?

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So at the beginning, we started only on premise.

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So there was no cloud, nothing from other. We had on premise exchange,

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on premise files, whereas there were no one drive.

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There were no, it was SharePoint, but on premise.

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But there were no clouds. So you have to work with this stuff.

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And after some, I would say after three or four years, then it started.

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There was a agent subscription. Okay, we have an agent subscription in the company,

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but nothing else. What did it? And then I have started, okay,

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what is Asia? What we can do with Asia? What we have potential to do with Asia?

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And find out, okay, there is Asia automation. There is a half-true occurred.

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You can connect your cloud workloads with on-premise workloads.

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So this was really cool. Later then, there was Asia arc.

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Yeah, there were many things. What happened there?

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The last thing, the Azure services map, and I think there was a growing over-towel services.

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There are also services I never have heard before.

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It's a satellite service, and so on. It's really interesting.

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How and this ever is going.

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Yeah, before, before there was, I have tested something with,

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not with AI. It was before AI, some, the face recognition,

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APIs, and some, some things, this all was on Asia,

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but you have only to try to test it.

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It's a little bit, but you have tried it. So I have tried the service,

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at registration, credit, small script, and tried the first recognition API.

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So it works. So I put it in my face that recognizes me,

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but that in the picture with more people, it recognizes more people.

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So this was before AI really. And then after I was there,

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yeah, this was not about, yeah, I do this all on my song.

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But you're working so long in this automation part.

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What's, what's, keep you exciting about it?

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In automation.

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Yeah.

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That's really automation part.

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So the excited thing is that you can help others to move their workloads

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to things what are

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educationally or

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what's metas more.

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So if you have some people, what, I would say,

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like I said, at the beginning, the guy who's done the use of boarding every day for two or three hours,

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he has more potential.

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So my intention is to give people three room to find or to do things,

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what are metas more to be creative to, I would say,

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when I script is running to hours, in this time, I can do other things.

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So learn something new to Asia course or learn something new about it.

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Check the new newly, new posts on, on, on Reddit or I don't know.

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And only to not do stuff, what, what you don't drink forward.

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This is the main focus why I love automation and doing automation.

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And the second thing is I always have left automation,

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not only in IT perspective.

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So I have, and background,

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background, also in electrician a little bit.

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And electrician automation.

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There is also, you can also automate a bunch of stuff.

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Also using the Raspberry Pi Arduino and so things.

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So it's also a little bit from, from this perspective.

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And you can combine that.

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So because you are solving a problem, a electrician problem.

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Is it the same when you solving a problem in automation or you try to define a process?

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So in automation, you need to do processes.

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Because if you don't have a good process, you can't get a good automation.

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Like if you're in front of reset, if you have shit data, you get the shit process.

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So it's, you need good data, you need a good structure.

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And then you get the good automation out there.

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It's, it's a for dimension here.

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Or as well, if I have not, or for if I'm building a house, if I have not a solid underground,

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the house will maybe be there two, three or five years.

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And then it will, I have to rebuild it.

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So always, the cool thing is you need to first think about what I want.

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And then sets the, I would say it in English, the group file.

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But we need to think what you want and set the main starts that you are stable.

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And then take parts to parts to parts, to process, to process, to process.

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And then you can scale it.

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You don't have one big process with many things out there and nothing is working.

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Good.

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So try to begin with one small step.

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If the small step is working, go to the next one.

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And as I have an idea of that, what you want at the end.

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So it's not a problem.

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If you have all the small script or something, something.

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The script is working and the script does this, what it does.

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It's not problems only through lines, but it's a part of the big one at the end.

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I think when people hear automation, they often think it's a script.

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But it's that.

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But what did you think do modern clouds automation actually mean today?

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Modern cloud automation.

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So we have many workloads.

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I would say in the cloud.

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So clouds are nothing other than on premise systems with many data centers, data outsourced at the center.

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So we have to find cloud automation to definition.

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So we have many frameworks and we need to connect this framework to get something to work.

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So mainly automation is to connect to frameworks or data.

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Some data with frameworks to get results out of it.

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To move data from one place to other places in them, the main thing.

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For example, we have a hrtate base.

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And at the other side, we have an active directory.

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And then we need somehow.

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So the hrtate base cannot natively write data into an active directory.

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And they don't know how to do it.

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So we need something in the middle.

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To get the data from the hrtate base.

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And then we have a process that is to set it out to the active directory or other framework.

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And this is the definition, not definition, but mainly all processes should work in this order.

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But because we have always to get some data and write it at the other point.

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And that's one topic, I think, in automation that becomes in the last year, I think, very important.

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It's Microsoft Graph.

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Can you a little bit tell about Microsoft Graph and why it's becoming so important?

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So Microsoft Graph, if you don't know what it is, it is the backend of Asia.

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So you can, it's the API backend of Asia.

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So you can with Graph, nearly automate or reach all Microsoft services, nearly all Microsoft services, programmatically.

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So you don't need as an administrator, you can.

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So you can do mainly all things click in the Asia portal.

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But it's not recommended for some things for for configurations.

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If you have to do more configurations, you can automate that.

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Or if you have what you can do.

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So if you have to have multiple customers or Asia automation.

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I would say Asia automation because you can configure Asia automation as well with the.

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As code.

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So you write a, you can do it to zero form you put in a script.

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And then your Asia automation will be built, will be built like a blueprint.

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So you can imagine it.

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You have a plan.

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Then you import that plan and this plan is in each 10 at the same.

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So you can don't we can make any.

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Or Fed is here.

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So every.

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Every tenant will be the same.

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If I click that, if I have also a time saving perspective.

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So.

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Where I deploy a script and deploy that Asia automation account and all resources.

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What I need for that is automation accounts.

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I finished in some minutes.

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And I have a.

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A failure rate of zero.

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And if I let's do this some consultant or some other IT guy.

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You have to do this five times.

