Fresh Tenant Setup

These are the steps I typically take to set up a fresh M365 E5 tenant.

Work in Progress

This is very much a continuous work in progress. I publish changes as I go. Screenshots might be out of date.

Use at your own risk

These are my personal steps. This should not be construed as official guidance. Always refer to the official Microsoft documentation available at learn.microsoft.com

Entra¶

Entra Cloud Sync¶

Portal Docs

Cloud Sync is the lightweight replacement for AAD Connect. Follow the instructions in the Docs link for a step-by-step example for a single forest install.

For conditional access, be sure to exclude the Directory Synchronization Accounts role from any MFA policies.

Hybrid Cloud Trust¶

Docs

Create EntraID Kerberos Server

# Install the AzureADHybridAuthenticationManagement module
Install-Module -Name AzureADHybridAuthenticationManagement -AllowClobber

# Specify the on-premises Active Directory domain. A new Azure AD
# Kerberos Server object will be created in this Active Directory domain.
$domain = "contoso.com"

# Enter a UPN of an Azure Active Directory global administrator
$userPrincipalName = "admin@contoso.com"

# Enter a domain administrator username and password.
$domainCred = Get-Credential

# Create the new Azure AD Kerberos Server object in Active Directory
# and then publish it to Azure Active Directory.
# Open an interactive sign-in prompt with given username to access the Azure AD.
Set-AzureADKerberosServer -Domain $domain -UserPrincipalName $userPrincipalName -DomainCredential $domainCred

# Verify server
Get-AzureADKerberosServer -Domain $domain -DomainCredential $domainCred -UserPrincipalName $userPrincipalName

Id                 : 17530
UserAccount        : CN=krbtgt_AzureAD,CN=Users,DC=contoso,DC=com
ComputerAccount    : CN=AzureADKerberos,OU=Domain Controllers,DC=contoso,DC=com
DisplayName        : krbtgt_17530
DomainDnsName      : contoso.com
KeyVersion         : 27591
KeyUpdatedOn       : 10/13/2022 9:23:43 PM
KeyUpdatedFrom     : CONTOSO-DC-01.contoso.com
CloudDisplayName   : krbtgt_17530
CloudDomainDnsName : contoso.com
CloudId            : 17530
CloudKeyVersion    : 27591
CloudKeyUpdatedOn  : 10/13/2022 9:23:43 PM
CloudTrustDisplay  :

Device Settings¶

Portal

Disable adding GA to local admin.

App Registrations¶

MS Graph PowerShell SDK¶

To enable use of the MS Graph PowerShell SDK, create an app registration for app-only for use with the SDK.

Portal

Create the app registration.
Grant application permissions for Microsoft Graph that are necessary for your use cases.
I prefer to do app consent cert-based authentication. Here's a couple of links explaining the process:
1. How to use Connect-MgGraph - All Options — LazyAdmin
2. Use app-only authentication with the Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK | Microsoft Learn

Identity Protection¶

Self Service Password Reset¶

Portal Docs

Enable Self service password reset
Target a group that excludes service accounts. Easiest way to do this is with a dynamic group. Example rule: (user.displayName -ne "On-Premises Directory Synchronization Service Account") and (user.userPrincipalName -notStartsWith "svc")
Enable Password writeback in On-premises integration

Authentication Methods¶

Portal Docs

Policies¶

For methods, enable

Passkeys
Authenticator
Enable FIDO2, Authenticator, Temporary Access Pass in Authentication Methods

Authentication Methods Migration¶

Disable verification options in the legacy MFA settings portal
Disable Authentication methods in SSPR Authentication Methods
Migrate to the Converged Authentication Methods Policy

User Settings¶

Portal

Toggle Off
Users can register Applications
Show keep user signed in
Toggle On
Restrict non-admin users from creating tenants
Restrict access to Entra ID administration portal

User Feature Settings¶

Portal

Select All for Users can use preview features for My Apps

Device Settings¶

Cloud LAPS¶

Portal Docs

Enable LAPS

Enterprise State Roaming¶

Portal

Enable Enterprise State Roaming

Identity Protection¶

Multifactor authentication registration policy¶

Create a EntraID group called Service Accounts, add the Entra Cloud sync account
Enable the policy, targeting all users and excluding the group you just created.

