Book Image

Azure Active Directory for Secure Application Development

By : Sjoukje Zaal
Book Image

Azure Active Directory for Secure Application Development

By: Sjoukje Zaal

Overview of this book

Azure Active Directory for Secure Application Development is your one-stop shop for learning how to develop secure applications using modern authentication techniques with Microsoft Azure AD. Whether you’re working with single-tenant, multi-tenant, or line-of-business applications, this book contains everything you need to secure them. The book wastes no time in diving into the practicalities of Azure AD. Right from the start, you’ll be setting up tenants, adding users, and registering your first application in Azure AD. The balance between grasping and applying theory is maintained as you move from the intermediate to the advanced: from the basics of OAuth to getting your hands dirty with building applications and registering them in Azure AD. Want to pin down the Microsoft Graph, Azure AD B2C, or authentication protocol best practices? We’ve got you covered. The full range of Azure AD functionality from a developer perspective is here for you to explore with confidence. By the end of this secure app development book, you’ll have developed the skill set that so many organizations are clamoring for. Security is mission-critical, and after reading this book, you will be too.

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Table of Contents (14 chapters)
Preface
Preface
What this book covers
To get the most out of this book
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Download the example code files
Conventions used
Get in touch
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1
Part 1: Getting Started with the Microsoft Identity Platform
Part 1: Getting Started with the Microsoft Identity Platform
Free Chapter
2
Chapter 1: Microsoft Identity Platform Overview
Chapter 1: Microsoft Identity Platform Overview
Learning about the Microsoft identity platform
Understanding the evolution of the Microsoft identity platform
Introducing Azure AD
Introducing Azure AD B2B
Introducing Azure AD B2C
Setting up an Azure AD tenant
Adding a user to Azure AD
Cleaning up the resources
Summary
Further reading
3
Chapter 2: Azure AD Application Model
Chapter 2: Azure AD Application Model
Technical requirements
Introducing the Azure AD application model
Learning about application and service principal objects in Azure AD
Registering an application with the Microsoft identity platform
Setting redirect URIs
Understanding permissions and consent
Understanding certificates and secrets
Restricting your Azure AD app to a set of users
Registering an application using PowerShell and the CLI
Summary
Further reading
4
Chapter 3: Application Types and User Consent
Chapter 3: Application Types and User Consent
Technical requirements
Public client and confidential client applications
Understanding the authorization code flow
Understanding the different application types
Building a web app that authenticates users using Azure AD
Understanding the Azure AD application consent experience
Understanding how end users consent to applications
Publisher verification
Summary
Further reading
5
Part 2: Authentication and Protocols
Part 2: Authentication and Protocols
6
Chapter 4: The Basics and Evolution of Authentication
Chapter 4: The Basics and Evolution of Authentication
Evolution of identity protocols
Authentication versus authorization
Pre-claims authentication techniques
Claims-based identity
First-generation protocols
Modern protocols
Summary
Further reading
7
Chapter 5: Securing Applications with OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and MSAL
Chapter 5: Securing Applications with OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and MSAL
Technical requirements
The OAuth 2.0 framework and its specifications
The OpenID Connect protocol and its specifications
The OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect flows
An overview of the Microsoft Identity Web authentication library
An overview of MSAL
Securing your application using OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and MSAL
Summary
Further reading
8
Chapter 6:Building Secure Services Using the Microsoft Graph API
Chapter 6:Building Secure Services Using the Microsoft Graph API
Technical requirements
An overview of Microsoft Graph
Accessing data and methods
Queries, batching, throttling, and paging
The Microsoft Graph SDK
Building a web application that uses the Microsoft Graph API
Summary
Further reading
9
Part 3: Azure AD B2C
Part 3: Azure AD B2C
10
Chapter 7: Introducing Azure Active Directory B2C
Chapter 7: Introducing Azure Active Directory B2C
Technical requirements
Introducing Azure AD B2C
Creating an Azure AD B2C tenant and adding a user
Registering an application in Azure AD B2C
Understanding user flows
Setting up the custom web application
Summary
Further reading
11
Chapter 8: Advanced Features of Azure AD B2C
Chapter 8: Advanced Features of Azure AD B2C
Technical requirements
Identity providers in Azure AD B2C
Customizing the UI
Localization and language customization
Azure AD B2C and Microsoft Graph
Custom domains for Azure AD B2C
Summary
Further reading
12
Chapter 9: Azure AD B2C Custom Policies
Chapter 9: Azure AD B2C Custom Policies
Technical requirements
Understanding custom policies
Introducing the Identity Experience Framework
Creating a custom policy
Summary
Further reading
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13
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Learning about the Microsoft identity platform

The Microsoft identity platform is a comprehensive set of components that help developers to build applications that sign users in with various types of accounts, such as Microsoft identities or social media accounts. The types of applications that can make use of the platform and its components include web applications, web APIs, and mobile apps.

The Microsoft identity platform components consist of authentication services, a set of open source libraries, and various application management tools. These different sorts of tools are specified in more detail as follows:

  • Industry standards: The base platform is completely based on industry standards, such as OAuth 2.0, OpenID Connect, and SAML v2.0.
  • Identities: The platform offers developers the ability to use the OpenID Connect standard-compliant authentication service to authenticate using a variety of identity types:
    • Work or school accounts: These are stored in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).
    • Personal Microsoft accounts: For example, Xbox, Outlook, Skype, and Hotmail accounts.
    • Social or local accounts: With Azure AD B2C, you can use both social accounts (such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter) or local (external database or partner email) accounts. Azure App Services authentication supports authenticating using Azure AD and a few social accounts, such as Facebook and Google.
  • Open source libraries: The Microsoft identity platform offers the Microsoft Authentication Library (MSAL) and support for other standard-compliant libraries.
  • Application management portal: Applications can be registered and configured in Azure AD by using the Azure portal. From here, applications can also be configured.
  • Application configuration API and PowerShell: The Microsoft identity platform has support for registering and configuring your applications using the Graph API and PowerShell. Using this programmatic approach, these tasks can be automated using your CI/CD pipelines.

The following diagram illustrates the different components of what the Microsoft identity platform is made of:

Figure 1.1 – Microsoft identity platform overview

Figure 1.1 – Microsoft identity platform overview

In the next section, we are going to investigate the evolution of the Microsoft identity platform.

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