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And it is possible that you forgot to click or something else here is checklist.

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With the at the end here we can use graph API or some power share bottles to automate this.

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And this this side.

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And sorry, because your question was what is the graph API.

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So.

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They graph that you can also manage into manage Asia.

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Enter ID users manage Asia.

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I registrations.

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Intro rolls and so on.

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Many things you can manage with graph API.

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Autopilot.

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So you can see you have many things we can do.

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And the good thing is.

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There is a really easy way to authenticate to a makes you graph API.

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It works natively with Asia automation.

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And you can add so to this natively.

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If Asia functions.

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Or other connectors.

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But if.

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And we can add the use third party.

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Third party systems.

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But then we like you want from your script on your premium server to access or from your laptop to access.

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Asia makes the graph API.

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Then you can you need a token.

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You need a token to get into the into the session.

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You can be achieved with.

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And the second, the token can be achieved with.

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At registration and at registration has three possibilities to get there.

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So we have.

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We can get secrets.

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We can get.

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It's certificate or federal credentials.

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Where we can use managed identity.

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We can relate to that to the Federalized Conventions and Managed Identity because this is very

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interesting.

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Eugit, a hybrid worker from Azure Automation and Azure Arc there.

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But for the first, we can, with this ap imagination, control what permissions our script have, I

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would say, or our ap imagination.

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So you can assign the ad-trigger situation, the service principle of the app registration,

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Azure roles.

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And the Azure roles are on something like user read or enter ID, user read, global reader,

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contribute, Azure administrator, global administrator, what's not recommended to you, but you can assign

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specific roles for your resources.

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Or you can assign application permissions.

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So what are the specifics for this draft endpoint?

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So if we have a draft endpoint where we want only to read user data.

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And then we go to the app registration, go to the RP permissions and add only the permissions

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for that.

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So in the Maxis documentation, you have it in the Maxis documentation, you have a very good,

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I would say, a very good documentation for this draft of the endpoints.

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So every endpoint is documented.

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And in every endpoint, you can see a table of what permissions you are need and what are

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the least privileged permissions.

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You should always use the least privileged permissions, because you don't want to,

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that your app have more rights than you need it.

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You always check that out.

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And yeah, I think with the Graph API and the app registration there, we have nearly unlimited

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possibilities to automate workloads in Asia.

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Okay, let me think about security.

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What are organizations still getting wrong about automation security from your process?

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They are using secrets hard coded.

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Yeah, or passwords or authentication data, what is hard coded.

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So they have many scripts and have, okay, the password, I would say the security, the security,

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at all, I would say before five or six years before.

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It was not that big problem if there is a hard coded secret or a hard code password or something

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else.

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Okay, it's no problem.

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Here is the password, log in there, save it in the text file on the server.

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But it has changed in the summer, some last years because there are many attacks.

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And the thinking of all that is going deeper and better and the company says understand,

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okay, if I get security breach, it costs more.

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Then if I get no security breach, so better to invest in security in small things.

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So to, because I would say to check what I need to do to don't hard code passwords or secrets

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in my scripts.

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So that are not big things.

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So you can use, for example, if you had an Asia automation environment, if I have a

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panic.

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So you have the possibility to use variables in Asia automation.

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What is as or not the best thing, but better than hard coded.

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The second thing is you can use Azure Key Vaults and then get the, from Asia, they manage

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identity access to the Asia Key Vaults and then you can access the Asia Key Vaults from

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the managed identity, and so from the hybrid worker of chemists.

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So you don't need to be in Asia to use the Asia Key Vault already.

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If you have an Asia action server, you can join use Asia Key Vault or use some other power

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services modules for secrets and so on.

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So that is all possible.

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It's, and now for the administrator, a little bit annoying, he has to learn how to do that.

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It's easier in the password, it's hard coded, seeks to do this there for developing stuff,

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but it helps so much if this is not there because if you get a pre-gent test, the password,

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hard coded, what should you do?

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Nothing, you have a problem.

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It's sensitive.

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If you get a secret at the beginning, there were many people who have said, "Okay, we have

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now a trickestration."

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At this abstract, it gets all permissions what we need.

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So, okay, I want to automate teams.

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I give you all the teams permissions.

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Okay, good.

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Now we want to automate groups, users, and the thing that is most critical are abstract

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restrictions, because you can in the abstract registration, give you permissions to get all

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other permissions.

290
00:23:31,540 --> 00:23:35,100
So it's a little bit tricky here.

291
00:23:35,100 --> 00:23:43,140
So you need always to be aware to don't have one abstract registration with many permissions,

292
00:23:43,140 --> 00:23:50,940
because if your secret is reached, then I can, if it's not configured, other, I can access

293
00:23:50,940 --> 00:23:54,300
your tenant from anywhere.

294
00:23:54,300 --> 00:23:59,020
If I have to client ID in the secrets, I can access your tenant.

295
00:23:59,020 --> 00:24:03,580
In the eras, I can also see what's to have when I get the token.

296
00:24:03,580 --> 00:24:07,460
In the token, I see the permissions what the tokens have.

297
00:24:07,460 --> 00:24:12,100
Only the RPK permissions, lots of the roles, but you see that.

298
00:24:12,100 --> 00:24:16,180
And then you can work and you can compromise tenant.

299
00:24:16,180 --> 00:24:19,100
It's not a big problem.

300
00:24:19,100 --> 00:24:26,740
So all because that I say, because of that, I would say, always check how to...

301
00:24:26,740 --> 00:24:32,500
Secure your secrets and your credentials and your data.

302
00:24:32,500 --> 00:24:38,900
So the, say, the invest in KeyWalt is the better thing.

303
00:24:38,900 --> 00:24:47,900
Invest in KeyWalt or other password solution as or for developing and so on.

304
00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:56,660
When you, as you move from on-prem to to to cloud, what surprised you?

305
00:24:56,660 --> 00:25:03,140
Most when you, when you're moving in the cloud or in this automation space.