Diagnostic Settings¶

Portal Docs

Prior to doing so, create a Log Analytics workspace and add Sentinel to it.

Enable all diagnostic settings to log to your Sentinel's log analytics workspace

Global Secure Access¶

Portal Docs

Enable GSA¶

Click Activate to enable GSA in your tenant
Web interface showing steps for activating Global Secure Access with icons, buttons, and links.

Internet Access¶

Enable the Microsoft Profile
Download the GSA Client and deploy to Windows devices.

Active Directory¶

Deploy 3 VMs
- 2 Domain Controllers running 2022
- 1 2022 Server for Entra Cloud Sync

Intune¶

Tenant Administration Settings¶

Windows Data Connector¶

Portal

UI settings for Windows data and license verification with toggles set to 'On'.

Defender for Endpoint Connector¶

Portal

You need to enable the Defender side first.

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Windows Autopatch¶

Portal
Docs

Run the prereq check. You'll see an advisory for co-management, this can be safely disregarded.
Grant admin access for Microsoft
Provide Admin contact info.
Add devices to the the default autopatch group Windows Autopatch Device Registration
Wait a few minutes, then ensure the devices show in the Windows Autopatch devices here
Put a couple of devices in the Test ring by clicking on the device name, then selecting Device Actions -> Assign Ring. In the flyout, choose the Test ring

Applications¶

Portal Docs

Windows¶

Add app -> Microsoft 365 Apps for Windows 10 and Later. Assign to all devices.

intune_windows_m365_apps
intune_windows_m365_apps_1

Devices¶

Windows Automatic Enrollment¶

Portal

Set MDM and MAM user scopes to all

Windows Autopilot¶

Portal

Follow this guide: Overview for Windows Autopilot device preparation user-driven Microsoft Entra join in Intune | Microsoft Learn

Prereqs:

Create Entra Groups
Automatic Enrolment Set
Enrolled devices. Windows Autopilot device preparation devices
- Set App ID f1346770-5b25-470b-88bd-d5744ab7952c as the owner.
- Targeted Users - Windows Autopilot device preparation users
Create/update an Office deployment, target the device group created above.

Create a device prep policy

iOS Enrollment¶

Portal

User-driven iOS enrollment is a two step process - the push certificate and the enrollment profile.

Configure Apple MDM Push Certificate¶

Docs

Enrollment Profile¶

Portal

Native iOS enrollment

There's this nifty-keen account driven user enrollment available in iOS 15+, but you'll need a web server to serve up the json file Apple expects.

Configure an enrollment profile
Create a profile that allows user choice of type of device (corporate vs user), target all users.

Supervised iOS Enrollment with Apple Configurator¶

Portal Docs

There are two options for Apple Config profile - with user affinity and without. For testing, enrollment with User Affinity with the Company Portal app mimics how devices might be distributed to end users.

Create a new Enrollment Profile. On the settings step, select:
User affinity: Enroll with User Affinity
Select where users must authenticate: Company Portal
Export the profile you just created. Copy the URL.
Create a csv file with the serial numbers of iPads you wish to enroll.
Serial number,device details
Upload the csv file in the portal under Devices. Assign the profile you just created.
In Apple Configurator, choose Settings -> Servers. Click + to add a server. Add the URL you copied from step 2.
Connect a device, and at the main screen, click Prepare. Leave the default options unchanged.
Choose the Intune MDM server defined in Step 5.
Skip Apple Business Manager sign-in if prompted. At the Organization screen select a previous org or create a new one. This is shown in the settings app in iOS.
Choose to generate a new supervision Identity or reuse an existing one.
Choose which steps to display in the Setup Assistant. Click Prepare to start the process.

Android Enrollment¶

Portal Docs

User-driven Android enrollment is a two step process - the managed Google Play account linking and the enrollment profile.

