Microsoft Entra Identity (formerly Azure Active Directory) is the backbone of modern identity management, allowing secure access to business-dependent applications, data and services. As hybrid work and cloud adoption accelerate, Entra IDs play a more central role, including managing authentication, enforcing policies, and connecting users across distributed environments.
That excellence also makes it a major target. Microsoft reports more than 600 million attacks on Entra IDs every day. These are not just random attempts, but include tailored, sustainable, increasingly automated campaigns designed to take advantage of small vulnerabilities.
This brings us to the core question: Is native protection for Entra ID sufficient? Where are they lacking? And what steps should you take to close the gap and make sure you are covered?
Understanding Entra IDs
At its core, Microsoft Entra ID is an enterprise identity and access management system. Defines who a user is, what resources they have access to, and under what conditions they certify. It is designed to provide secure, frictionless access to your entire digital environment with features such as single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), conditional access policies, and seamless integration with on-premises Active Directory.
But more than just a login system, Entra IDs exist today as an important control plane in modern IT. Enforce security policies, manage user roles and entitlements, and manage access through cloud and on-premises applications. This means that all authentication requests, all access decisions, and all privilege escalations flow through it.
As cloud adoption accelerates and hybrid work becomes standard, the role of Entra Id becomes even more fundamental. This is a connective organization that links users to Microsoft 365, Azure Services, third-party SAAS tools, and internal applications.
A threat landscape
The amount and refinement of attacks on the identity system has reached unprecedented levels. As mentioned above, Microsoft reports more than 600 million attacks on Entra IDs every day.
Phishing continues to lead prices and trick users into giving up their credentials by targeting human behavior. Qualifications packing leverages a large database of previously compromised usernames and passwords to gain unauthorized access at scale. Ransomware, on the other hand, is no longer limited to file encryption. When an identity is compromised, an attacker can lock out the user, escalate privileges, disable safeguards, and hold the entire system hostage.
Real-world violations highlight how destructive these attacks are. Organizations face downtime, audit failures, regulatory penalties, and enduring reputational harm. Also, security tools grow more rapidly, while threat actors adapt just as quickly. Take advantage of gaps in configuration, user behavior, or zero-day vulnerability.
If your Entra ID is unavailable due to misunderstanding, halt, or attack, the outcome is immediate. Broken access, lost productivity, security gaps, and stalled operations. The takeaways are as follows: EntraID is a business critical infrastructure system that relies on more than you can achieve (until it stops working).
For backups
This is obvious when backing up your Microsoft Entra ID. In a landscape of constant cyber threats and operational complexity, relying solely on native protection remains too by chance. Here’s why a dedicated backup strategy is important:
Security threats are inevitable. Even the most advanced security tools can be bypassed. When the attack is successful through ransomware, qualification theft, and escalation of privileges, robust backups become a safety net, allowing for a quick and confident recovery. Human errors occur: false mining, accidental deletion, or inappropriate access changes can instantly destroy important identity systems. Effective backups allow organizations to quickly return to their previous stable configuration, minimizing downtime and regaining continuity without scrambling for manual remediation. Compliance is insensitive. Regulations such as GDPR and HIPAA require strict control over identity data. Backups help meet these standards by storing a tamper-prevention history of configuration and user access data, ensuring accountability and audit reads. Businesses don’t halt: Today’s organizations are always relying on access. Identity Services disruption can cause operations to be stopped. Effective backup and recovery will help you maintain access, continuity and trust in the face of major incidents.
Microsoft’s own model of shared responsibility draws clear lines. While securing your infrastructure, you are responsible for protecting and backing up your data, including your Entra ID. If your identity is the front door of your business, the backup is the lock you control.
Is that too much?
That’s a fair question. Microsoft Entra ID comes with built-in protection such as conditional access policies, multifactor authentication, intelligent threat detection, and recycle bins for deleted objects. For small organizations with simple identity needs and minimal regulatory pressures, these capabilities may seem “good enough.”
But here is the reality. Native recovery tools have real limitations. The recycle bin holds deleted objects for a limited amount of time. There is no version of the configuration change. Once simple object recovery is exceeded, restoring conditional access policies, application assignments, or role-based permissions reveals gaps.
When the incorrect equipment is snowballed, or when a ransomware attack disables access, or when a dissatisfied administrator tamper with an identity setting, the built-in protection often falls short of full recovery. That’s where the backup begins.
Backups acknowledge that even the best defense can fail. Therefore, if your identity is the backbone of your business operations, a quick and reliable recovery is not excessive. In a world where downtime is not an option, risk management (and peace of mind).
We will build a strategy that suits you
The right balance between robust protection and efficient resource use begins with a clear understanding of your risk profile. Some organizations process huge amounts of sensitive data. Others operate under tight compliance rules. Some run lean IT teams that can’t afford extended downtime. Whatever your setup is, things are constant. You need a backup approach that suits your budget as well as your risk.
Start with an intensive risk assessment. How sensitive is your identity data? Which system do you rely on? What are your regulatory obligations? From there, shape a strategy that aligns with business priorities. This really puts you in crisis with something that balances range, frequency and costs. (And don’t deal with Entra IDs alone. It’s closely connected to Microsoft 365 and countless daily workflows. Backing them up will help you recover faster, less surprises, and ensure a more consistent security attitude.)
Ultimately, backups aren’t about doing everything, they’re doing the right thing. This means adjusting your frequency, range and tools to your business needs, protecting what’s most important without spending anything that doesn’t. That’s how you can build smart resilience.
Conclusion
Backing up your Microsoft Entra ID is not a preparation, but a preparation. If your ID drives all logins, access requests, and workflows, your ability to recover is just as important as your ability to defend. Native protection provides a solid foundation, but with limitations. A proactive and risk-aware backup strategy will not only endure threats, but also help organizations recover quickly, adapt with confidence, and continue to move forward.
Veeam Data Cloud with Microsoft Entra ID is more than just a backup. It doesn’t need to be simplified management, quick recovery, and dedicated data protection that explains native limitations.
Cover your Saas. Learn more about Veeam Data Cloud.
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