306
00:25:03,140 --> 00:25:13,380
Sorry, you don't move from, I would say, you let the cloud go down and go up to the cloud.

307
00:25:13,380 --> 00:25:18,580
But let's on-premise go down and go only to the cloud.

308
00:25:18,580 --> 00:25:22,620
You have always a 50/50 thing.

309
00:25:22,620 --> 00:25:27,580
So I don't know many companies who are only on the cloud.

310
00:25:27,580 --> 00:25:36,660
So mainly in that deck region, the companies are in the cloud.

311
00:25:36,660 --> 00:25:40,940
The most of them because of exchange.

312
00:25:40,940 --> 00:25:47,220
They go to the, to the clouds and the other workloads are still on-premise.

313
00:25:47,220 --> 00:25:51,300
And you always working at booth sites.

314
00:25:51,300 --> 00:25:59,740
So from this year, there was nothing, what surprised me or make me, yeah, makes in some things,

315
00:25:59,740 --> 00:26:03,660
make you annoying when you start to, to, to web to the cloud and the graph API and the

316
00:26:03,660 --> 00:26:07,300
automation because there are some new things.

317
00:26:07,300 --> 00:26:11,860
But there was nothing but I say, okay, this is really, really bad or something else.

318
00:26:11,860 --> 00:26:16,460
More, it, it's good because it's better documented than on-premise.

319
00:26:16,460 --> 00:26:18,740
You have better documentation.

320
00:26:18,740 --> 00:26:19,940
You have more people.

321
00:26:19,940 --> 00:26:21,020
What are working with this test?

322
00:26:21,020 --> 00:26:27,100
This is new technology and the technology is developed.

323
00:26:27,100 --> 00:26:35,940
I would say it's, it's not, like systems that are orchestrated that there are, it's, I'm

324
00:26:35,940 --> 00:26:42,300
a chemist product, automation, automation of chemist products and there are still releases.

325
00:26:42,300 --> 00:26:47,220
There are still update from 2022 to 2025.

326
00:26:47,220 --> 00:26:49,380
But there are nothing new in it.

327
00:26:49,380 --> 00:26:55,980
So there are only updates that is checked if there is, it is compatible at that was it.

328
00:26:55,980 --> 00:27:02,420
So there are nothing really new features out there and in the clouds, there are, I would

329
00:27:02,420 --> 00:27:07,420
say, all one new features of.

330
00:27:07,420 --> 00:27:14,580
And when you think in your career, working with graph, what was the most powerful automation

331
00:27:14,580 --> 00:27:16,380
you have ever built?

332
00:27:16,380 --> 00:27:26,380
Whoa, that was a delta sync, like group delta sync.

333
00:27:26,380 --> 00:27:30,940
How, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,

334
00:27:30,940 --> 00:27:32,460
not the group delta sync.

335
00:27:32,460 --> 00:27:36,460
The most powerful automation.

336
00:27:36,460 --> 00:27:45,020
Wait a second.

337
00:27:45,020 --> 00:27:47,020
No, this was not.

338
00:27:47,020 --> 00:27:48,020
Hard is awesome premise.

339
00:27:48,020 --> 00:27:49,020
What does it count?

340
00:27:49,020 --> 00:27:50,020
What does it count?

341
00:27:50,020 --> 00:27:58,020
I have a customer that what is on premise and has several domains and this was really hard

342
00:27:58,020 --> 00:28:05,740
but an empty forest, but this was some premise in the cloud with Grave API.

343
00:28:05,740 --> 00:28:14,300
And it's, it's hard to say because we're using it, like, like small activities, like web

344
00:28:14,300 --> 00:28:15,300
flow types.

345
00:28:15,300 --> 00:28:24,300
So you don't build one big automation with one, I would say, with only like with groups or

346
00:28:24,300 --> 00:28:27,020
with, with users.

347
00:28:27,020 --> 00:28:37,260
So you create a user, then you update the user as you find, you give the user groups, you

348
00:28:37,260 --> 00:28:39,060
try to, to onboard the user.

349
00:28:39,060 --> 00:28:47,180
So you need always to pick some, some picks, but when I have to, to say what was the power

350
00:28:47,180 --> 00:28:57,700
for the automation, it was a delta sync, it was a delta sync of Microsoft's graph

351
00:28:57,700 --> 00:29:04,300
groups.

352
00:29:04,300 --> 00:29:15,420
And if the groups are changing on premise, we updated it in the directly, this was long

353
00:29:15,420 --> 00:29:16,740
time ago.

354
00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:21,420
Oh, I think you can cut out this.

355
00:29:21,420 --> 00:29:24,340
So, it's okay.

356
00:29:24,340 --> 00:29:30,660
It's very hard because it's, it's very hard because there are many small pieces what we are

357
00:29:30,660 --> 00:29:35,540
using, but we have not one big graph automation there.

358
00:29:35,540 --> 00:29:40,260
So, yeah, this one is also, it's unscripted.

359
00:29:40,260 --> 00:29:43,460
So I think it's, it's, it's, it's, it's quite so.

360
00:29:43,460 --> 00:29:46,740
And then it's more harder on, on, on your side.

361
00:29:46,740 --> 00:29:49,220
I only asked the questions.

362
00:29:49,220 --> 00:29:56,100
But they can you know that tell how important our permission and concert management in graph

363
00:29:56,100 --> 00:30:00,020
based automation is.

364
00:30:00,020 --> 00:30:03,740
So you have permissions.

365
00:30:03,740 --> 00:30:09,180
What's, so you have an app registration and the app registration, like I have explained,

366
00:30:09,180 --> 00:30:11,700
can have permissions.

367
00:30:11,700 --> 00:30:18,780
And when you try to, to access this app registration, you can also access this app registrations.

368
00:30:18,780 --> 00:30:25,020
Um, with your user and then your user get access to this apps.