Managed Google Play Account Linking¶

"Screenshot of Managed Google Play enrollment page."

MacOS Enrollment¶

Portal Docs

As with MDE for MacOS, this tends to change, so be sure to check the docs for the most recent steps.

:material-head-sync: tl;dr

Create a MacOS enrollment profile here if you didn't for iOS yet - they're shared between iOS and MacOS.
Download the Company Portal app for MacOS from here and deploy the company portal app as a MacOS LOB app

MacOS Platform SSO¶

Use the instructions here as a guide.

tl;dr
Use the settings below in a config profile to deploy platform sso with the following options:

Password authentication which syncs the Entra password with the local account password
Create new users as admins

Endpoint security¶

Portal

Windows¶

Endpoint Detection and Response
Create a new EDR policy targeting Windows. Target all devices.
Antivirus
Create a new Microsoft Defender Antivirus profile
Enable Network Protection in Block mode. Target all devices.

MacOS¶

Deploying MDE on MacOS is a multi-step manual process, and changes occasionally. Refer to Intune-based deployment for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Mac - Microsoft Defender for Endpoint | Microsoft Learn for the most current steps.

tl;dr
If you want a sample combined deployment, I've combined mobileconfig files here to set the following settings

AutoUpdate enabled, broad channel
Network protection set to block
All other required mobileconfig settings, such as full disk access, etc.
Deploy the combined profile
Create a device configuration profile for macOS devices using a custom template
For configuration settings, upload the mobileconfig from above. Target device channel.
Target all MacOS devices
Deploy MDE
Deploy the MDE packageMDE App in Intune
Deploy the Onboarding Package
Download the MDM/Intune onboarding package from Defender XDR
Deploy via Intune as a Custom Config template

Security Baselines¶

Create a new Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Baseline policy and target all devices.

Account Protection (LAPS)¶

Portal

Enable LAPS in the portal
Create a Windows LAPS profile and apply to all devices.

intune_laps_profile1

M365 Defender¶

Portal

XDR¶

Enable unified SIEM and XDR.

Email & collaboration¶

Peset Security Configuration Policies
Enable Standard Protection Preset Policies.

MDCA¶

System
IP Address Ranges
- If you have IP Ranges as Trusted Named Locations in EID, add them as Custom IP Address Ranges in MDCA with the category of Corporate
Cloud Discovery
Defender for Endpoint
- Enforce App Access with Defender for Endpoint
User Enrichment
- Enable User Enrichment
Information Protection
Microsoft Information Protection
- Enable automatically scan new files
- Enable scanning protected files. You'll need to go through the OAUTH grant process.
Files
- Enable file monitoring
App governance
Service Status
- Turn on app governance
Connected Apps
App Connectors
- Click Connect an app, choose Microsoft 365 from the list. Select all options.
SIEM Agents
Add the Azure Sentinel integration

Endpoints¶

Advanced Features
Ensure your settings match those below:

Identities¶

Sensors
Click +Add Sensor, and download the installer and copy the Access key
Install the sensor on all DCs in AD. Use the access key when prompted by the installer.
Active Directory
Configure Event Collection via GPO

Configure Group Managed Service Account account

On the first DC

Create root KDS key

Add-KdsRootKey -EffectiveTime ((get-date).addhours(-10))

Purge kerberos tickets

klist purge -li 0x3e7

Create the gMSA

New-ADServiceAccount accountname -PrincipalsAllowedToRetrieveManagedPassword "Domain Controllers" -DNSHostName accountname.domain.contoso.com

Install the gMSA on the DC

Install-ADServiceAccount -Identity 'accountname'

On the other DCs, purge kerberos tickets and install the service account
- Add the gMSA in the portal

Purview¶

Advanced Audit¶

Portal

Enable Auditing

With the ExchangeOnlineManagement module in PS5/PS7+

Enable-OrganizationCustomization
Set-AdminAuditLogConfig -UnifiedAuditLogIngestionEnabled $true

Device Onboarding¶

Portal Windows Mac

Enable Windows and Mac device onboarding. This requires MDE.

