Entra 🆔 News #158 → This week in Microsoft Entra
Learn about passkeys becoming the default authentication method, SMS and voice reitrement and more...
👋 Hi, Merill and Joshua here with this week’s roundup of the latest news on Microsoft Entra from around the globe 🌍
The big one this week: Microsoft is retiring SMS and voice authentication in February 2027. Passkeys become the default authentication method starting September 1 this year. And if you still need SMS after the Feb cutoff? You’ll be paying a third-party telecom provider for it.
This changes the MFA rollout plan for pretty much every tenant. Nadim’s blog post below has the full timeline and how to prepare.
I’ll be sitting down with the Microsoft Entra PM behind this change to get your questions answered. Post yours here or upvote an existing one. The most popular and interesting ones make the cut.
Enjoy!
Sponsored by:
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⚡️ Microsoft
🔥 Public Preview
Microsoft Entra ID security updates: Passkeys are the default authentication method in Entra ID • Nadim Abdo
📖 Read
AI agents are everywhere. Are your access controls ready? • Kaitlin Murphy
Defending SaaS-based applications against ShinyHunters OAuth abuse • Microsoft Defender Security Research Team
Least privilege for AI agents: Identity, access, and tool binding • Yesenia Yser and Toby Kohlenberg
📺 Watch
📺 Microsoft Entra Suite hands-on tour of identity and network access protections • Microsoft Mechanics
🗣️ Message Center
From the community…
🚀 Most popular posts from last week
🥇 Entra – Reminder to start migrating to Cloud Sync and Exchange writeback • Benoit HAMET
🥈 Why you Shouldn’t bypass MFA for your office IP adresses • Daniel Bradley
🥉Why Windows is the hardest passkey surface in 2026 and what Entra admins should expect • Jan Bakker
Sponsored by:
Leaving Azure AD B2C? Build, buy, or switch?
The B2C migration forces a question every team eventually faces: build it yourself, follow the default to Entra External ID, or buy a platform that gives you both control and speed?
Before you commit, run the actual numbers. Building in-house isn’t free, it’s ~18-24 months to SOC 2 alone, plus the security and maintenance most teams underestimate.
FusionAuth gives you the control people build for — self-hosting, full customization, your own data — without the build cost:
🧮 3-year TCO calculator: build vs. SaaS vs. FusionAuth
✅ 5-question assessment to pressure-test your decision
See where you actually land.
☀️ Learn
👩✈️ AI & Copilot
Entra Agent Blueprints, from an Offensive perspective. • Derk van der Woude
⛑️ ID Protection
👮♂️ ID Governance
Use the new Entra SOC Identity Responder Admin Role • Daniel Bradley
📦 Apps
Stop Flying Blind, Take Two: A Brand New Entra ID App Report • Matej Klemenčič
Authentication
Microsoft to Stop Providing Telephony-Based Authentication Methods for MFA in February 2027 • Tony Redmond
Passkeys by default and retirement of Microsoft-provided SMS and voice authentication - A guide to stay calm • Jan Bakker
Microsoft Entra ID Will Retire SMS and Voice Authentication • Rudy Mens
Passkeys Become the Default Auth Method in Microsoft Entra • AIMA
Microsoft are set to retire SMS & Voice authentication methods • Daniel Bradley
Managing FIDO2 keys with nothing but PowerShell • Dr. Emin Huseynov
Reviewing the State of Non-USB FIDO2 Devices on Linux • Dr. Emin Huseynov
Self-Service Password Reset (SSPR) will require registered authentication methods from September 7th • Benoit HAMET
🚦 Conditional Access
📺 Conditional Access, Break-Glass, Legacy Auth, & Named Locations: Entra ID it in Action! • Travis Roberts
🖥️ Devices
Taking Back Control: Managing the New Entra SSO Prompt in Windows via Intune • Per Larsen
The long awaited DMA-SSO Admin Controls! • Joey Verlinden
AutoAcceptSsoPermission: The Continue to Sign In Prompt Fix • Rudy Ooms
Admin control for SSO prompts in Windows; finally, an off switch! • Jan Bakker
Entra – Administrators can now control SSO prompts in Windows • Benoit HAMET
Automatically Accept SSO Permissions – Jóhannes’s blog • Johannes Geir Kristjansson
Windows BYOD Is Awesome- Here’s Why and How • Colby Pryor
🏙️ External ID - Guests & Multi-Tenant Organizations
Don’t Delete the Guest Account: Reset Redemption Status in Microsoft Entra • Sreejith Reghunathan Pillai
🥷 Security
📺 Why You Keep Getting Microsoft Sign-In Requests (and the Fix) • Dean Ellerby
♻️ Sync
Entra Connect Sync 2.6.84 released • Andres Bohren
Entra ID – New Entra ID Connect Sync version (2.6.84.0) is available • Benoit HAMET
📒 Tenant Configuration
NameCodex.app: Because Every Tenant Deserves Better Names • Matej Klemenčič
📺 Azure Files - The Proper Setup Guide (No Active Directory) • Jonathan Edwards
📺 Microsoft Entra ID important Updates (Aug 2026) • Andy Malone
🛍️ External ID - Customers
Analysing Azure AD B2C custom policies to aid with migration to Entra External ID (EEID) • Rory Braybrook
🔥 Maester
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