369
00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:31,340
So and when you have tried it some, or you have something see it, you log in at the, at the

370
00:30:31,340 --> 00:30:39,060
app and then you have to concept to click, okay, concepts give, give this app run, give,

371
00:30:39,060 --> 00:30:41,740
give this app the rights to do something.

372
00:30:41,740 --> 00:30:48,700
So you can use a read or user read, read all or update groups or something else.

373
00:30:48,700 --> 00:30:58,620
And you as administrator have to choose what permissions you use the water that is logging

374
00:30:58,620 --> 00:30:59,940
in half.

375
00:30:59,940 --> 00:31:07,740
So if you give the application too much permissions here, then the end user also has these permissions

376
00:31:07,740 --> 00:31:13,540
and can compromise your tenant or do stuff what they had don't have to do there.

377
00:31:13,540 --> 00:31:22,700
So always be aware if you configure app registration for end users that has only rights for, it's

378
00:31:22,700 --> 00:31:27,380
a dashboard, if it's a dashboard only to for read things.

379
00:31:27,380 --> 00:31:32,500
So reads into data, read device management data and so on.

380
00:31:32,500 --> 00:31:35,780
And not something right or delete permissions.

381
00:31:35,780 --> 00:31:37,820
That's not good.

382
00:31:37,820 --> 00:31:48,940
The other thing is you're back.

383
00:31:48,940 --> 00:31:52,540
So we had a little bit of internet problems.

384
00:31:52,540 --> 00:31:57,940
We have talked how important our permissions and concept management in graph based automation

385
00:31:57,940 --> 00:31:59,420
is.

386
00:31:59,420 --> 00:32:11,300
And so let us go to the next topic and what security practice showed every admin follow

387
00:32:11,300 --> 00:32:15,180
before automation with graph.

388
00:32:15,180 --> 00:32:23,060
What security check this every administrator follow before using age automation, right?

389
00:32:23,060 --> 00:32:25,620
Yeah, automation with graph.

390
00:32:25,620 --> 00:32:26,620
I think.

391
00:32:26,620 --> 00:32:39,940
So before starting with graph, you have to have a solid understanding on how our identity

392
00:32:39,940 --> 00:32:45,540
and role permissions are the permissions works in Asia.

393
00:32:45,540 --> 00:32:53,340
So normally there are the permissions and the roles are out of the box.

394
00:32:53,340 --> 00:32:56,900
So there are a few we have only to use it.

395
00:32:56,900 --> 00:33:03,900
So always now to give least privilege permissions or roles.

396
00:33:03,900 --> 00:33:11,820
So only give this permissions at scale the permissions for use the permissions.

397
00:33:11,820 --> 00:33:17,260
So that you can only do that what I want not more.

398
00:33:17,260 --> 00:33:26,980
Not that this is possible, but always try in the west time time for that that your application

399
00:33:26,980 --> 00:33:33,140
or your scripts can only do that things for this the purpose for it.

400
00:33:33,140 --> 00:33:41,020
So this is the main main thing you have to know here.

401
00:33:41,020 --> 00:33:46,660
And what did you think is graph knowledge become essential for all Microsoft admin

402
00:33:46,660 --> 00:33:49,580
strategies?

403
00:33:49,580 --> 00:34:00,500
I think yes, because if you know graph, you know, as a backend or you know what you can

404
00:34:00,500 --> 00:34:10,300
do with with with the endpoints or with your services.

405
00:34:10,300 --> 00:34:15,060
Imagine you're an engineer administrator.

406
00:34:15,060 --> 00:34:19,660
You're already in the portal and you know, okay, when I click there, then this happens.

407
00:34:19,660 --> 00:34:25,540
When I click there, then I see this, I see these reports and so on.

408
00:34:25,540 --> 00:34:29,980
But you have never a fall list of what can we do.

409
00:34:29,980 --> 00:34:38,620
And then when you get to the graph, graph API, you have a documentation of all endpoints.

410
00:34:38,620 --> 00:34:46,020
And at the end, every click what you are doing manually at the at the Asia front end, it's

411
00:34:46,020 --> 00:34:50,380
nothing other than a HTTP call to the graph API.

412
00:34:50,380 --> 00:34:57,580
And all these are documented in Microsoft learn graph API documentation for Microsoft intune.

413
00:34:57,580 --> 00:35:01,580
You have all managed device and parts there.

414
00:35:01,580 --> 00:35:06,300
And then you can see the in detail.

415
00:35:06,300 --> 00:35:08,700
But I can do with intune.

416
00:35:08,700 --> 00:35:19,060
So if sub customer asked me, okay, can we do this and this and this with graph in intune

417
00:35:19,060 --> 00:35:21,420
or can we do this in intune?

418
00:35:21,420 --> 00:35:28,300
So the first thing what we are doing is open the documentation, check the intune graph documentation

419
00:35:28,300 --> 00:35:33,820
and truth if there are endpoints for it.

420
00:35:33,820 --> 00:35:38,300
And then you can find it mostly there are endpoints.

421
00:35:38,300 --> 00:35:50,180
Sometimes there was something like, this is a good example for reset MFA.

422
00:35:50,180 --> 00:36:03,740
So before there was a MFA or MFA methods, the stronger the cache method.

423
00:36:03,740 --> 00:36:09,980
So there was only one command that it was reset it for more.

424
00:36:09,980 --> 00:36:17,580
And the problem now was that Microsoft has dedicated this this model, this command that

425
00:36:17,580 --> 00:36:21,580
this was not any more possible.

426
00:36:21,580 --> 00:36:24,820
So now we have to create a script.

427
00:36:24,820 --> 00:36:35,860
So this was a make for example, a make of graph script what has reset all this methods,

428
00:36:35,860 --> 00:36:38,060
but not with one endpoint.

429
00:36:38,060 --> 00:36:46,460
So you have to delete each authentication method once at them was one button in the in

430
00:36:46,460 --> 00:36:48,380
make sure of the Asia.