Sensitivity Labels¶

Enable labeling for Protected content & PDFs¶

Enable Sensitivity Labels for Protected Content
Enable labeling support for PDFs

Enable labeling for Protected content & PDFs

Using the SharePoint Module in PowerShell 5

connect-sposervice -url 'https://<tenant>-admin.sharepoint.com/'
Set-SPOTenant -EnableAIPIntegration $true
Set-SPOTenant -EnableSensitivityLabelforPDF $true

Enable Labeling for Containers¶

In a fresh tenant, there will not be any EntraID group settings configured, so those need to be created. Then enable labeling for containers. After that, you can enable the label sync.

With the Graph SDK in PS7+

Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Directory.ReadWrite.All"
$TemplateId = (Get-MgBetaDirectorySettingTemplate | where { $_.DisplayName -eq "Group.Unified" }).Id
$params = @{
   templateId = "$TemplateId"
   values = @(
      @{
         name = "EnableMIPLabels"
         value = "True"
      }
   )
}
New-MgBetaDirectorySetting -BodyParameter $params

With the ExchangeOnlineManagement module in PS5/PS7+
```
Connect-IPPSSession
Execute-AzureAdLabelSync
```

Enable co-authoring for Encrypted Files¶

This can be done in the portal, or via PowerShell.

With the ExchangeOnlineManagement module in PS5/PS7+

Connect-IPPSSession
Set-PolicyConfig -EnableLabelCoauth:$true

Implement Secure by Default Labeling¶

Follow the guide here

DLP¶

Endpoint DLP¶

Settings¶

Portal
Docs

In Settings, change the following:

Advanced classification scanning and protection: On

MIP Scanner¶

Portal
Docs

Prerequisite

Service account in AD, exclude from MFA registration and CAs
SQL server for the scanner, as well as a windows server.

Deployment

Create a Scanner Cluster
Create a Content Scan Job. Be sure to disable any of the auto options - this will just be for scanning.

Exact Data Match¶

Portal Docs

EDM SIT¶

Create a new EDM SIT. Since I work in healthcare, I typically use Synthea to generate patient records. We do have sample industry files you can use.
Make note of the datastore name when you finish the EDM wizard. You'll need it for the EDM uploader.

EDM Uploader Tool¶

Create a service account for the EDM upload agents to run as.
Create a EntraID security group named EDM_DataUploaders and add the service account to it.
Install the EDM upload tool to c:\EDM
Place sample data in c:\EDM\Data
Save the schema .\EdmUploadAgent.exe /SaveSchema /DataStoreName your_data_store_name /OutputDir c:\edm\data
Create c:\EDM\hash
Upload the data .\EdmUploadAgent.exe /uploaddata /datastorename your_data_store_name /datafile C:\edm\data\your_data.csv /hashlocation c:\edm\hash /schema C:\edm\data\your_data_store_name.xml /allowedbadlinespercentage 5

Insider Risk Management¶

Roles¶

Portal Docs

Add your account to the Insider Risk Management role.

Browser Activity Plugins¶

Deploy the Edge profile via Intune as described here
Deploy the Chrome profile via Intune as described here

Settings¶

Portal Docs

Analytics
Toggle analytics on
Data sharing
Enable share data with Defender XDR
Policy indicators
Select all indicators under the following categories
- Office
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
- Cumulative exfiltration detection
- Risk score boosters
- Generative AI Apps
- Microsoft Copilot Experiences
- Microsoft Entra
- Risk Detection indicators

Analytics¶

Toggle analytics on

Policy Indicators¶

Select all indicators under the following categories
Office
Device
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Risky Browsing
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Polices¶

Portal Docs

Create a Data Leaks policy from the template
Target all users
Choose not to prioritize content.
For triggering events, choose User performs an exfiltration activity
For thresholds, choose Apply built-in thresholds.
For indicators, leave the default ones checked.

Work in Progress

This section is not complete.