Azure AD Security Default – What Is It?

Last Updated on August 14, 2025 by Arnav Sharma

Microsoft Azure AD Security Default is an important feature designed for identity and access management. With its preconfigured security settings, it helps organizations protect their identities and data by ensuring that every user’s identity is authenticated and authorized (approved) before granting access to resources (applications and data) in an organization’s network. In this article, we will explore what Security Defaults are, how they work, and why it’s essential to enable them in your organization.

What are Security Defaults in Azure AD?

What is Microsoft’s definition of Security Defaults?

According to Microsoft, Security Defaults is a set of preconfigured identity security features in Azure AD designed to help strengthen the security posture of an organization and prevent unauthorized access to their data. Security Defaults offers basic identity and access management capabilities by making sure that every user in an organization uses multi-factor authentication (MFA) and protects their accounts from legacy authentication. Security Defaults are available globally and to all Azure AD tenants, including both paid and free subscriptions.

How do Security Defaults differ from Conditional Access Policies?

Conditional Access Policies are also identity and access management features in Azure AD, but they offer more granular control over who can access specific resources based on user, device, and location. Unlike Security Defaults that apply to all users and applications, Conditional Access policies can be tailored to specific scenarios and apply to a subset of users who meet specific conditions. This means that organizations can use Conditional Access Policies and Security Defaults together to achieve a more secure environment for their organization.

What are the preconfigured security settings in Security Defaults?

The preconfigured security settings in Security Defaults include:

• Require MFA for all users in an organization: This ensures that every user in an organization uses multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect their accounts from brute-force attacks and unauthorized access.
• Block legacy authentication: This prevents users from signing in using basic authentication protocols that are less secure compared to modern authentication protocols.
• Require users to register for Azure AD Multi-Factor Authentication: This prompts users to provide additional authentication factors, such as the Microsoft Authenticator app.

How Can I Enable or Disable Security Defaults?

How do I enable Security Defaults in Azure AD?

To enable Security Defaults in Azure AD, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal as an admin.
2. Click on Azure Active Directory and select Properties in the left navigation pane.
3. Scroll down to the Security section and click on the Manage Security Defaults link.
4. On the Security Defaults page, toggle the option to Yes.
5. Click on Save to enable Security Defaults.

How do I disable Security Defaults in Azure AD?

To disable Security Defaults in Azure AD, follow these steps:

1. Sign in to the Azure portal as an admin.
2. Click on Azure Active Directory and select Properties in the left navigation pane.
3. Scroll down to the Security section and click on the Manage Security Defaults link.
4. On the Security Defaults page, toggle the option to No.
5. Click on Save to disable Security Defaults.

What are the implications of disabling Security Defaults?

Disabling Security Defaults in Azure AD means that you will lose all the preconfigured security settings that come with it, and you will need to create custom Conditional Access Policies to protect your organization. This means additional work and resources to manage and configure the policies. You may also be exposing your organization to identity and access risks, such as phishing attacks and unauthorized access to your data.

Why Should I Enable Security Defaults in Azure AD?

How do Security Defaults help protect my organization?

Enabling Security Defaults in Azure AD helps protect your organization in the following ways:

• Preventing unauthorized access to your data: With MFA enabled, users are required to provide additional authentication factor(s) besides their passwords, making it harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to your data.
• Blocking known attacks: Security Defaults blocks access by using basic authentication protocols that are prone to attacks, thereby reducing the risks of successful phishing and brute-force attacks.
• Reducing security management overhead: With Security Defaults enabled, Microsoft handles most of the management of your organization’s identity security, allowing organizations to focus on other aspects of their business.

What are some common security threats that Security Defaults can prevent?

Security Defaults can prevent several common security threats, including:

• Phishing attacks: With Security Defaults enabled, users are required to use MFA, making it harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to an organization’s resources.
• Brute-force attacks: With Security Defaults enabled, users are required to use MFA, making it harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to an organization’s resources.
• Unauthorized access to data: By protecting user accounts with MFA, Security Defaults prevents unauthorized users from accessing sensitive data and resources.

What is the impact of phishing attacks on organizations without Security Defaults enabled?

Organizations without Security Defaults enabled are more prone to phishing attacks, which can result in unauthorized access to sensitive data and resources. Phishing attacks typically use social engineering tactics, such as email spoofing and fake login pages, to lure users into providing their credentials. With Security Defaults enabled, users are required to use MFA, making it harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access even when they have obtained user credentials.