431
00:36:48,380 --> 00:36:53,780
And then you checked with graph X ray graph X ray is a tracker when you click the button,

432
00:36:53,780 --> 00:36:57,380
you can see what the endpoint is triggered at the end.

433
00:36:57,380 --> 00:37:00,100
And there was an endpoint for that.

434
00:37:00,100 --> 00:37:03,620
But it was only used internally.

435
00:37:03,620 --> 00:37:08,220
It looks like there was no documentation for it and you have as or not you are not what

436
00:37:08,220 --> 00:37:10,380
you wasn't able to to trigger the method.

437
00:37:10,380 --> 00:37:11,740
I have tried it.

438
00:37:11,740 --> 00:37:14,180
So it was not possible.

439
00:37:14,180 --> 00:37:21,980
So there might be some, I would say some, some things what you can do with the graph API,

440
00:37:21,980 --> 00:37:26,900
is possible in the in the front end.

441
00:37:26,900 --> 00:37:32,380
But this was the only thing what I've had found until now, all other things are there

442
00:37:32,380 --> 00:37:34,380
possible.

443
00:37:34,380 --> 00:37:39,820
And to come to the to the undercrations with your heads, what was the most powerful automation,

444
00:37:39,820 --> 00:37:47,620
this was a very, the recent MFR was a very powerful automation there because you have

445
00:37:47,620 --> 00:37:54,540
to trigger there are many endpoints and delete all strong authentication.

446
00:37:54,540 --> 00:38:02,540
And you was only able to delete these authentication when the main authentication method was deleted

447
00:38:02,540 --> 00:38:03,540
as last.

448
00:38:03,540 --> 00:38:10,020
So you have to find the other endpoints where you can find out the standard authentication

449
00:38:10,020 --> 00:38:16,260
methods then set the standard authentication methods to the end, delete before other

450
00:38:16,260 --> 00:38:18,100
methods and so on.

451
00:38:18,100 --> 00:38:23,260
So what was the question again?

452
00:38:23,260 --> 00:38:31,980
Yeah, that's just a bit talk more about security automation.

453
00:38:31,980 --> 00:38:38,140
I think it's a little bit a buzzy word actually.

454
00:38:38,140 --> 00:38:45,060
But what do security automation in Azure actually mean in practice?

455
00:38:45,060 --> 00:38:56,700
So it means to have an understanding or a idea of how I run, I will go to Azure automation,

456
00:38:56,700 --> 00:39:08,460
how to run my scripts and how to use secrets, manage the identity, how to use all this security,

457
00:39:08,460 --> 00:39:10,780
related stuff.

458
00:39:10,780 --> 00:39:18,460
So how to manage it, for example, I would say, okay, we have a company, we have Azure

459
00:39:18,460 --> 00:39:25,860
automation, we have cloud, we have identity, Azure, the entry ID.

460
00:39:25,860 --> 00:39:38,100
And now we need to update user data or yeah, so.

461
00:39:38,100 --> 00:39:48,060
But we need to find a way to securely do that from our premise because the data is in

462
00:39:48,060 --> 00:39:52,660
the edge update base, what we have in the on the option system.

463
00:39:52,660 --> 00:40:02,860
So now we have a hybrid worker and this hybrid worker needs, needs rights in direction

464
00:40:02,860 --> 00:40:06,100
of the edge our system, okay.

465
00:40:06,100 --> 00:40:15,460
So it's the first thing where we need maybe credentials or a user what has specific rights

466
00:40:15,460 --> 00:40:17,300
to access the database.

467
00:40:17,300 --> 00:40:24,860
So here we have to think, okay, if I go ahead and say, okay, I have user name, I have a password

468
00:40:24,860 --> 00:40:28,740
and hard code it, this is the first thing what is wrong.

469
00:40:28,740 --> 00:40:37,340
So here I have to think, okay, where I have to save my dad, my secret data.

470
00:40:37,340 --> 00:40:44,620
So if you can use Azure key vault here, you can use the Azure automation, Azure Aborts

471
00:40:44,620 --> 00:40:51,620
or the credentials in Azure automation, it's also possible.

472
00:40:51,620 --> 00:40:59,060
The first thing, second thing, are the permissions on their cloud side.

473
00:40:59,060 --> 00:41:07,420
So I'm like we have discussed already, you have always to don't to use the least privileged

474
00:41:07,420 --> 00:41:08,420
permissions.

475
00:41:08,420 --> 00:41:15,020
So if you already many, many companies have already app registration, then they say, okay,

476
00:41:15,020 --> 00:41:16,820
we have already app registration.

477
00:41:16,820 --> 00:41:19,900
Let us use this app registration for this service.

478
00:41:19,900 --> 00:41:26,220
Let us say, okay, for what is this app registration used?

479
00:41:26,220 --> 00:41:36,100
The most common, the most common answer is for all these automation stuff we have.

480
00:41:36,100 --> 00:41:42,700
So mainly with Ben say, okay, then we have to separate all these automation stuff to

481
00:41:42,700 --> 00:41:51,060
specific doing specific app registrations because that is not a good way to manage that.

482
00:41:51,060 --> 00:41:57,540
So you need for each service your app registration to access it.

483
00:41:57,540 --> 00:42:05,460
If it's more work here, but it's more secure.

484
00:42:05,460 --> 00:42:10,860
So I have one app registration for my user interactions, I had one app registration for

485
00:42:10,860 --> 00:42:18,460
my group interactions for my manage devices interaction for intune interactions and so on.

486
00:42:18,460 --> 00:42:31,460
So always scale that and don't, I would say, don't put all all darker in one thing.

487
00:42:31,460 --> 00:42:34,780
Awesome.

488
00:42:34,780 --> 00:42:40,420
And then we think about trigger automation.

489
00:42:40,420 --> 00:42:50,700
How should organization security trigger automation work lots from your perspective?

