Secure Legacy Applications with Entra ID Application Proxy

🔒Cynode Tips and Tricks (T&T) Friday

Good Friday Cynode Network!

This week, we're diving into a topic that's been coming up frequently in our customer discussions - securing legacy applications in a modern cloud environment. Many organisations have reached out about the challenges of maintaining secure access to their legacy applications. Microsoft Entra ID Application Proxy offers a powerful solution to this challenge, enabling organisations to securely publish their on-premises applications to the internet while implementing modern authentication methods like Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

1. Legacy Application Access: Many organisations rely on legacy, on-premises applications that aren't natively designed for cloud access or modern security protocols.
2. Security Risks: Exposing legacy apps directly to the internet without the proper security controls increases the risk of unauthorised access and attacks.
3. Complexity in Remote Access: Traditional VPN solutions can be cumbersome, difficult to manage, and often lack the granular access control needed for secure remote access.

✅ How Entra ID Application Proxy Solves These Problems:

Entra ID Application Proxy helps bridge the gap between legacy applications and modern security standards. By using the Entra ID Application Proxy service, organisations can publish on-premises applications and ensure secure, cloud-based access with the following features:security standards. By using the Entra ID Application Proxy service, organisations can publish on-premises applications and ensure secure, cloud-based access with the following features:

• Secure Access with Modern Authentication: Entra ID Application Proxy allows legacy applications to benefit from Entra Id authentication. This means that SSO, MFA, and Conditional Access Policies can be enforced for users accessing these applications, providing an extra layer of security while maintaining seamless access.

• Unified Identity Management: By integrating with Azure AD, organisations can extend their identity and access management (IAM) capabilities to legacy applications, ensuring that users are managed consistently across both modern and legacy environments.

• Simplified Remote Access: Rather than relying on traditional VPNs, which can be complex and expensive to manage, Entra ID Application Proxy offers a simple way to securely grant users access to on-premises applications via the internet. This reduces complexity and improves user experience while maintaining security.

• Granular Access Control: With Azure AD’s conditional access policies, administrators can set specific conditions under which users are granted access to these legacy applications. For example, users accessing from an unmanaged device can be required to authenticate with MFA.

✅ Action to Take: Publish Legacy Applications with Entra ID Application Proxy:

To enable Entra ID Application Proxy, follow these steps:

1. Access Azure AD Portal:

• Sign in to the Azure portal at portal.azure.com using your admin credentials.

1. Set Up the Application Proxy Connector:

• Go to Azure Active Directory > Application Proxy and click Download Connector to install the connector on a server in your on-premises environment.

1. Publish the Application:

• In the Azure portal, go to Azure AD > Enterprise applications > Application Proxy and select Add an application.

• Follow the prompts to configure the application, providing details such as the internal URL and external URL to publish the legacy application.

1. Configure Authentication Settings:

• Set up SSO and configure MFA if needed. Ensure that the Conditional Access policies are set up to control user access based on device compliance, location, and other factors.

1. Test and Monitor:

• After configuring the application, test the remote access to the legacy app to ensure seamless integration and secure access. Monitor the application’s usage and ensure that security policies are being enforced.

✅ Why This Matters:

Entra ID Application Proxy modernizes the way organisations provide secure access to legacy applications, enabling them to meet today’s security requirements without needing to rewrite or replace legacy systems. By leveraging Azure AD for authentication, MFA, and SSO, organisations can ensure that their legacy applications are protected by the same security protocols used for modern cloud applications. This solution simplifies remote access, reduces the attack surface, and allows businesses to embrace cloud-based security while retaining their existing infrastructure.

Do get in touch if you need any assistance on this topic: https://cynode.com/get-in-touch