--- title: "Protecting Your Admin Accounts in Microsoft 365 | StartCloud" description: "Module 2 of our free Microsoft 365 Security Essentials pathway: least privilege, dedicated admin accounts, break-glass accounts, and MFA on every admin." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": [ "LocalBusiness", "ProfessionalService" ], "@id": "https://startcloud.au/#business", "name": "StartCloud", "legalName": "Start Technologies Pty Ltd", "alternateName": "StartCloud Australia", "identifier": { "@type": "PropertyValue", "propertyID": "ABN", "value": "17 676 121 449" }, "slogan": "Go Beyond", "description": "StartCloud is Perth's cybersecurity-first AI MSP: managed IT, Essential Eight security, Microsoft 365 and cloud, networking, and practical AI for Australian businesses with 5 to 50 staff.", "url": "https://startcloud.au", "logo": "https://startcloud.au/og-image.png", "image": "https://startcloud.au/og-image.png", "telephone": "+61862850001", "email": 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"https://www.google.com/maps/place/StartCloud/@-31.8648767,115.8069889,739m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x2a32a5b5d9e864b5:0x9f02690968f0e50c!8m2!3d-31.8648813!4d115.8095638!16s%2Fg%2F11vzbgtytj" ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "LearningResource", "name": "Protecting Your Admin Accounts in Microsoft 365", "description": "Module 2 of the Microsoft 365 Security Essentials pathway: least privilege admin roles, dedicated admin accounts, break-glass emergency access accounts, and MFA on every admin.", "educationalLevel": "Beginner", "learningResourceType": "Module", "isPartOf": { "@type": "Course", "name": "Microsoft 365 Security Essentials", "url": "https://startcloud.au/learn", "provider": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "StartCloud", "url": "https://startcloud.au" } }, "author": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "StartCloud", "url": "https://startcloud.au" }, "datePublished": "2026-07-23", "dateModified": "2026-07-23", "url": "https://startcloud.au/learn/protect-admin-accounts-microsoft-365" } ] --- [![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth")](/ "StartCloud | Managed IT Services Perth") - Cybersecurity - AI Solutions - Cloud - Technology - Networking - Explore [Contact Us](/contact "Contact StartCloud, Perth IT Support") Open menu Module 2 of StartCloud's Microsoft 365 Security Essentials learning pathway, in six short units with a knowledge check: why admin accounts are the top target, least privilege roles, separating admin accounts from day-to-day work, break-glass emergency accounts, and the steps to lock it all down. Course contents [Pathway overview](/learn/microsoft-365-security-essentials) Pathway Microsoft 365 Security Essentials 0 of 6 units done in this module 1. [Turn on MFA ](/learn/microsoft-365-multi-factor-authentication) 2. Protect admin accounts 1. Why admin accounts are the crown jewels 1 min 2. Least privilege: the right role for the job 2 min 3. Separate your admin account from your day-to-day 2 min 4. Break-glass accounts, done properly 2 min 5. Lock it down, step by step 2 min 6. Knowledge check 2 min 3. [Preset security policies ](/learn/microsoft-365-preset-security-policies) 4. [Stop email spoofing ](/learn/stop-email-spoofing-spf-dkim-dmarc) 5. [Sharing controls ](/learn/sharepoint-onedrive-sharing-controls) 6. [Conditional Access, properly ](/learn/conditional-access-done-properly) 7. [Data protection with Purview ](/learn/data-protection-microsoft-purview) 8. [Backups and retention ](/learn/microsoft-365-backups-and-retention) 9. [Starters and leavers ](/learn/microsoft-365-starters-and-leavers) 10. [Devices with Intune ](/learn/managing-devices-with-intune) # Protecting Your Admin Accounts in Microsoft 365 Module 2 · Foundations Unit 1 of 6 · about 1 min ## Why admin accounts are the crown jewels In the last module you switched on MFA and made a stolen password close to useless. This module is about the accounts where a stolen password hurts the most: your admins. A compromised staff account is a bad day. A compromised Global Administrator account is every mailbox read, every file copied, every user locked out, and the attacker changing the locks behind them. Attackers know this, which is why admin accounts are their favourite target. The good news is that protecting them is not expensive or complicated. It comes down to a handful of habits: give people the smallest role that does the job, keep admin work away from email and browsing, keep a spare key for emergencies, and put MFA on everything. This module walks you through each one. The master-key way to think about it A Global Administrator account is the master key to your whole building: every office, the safe, the server room, and the biscuit tin. You would not cut a copy for everyone who occasionally needs the stationery cupboard, and you certainly would not carry it to the pub. Same rules apply here. Mark done and continue ![StartCloud](/assets/StartCloud-Logo-ByZE1kzP.svg "StartCloud: Cybersecurity-First Managed IT Services Perth") Cybersecurity-led IT for Australian businesses. We manage security, compliance, and modern IT environments, so risk is governed, not guessed. 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