490
00:42:50,700 --> 00:42:52,100
Trigger automation.

491
00:42:52,100 --> 00:43:00,780
So if you can trigger automations, you have something in a automation called webhooks and webhooks

492
00:43:00,780 --> 00:43:03,260
can be triggered throughout anywhere.

493
00:43:03,260 --> 00:43:14,740
So you have to know if your webhook, your link for webhook goes in false hands.

494
00:43:14,740 --> 00:43:19,500
In other hands, then this person can always call your rum book.

495
00:43:19,500 --> 00:43:25,900
And if you have configured parameters on your webhook, then you can do stuff with it.

496
00:43:25,900 --> 00:43:28,460
So it's not that good.

497
00:43:28,460 --> 00:43:32,740
If it's a rum book for this trigger, a trigger, a sync or something else, okay?

498
00:43:32,740 --> 00:43:34,580
But it's a webhook.

499
00:43:34,580 --> 00:43:39,820
You have always to know, handle the webhook like a secret.

500
00:43:39,820 --> 00:43:42,820
So it's really important.

501
00:43:42,820 --> 00:43:51,860
And also there's a possibility to run Azure automation workloads with API.

502
00:43:51,860 --> 00:43:58,420
But for that you need as those specific rights to access this API.

503
00:43:58,420 --> 00:44:05,340
So you need as a registration to get the token to authenticate against it or connect to the

504
00:44:05,340 --> 00:44:06,340
Azure account.

505
00:44:06,340 --> 00:44:09,580
And then you are possible to use Azure automation command.

506
00:44:09,580 --> 00:44:12,860
Let's trigger these automations.

507
00:44:12,860 --> 00:44:20,020
And these rights should only have administrators or people who know what they do and always

508
00:44:20,020 --> 00:44:21,940
know what they do.

509
00:44:21,940 --> 00:44:26,060
So it's have always to be a process behind that.

510
00:44:26,060 --> 00:44:31,380
So I would not trigger Azure automation without the process.

511
00:44:31,380 --> 00:44:32,380
Why?

512
00:44:32,380 --> 00:44:37,020
So I need always to know what I'm doing here.

513
00:44:37,020 --> 00:44:50,380
And yes, you have as of the possibility to run the can run the rubbook out of the out of

514
00:44:50,380 --> 00:44:53,900
Azure automation.

515
00:44:53,900 --> 00:44:56,260
But that was it.

516
00:44:56,260 --> 00:45:01,820
And so you can run it over our API or over the webhook.

517
00:45:01,820 --> 00:45:08,820
Managing.

518
00:45:08,820 --> 00:45:16,100
When we think, I think a little bit, I think about my question.

519
00:45:16,100 --> 00:45:23,180
What role do management identities play in reducing risk?

520
00:45:23,180 --> 00:45:32,420
So the good thing about managed identities is that you don't leak any secrets or something

521
00:45:32,420 --> 00:45:33,420
else.

522
00:45:33,420 --> 00:45:35,020
So you don't need a secret.

523
00:45:35,020 --> 00:45:38,420
The password management is done by the actions of itself.

524
00:45:38,420 --> 00:45:43,300
So behind every managed identity, it's a service principle.

525
00:45:43,300 --> 00:45:50,500
And Microsoft wrote that the secrets are the passwords, the extensions of this managed identity.

526
00:45:50,500 --> 00:45:51,780
It is self managed.

527
00:45:51,780 --> 00:45:54,940
So like a group, group managed service account.

528
00:45:54,940 --> 00:46:03,620
So you don't need to think about a secret or the secret will expire or something else.

529
00:46:03,620 --> 00:46:06,180
Or the certificate will expire.

530
00:46:06,180 --> 00:46:14,900
So with the managed identity, you have the possibility to don't have a password.

531
00:46:14,900 --> 00:46:16,740
This is the main thing.

532
00:46:16,740 --> 00:46:20,900
What is for what is the managed identity here?

533
00:46:20,900 --> 00:46:25,620
And it's nothing else of like an on-premise service account.

534
00:46:25,620 --> 00:46:29,540
But you don't have to think about the password.

535
00:46:29,540 --> 00:46:31,420
It's the best thing.

536
00:46:31,420 --> 00:46:34,620
And then you can manage the identity.

537
00:46:34,620 --> 00:46:41,100
You can give him access to your roles, to your services.

538
00:46:41,100 --> 00:46:50,700
And then you can use this managed identity to trigger, to authenticate at the end, to authenticate

539
00:46:50,700 --> 00:46:54,580
and get permissions for your services.

540
00:46:54,580 --> 00:46:55,380
Yeah.

541
00:46:55,380 --> 00:46:59,660
And then you can automate.

542
00:46:59,660 --> 00:47:08,540
So for example, I give the managed identity from Asia Automation Joel, a specific Joel,

543
00:47:08,540 --> 00:47:12,380
for get devices from it you.

544
00:47:12,380 --> 00:47:19,140
And then I can connect my Asia Automation account is connect/identity.

545
00:47:19,140 --> 00:47:27,420
And are possible then I am possible to reach these endpoints, the managed identity inputs.

546
00:47:27,420 --> 00:47:32,740
We've one line of code at that.

547
00:47:32,740 --> 00:47:37,340
And I don't need to achieve a token or something else.

548
00:47:37,340 --> 00:47:40,540
So you can easily out it.

549
00:47:40,540 --> 00:47:51,700
Because you have to think the Asia Cloud is not, you cannot access all things what you

550
00:47:51,700 --> 00:47:53,300
want.

551
00:47:53,300 --> 00:47:55,740
You need always to give you access.

552
00:47:55,740 --> 00:47:57,660
So it is all there.

553
00:47:57,660 --> 00:48:03,340
But you need some identity, what have access to resources, to it or to a service.

