In many organizations, a central help desk team provides critical support to end-users, assisting with technical issues, troubleshooting, and system access via tools such as Intune Remote Access. Given the sensitive nature of their work, help desk technicians often require elevated privileges to perform their duties effectively. This makes them prime targets for cyberattacks, as compromising a help desk technician’s account can provide attackers with a gateway to broader system access.
When setting up your help desk team, it’s vital to implement strong authentication methods that eliminate the risks associated with traditional password-based systems. One effective solution is to leverage Entra Certificate-Based Authentication (CBA) to secure help desk technician accounts. By using digital certificates stored on secure devices, Entra CBA provides a robust, phishing-resistant authentication mechanism that significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
Entra Certificate-Based Authentication (CBA) is a passwordless authentication method that uses digital certificates to verify user identities. Instead of relying on passwords, which can be weak, reused, or phished, Entra CBA leverages cryptographic keys stored in secure locations backed by a piece of hardware, such as a YubiKey, Smart Card, or Trusted Platform Module (TPM). When a user attempts to log in, the system verifies the digital certificate against the issuing Certificate Authority (CA), ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive systems.
By moving to Entra CBA for help desk technicians, there are a number of benefits you’ll gain, including:
- Better User Experience: Entra CBA provides a seamless and user-friendly authentication experience, eliminating the need for users to remember complex passwords or navigate confusing MFA prompts.
- Phishing Resistance: Since Entra CBA does not rely on passwords, there’s no risk of password theft through phishing attacks or password spraying.
- Zero Trust: On-premises passwords don’t need to be stored in the cloud, reducing the attack surface and aligning with Zero Trust security principles.
- Eliminate Your AD FS: Entra CBA allows organizations to eliminate the need for Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) for certificate-based authentication, simplifying the authentication infrastructure and reducing maintenance overhead.
- Compliance with EO 14028: Entra CBA helps organizations meet the requirements of Executive Order 14028, which mandates the use of phishing-resistant authentication methods for privileged users. Learn more blog posts from Microsoft and Keytos.
The easiest way to get started with Entra CBA is to use Keytos EZCMS, the first and only Entra ID passwordless onboarding solution. EZCMS simplifies and automates the process of issuing and managing digital certificates on your users’ devices and in Entra ID, reducing the complexity and administrative overhead typically associated with PKI and Entra CBA deployments. By leveraging EZCMS, organizations can quickly onboard help desk technicians to Entra CBA, ensuring they have secure, passwordless access to critical systems.
Once onboarded to Entra CBA using EZCMS, help desk technicians can seamlessly log in and use any help desk tool that is integrated with Entra ID, including Intune Remote Help. Intune Remote Help allows technicians to provide remote assistance to end-users, troubleshoot issues, and resolve problems without needing to be physically present. By using Entra CBA for authentication, help desk technicians can securely access Intune Remote Help and other critical systems without the risks associated with passwords.
When implementing Entra CBA for your most privileged users, such as help desk technicians, it’s important to keep in mind that not all tools, applications, and operating systems support certificate-based authentication. While Intune Remote Help is compatible with passwordless login, some legacy systems may still rely on passwords or other less secure authentication methods. Additionally, support for hardware keys varies on iOS and Android devices and is vendor-specific if your privileged users leverage mobile devices.
Passwordless sign in methods can also present a learning curve for users accustomed to traditional password-based authentication. Users may need training and support to adapt to the new authentication process. While EZCMS simplifies the onboarding process, it’s essential to provide adequate resources to help users transition smoothly.
Therefore, it’s crucial to evaluate your help desk tools and ensure they are compatible with Entra CBA, start small with a pilot group, and then fully transition to passwordless authentication once you have a stable environment. For a full list of supported and unsupported scenarios, refer to this Entra CBA article.
Getting started with Entra CBA is easy with Keytos EZCMS. Check out our Entra CBA setup guide to learn how to configure Entra CBA for your organization. Then, use EZCMS to onboard your help desk technicians quickly and securely. With Entra CBA and EZCMS, you can ensure that your help desk team has the strong authentication they need to protect your organization’s critical systems and data.