554
00:48:03,340 --> 00:48:09,140
So when I start with Asia Automation, I always need to activate the managed identity of Asia

555
00:48:09,140 --> 00:48:13,260
Automation because Asia Automation at the beginning is isolated.

556
00:48:13,260 --> 00:48:19,860
So Asia Automation can do nothing without a managed identity there.

557
00:48:19,860 --> 00:48:23,260
So I have to give your managed identity.

558
00:48:23,260 --> 00:48:30,820
And then I have to give the managed identity rights to Intune or to exchange.

559
00:48:30,820 --> 00:48:39,060
And then I can start with automation where the managed identity already have access.

560
00:48:39,060 --> 00:48:44,540
Without a big deal.

561
00:48:44,540 --> 00:48:53,900
So coming to the next, I have a little bit of a look into Asia groups, energy security groups.

562
00:48:53,900 --> 00:49:01,660
And I have extract the most five keywords, the passwords, I don't know, or we call it.

563
00:49:01,660 --> 00:49:04,900
And you can rank them and say, why?

564
00:49:04,900 --> 00:49:05,900
Okay.

565
00:49:05,900 --> 00:49:12,020
So the keyword, then we have additional conditions like access, public identity management, zero

566
00:49:12,020 --> 00:49:15,260
trust principles and user trainings.

567
00:49:15,260 --> 00:49:19,740
How will you rank them?

568
00:49:19,740 --> 00:49:22,260
Zero trust.

569
00:49:22,260 --> 00:49:24,100
Zero trust.

570
00:49:24,100 --> 00:49:26,620
Zero trust first.

571
00:49:26,620 --> 00:49:32,500
Because I don't want to trust anyone.

572
00:49:32,500 --> 00:49:37,380
I have to know who I have always if you want.

573
00:49:37,380 --> 00:49:41,340
So like you need always a key to come in.

574
00:49:41,340 --> 00:49:44,500
I will never give you a key.

575
00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:46,140
You need always a key.

576
00:49:46,140 --> 00:49:55,100
So this is something like it's the the secure way to secure something.

577
00:49:55,100 --> 00:49:59,140
So you need always to authenticate again.

578
00:49:59,140 --> 00:50:02,380
Cool.

579
00:50:02,380 --> 00:50:07,060
So now to one of my favorite parts in all sessions.

580
00:50:07,060 --> 00:50:12,460
Now look into some some quotes from from the groups.

581
00:50:12,460 --> 00:50:18,140
And I give you the quote and you you give me you say what you're thinking about this

582
00:50:18,140 --> 00:50:19,140
quote.

583
00:50:19,140 --> 00:50:26,980
So the first one is automation without security is just acceleration risk.

584
00:50:26,980 --> 00:50:34,300
Yep, it is this I would say 100% sure.

585
00:50:34,300 --> 00:50:38,300
Yeah, it is identity.

586
00:50:38,300 --> 00:50:39,300
Yeah.

587
00:50:39,300 --> 00:50:40,300
Yeah.

588
00:50:40,300 --> 00:50:41,780
No, no.

589
00:50:41,780 --> 00:50:44,140
I give the words back to you.

590
00:50:44,140 --> 00:50:45,140
Okay.

591
00:50:45,140 --> 00:50:54,420
So because if you don't secure your automation, if you don't secure it, you're maybe on

592
00:50:54,420 --> 00:51:01,420
your laptop or I don't know where, what don't have internet access then I don't need to secure

593
00:51:01,420 --> 00:51:02,420
it.

594
00:51:02,420 --> 00:51:08,700
But if I have internet access and if I am in the clouds, I have all and other users are

595
00:51:08,700 --> 00:51:13,300
using it and then I have data what needs to be protected.

596
00:51:13,300 --> 00:51:19,700
Then I have always to have a security perspective or security mindset here.

597
00:51:19,700 --> 00:51:24,100
Without security mindset, it will go wrong.

598
00:51:24,100 --> 00:51:31,780
People not not in one here or two or three, but it will go wrong at one point.

599
00:51:31,780 --> 00:51:37,020
And the next quote is identity is a new security parameter.

600
00:51:37,020 --> 00:51:38,900
It's not a new security parameter.

601
00:51:38,900 --> 00:51:40,860
It's an old security parameter.

602
00:51:40,860 --> 00:51:44,780
What is older than I?

603
00:51:44,780 --> 00:51:46,780
And I'm not this guy.

604
00:51:46,780 --> 00:51:47,780
Great.

605
00:51:47,780 --> 00:51:53,500
And then the third one Microsoft graph is becoming the operating layer of Microsoft 365.

606
00:51:53,500 --> 00:51:55,700
100% sure.

607
00:51:55,700 --> 00:51:56,700
Yeah.

608
00:51:56,700 --> 00:51:57,700
Okay.

609
00:51:57,700 --> 00:52:06,340
The best automation is the nobody noticed.

610
00:52:06,340 --> 00:52:07,340
It is.

611
00:52:07,340 --> 00:52:08,340
Yeah.

612
00:52:08,340 --> 00:52:14,340
Because you don't know what, but there is something happening, but it's happening.

613
00:52:14,340 --> 00:52:17,420
So yeah, it's the best one.

614
00:52:17,420 --> 00:52:22,620
Cloud automation should reduce complexity, but create more of it.

615
00:52:22,620 --> 00:52:26,500
Or it's 50, 50.

616
00:52:26,500 --> 00:52:28,500
Okay.

617
00:52:28,500 --> 00:52:35,660
Then the nearly last part, it's the rapid fire out.

618
00:52:35,660 --> 00:52:44,060
It's, I say, I give you short questions and you say what you, what first come in your mind.

619
00:52:44,060 --> 00:52:45,060
Okay.

620
00:52:45,060 --> 00:52:47,780
Partial or portal?

621
00:52:47,780 --> 00:52:48,780
Portual.

622
00:52:48,780 --> 00:52:53,460
Favorite Microsoft graph feature?

623
00:52:53,460 --> 00:52:55,500
Mix three.

624
00:52:55,500 --> 00:53:00,100
Most underrated Azure service.

625
00:53:00,100 --> 00:53:07,940
Oh, it's, it's most under Azure service.

626
00:53:07,940 --> 00:53:09,940
Azure monitor.

627
00:53:09,940 --> 00:53:10,940
Okay.

628
00:53:10,940 --> 00:53:16,980
One automation have every adventure to learn.

629
00:53:16,980 --> 00:53:19,980
Automation.

630
00:53:19,980 --> 00:53:21,980
Automated process.

631
00:53:21,980 --> 00:53:22,980
Okay.

632
00:53:22,980 --> 00:53:26,460
Big security mistake and automation.

633
00:53:26,460 --> 00:53:27,980
How code is secrets?

634
00:53:27,980 --> 00:53:28,980
We have it.

635
00:53:28,980 --> 00:53:32,580
And for you, Azure automation or Azure functions.

636
00:53:32,580 --> 00:53:34,620
Azure automation.

637
00:53:34,620 --> 00:53:38,620
Most overused bus cloud passwords.

638
00:53:38,620 --> 00:53:44,180
How is the only one?

639
00:53:44,180 --> 00:53:49,820
And also we got answer.

640
00:53:49,820 --> 00:53:53,060
Most API SDK.

641
00:53:53,060 --> 00:53:56,660
I can rest AP or SDK.

642
00:53:56,660 --> 00:53:58,340
Rest API.

643
00:53:58,340 --> 00:54:02,580
One partial command you use constantly.

644
00:54:02,580 --> 00:54:06,300
Combat from Jason.

645
00:54:06,300 --> 00:54:10,820
Best way to learn Microsoft graph.

646
00:54:10,820 --> 00:54:12,820
Do it.

647
00:54:12,820 --> 00:54:20,380
Copy T or energy during the profits.

648
00:54:20,380 --> 00:54:23,220
I put a full cloud mate.

649
00:54:23,220 --> 00:54:25,380
Hydrate.

650
00:54:25,380 --> 00:54:30,180
One automation task every company shows implement tomorrow.

651
00:54:30,180 --> 00:54:33,420
Of boarding and onboarding.

652
00:54:33,420 --> 00:54:39,260
Most exciting trend and as an identity.

653
00:54:39,260 --> 00:54:50,980
One word describing the future of automation.

654
00:54:50,980 --> 00:54:52,620
Work load.

655
00:54:52,620 --> 00:54:53,620
Cool.

656
00:54:53,620 --> 00:54:55,580
So yeah, thank you for your time.

657
00:54:55,580 --> 00:54:59,220
So you want me to think about this session.

658
00:54:59,220 --> 00:55:02,900
What will you say is it's the key point.

659
00:55:02,900 --> 00:55:06,780
Admins should take from from the session today.

660
00:55:06,780 --> 00:55:14,460
So from the session, the admins should take away when they are writing scripts.

661
00:55:14,460 --> 00:55:22,340
When they are using credentials or using graph secrets at registrations and so on.

662
00:55:22,340 --> 00:55:23,340
Secured.

663
00:55:23,340 --> 00:55:24,340
This fix.

664
00:55:24,340 --> 00:55:26,340
So always.

665
00:55:26,340 --> 00:55:28,620
Have in mind or managed.

666
00:55:28,620 --> 00:55:34,500
Managed entities are secured but always have in mind.

667
00:55:34,500 --> 00:55:41,100
Think of how the attacker would try to compromise you.

668
00:55:41,100 --> 00:55:43,660
So what is that the thing.

669
00:55:43,660 --> 00:55:49,140
So I always think about what.

670
00:55:49,140 --> 00:55:51,780
What what take a technique.

671
00:55:51,780 --> 00:55:54,460
What when he gets this thing what he can do.

672
00:55:54,460 --> 00:55:57,180
So if he can do less, it's better.

673
00:55:57,180 --> 00:55:58,460
Always think of that.

674
00:55:58,460 --> 00:56:03,020
So try to secure things that the attacker can get your daughter.

675
00:56:03,020 --> 00:56:04,020
Awesome.

676
00:56:04,020 --> 00:56:07,100
I say thank you for the session and for your time.

677
00:56:07,100 --> 00:56:09,500
That was a really, really interesting session.

678
00:56:09,500 --> 00:56:11,300
So yeah, thank you so much.

679
00:56:11,300 --> 00:56:14,300
Have a good.

Mirko Peters Profile Photo

Founder of m365.fm, m365.show and m365con.net

Mirko Peters is a Microsoft 365 expert, content creator, and founder of m365.fm, a platform dedicated to sharing practical insights on modern workplace technologies. His work focuses on Microsoft 365 governance, security, collaboration, and real-world implementation strategies.

Through his podcast and written content, Mirko provides hands-on guidance for IT professionals, architects, and business leaders navigating the complexities of Microsoft 365. He is known for translating complex topics into clear, actionable advice, often highlighting common mistakes and overlooked risks in real-world environments.

With a strong emphasis on community contribution and knowledge sharing, Mirko is actively building a platform that connects experts, shares experiences, and helps organizations get the most out of their Microsoft 365 investments.

Uzejnovic Ahmed Profile Photo

Author / CEO

I am Ahmed Uzejnovic, an IT Automation and Infrastructure Specialist from Salzburg. My passion for automation started back in school, when I realized how much could be simplified with small scripts. Over the years, that curiosity turned into a real professional focus.

Today, I mainly work with PowerShell, Microsoft Graph API, Azure Automation, System Center Orchestrator, and hybrid Microsoft environments. For me, it is not only about the technology itself, but about building processes that truly help in daily work, save time, and run reliably.

Besides my daily work, I enjoy sharing my knowledge through blog articles, community sessions, and conference talks. I like to speak about real project experiences, mistakes that can be avoided, and solutions that have proven themselves in practice.