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Introduction:
In the rapidly evolving landscape of decentralized identity, Microsoft Entra Verified ID is emerging as a cornerstone for verifiable credentials and trust in digital interactions. While the technology promises a future without passwords, its advanced configuration has historically been a manual and complex process. However, a new community-driven initiative now allows security architects to deploy the entire advanced Verified ID stack automatically, shifting the paradigm from click-ops to hardened, repeatable code.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the core components of Microsoft Entra Verified ID and its role in a Zero Trust architecture.
- Learn how to deploy the entire Verified ID advanced setup using Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) automation.
- Identify key security hardening steps and configuration checks for a production-ready identity verification environment.
You Should Know:
- Understanding the Verified ID Advanced Setup and Prerequisites
The solution, shared by Nathan McNulty, moves beyond the basic “quickstart” wizard. The advanced setup typically involves creating a decentralized identifier (DID), configuring a rules and display definition for credentials, and integrating with Azure Key Vault for secure key management. Before diving into the automation, you must ensure your environment meets the prerequisites: an Azure subscription with the “Microsoft Entra Verified ID” provider registered, and sufficient permissions (Global Administrator or Identity Governance Administrator) to create applications and service principals.
Step‑by‑step guide:
- Log in to the Azure Portal and navigate to Microsoft Entra ID.
- Under “Manage,” select Verified ID to ensure the preview/feature is enabled for your tenant.
- Verify you have the Azure CLI installed locally (
az --version) and are logged in (az login).
2. Cloning and Preparing the Automated Deployment
The core of this innovation lies in the GitHub repository provided. Using Bicep (a domain-specific language for Azure deployments), the codebase orchestrates the creation of all necessary components.
Step‑by‑step guide (Linux/WSL or macOS):
- Open your terminal and clone the repository:
git clone https://lnkd.in/gjhUwK5s Note: Replace the shortened URL with the full GitHub link if necessary, e.g., github.com/nathanmcnulty/verifiedid-advanced cd verifiedid-advanced
- Review the `main.bicep` file to understand the resources being deployed:
cat main.bicep | grep resource
This will list resources like
Microsoft.VerifiedId/authority,Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults, and storage accounts. - Create a parameters file (
azuredeploy.parameters.json) to define your specific tenant ID, location, and resource naming conventions.
3. Deploying the Core Verified ID Authority
The first critical component is the Verified ID authority, which represents your organization as an issuer of verifiable credentials. The Bicep script handles this by creating a DID and anchoring it to your domain.
Step‑by‑step guide:
- Run the deployment using Azure CLI:
az deployment sub create \ --name VerifiedIDAdvancedDeploy \ --location westeurope \ --template-file main.bicep \ --parameters @azuredeploy.parameters.json
- What this does: It registers a new Authority in your Entra tenant. It creates a DID document that is published to the ION network (Sidetree-based), linking your domain to your public keys.
- Security Check: Post-deployment, verify that the automatic domain linkage is valid. Navigate to the Verified ID blade in the portal, select your new authority, and ensure the domain verification status is “Verified.”
- Configuring Key Vault for Key Management and Rotation
Security in Verified ID hinges on the private keys used to sign credentials. The automated deployment integrates Azure Key Vault to store these keys securely, enabling role-based access control (RBAC) and audit logging.
Step‑by‑step guide:
- The Bicep script will have created a Key Vault instance. To verify the keys:
az keyvault key list --vault-name <your-vault-name> --query "[].{name:name, kid:kid}" -o table - What this does: It creates a dedicated key (often an RSA-2048 or EC key) used for signing credentials. The `kid` (Key Identifier) is the public URL that resolvers will use to fetch your public key.
- Hardening Step: Immediately enable “Purge Protection” and “Soft Delete” on the Key Vault if not already set by the script. Ensure that only the Verified ID service principal and a break-glass admin account have access via the Access Policies or RBAC.
5. Defining Credential Contracts (Rules & Display)
A credential is defined by two JSON files: the Rules Definition (which defines the claims and input validation) and the Display Definition (which defines the look and feel). The automation likely includes sample contracts for common scenarios like “Verified Employee.”
Step‑by‑step guide (Manual verification/editing):
- After deployment, the Rules and Display files are stored, often in a storage account or as part of the app registration’s configuration.
- To retrieve them using the Microsoft Graph API (or via the portal), you would typically look at the “Verified ID” section under your app registration.
- Example Rules Definition Snippet (VerifiableCredential):
{ "attestations": { "idTokens": [ { "mapping": { "displayName": "given_name", "jobTitle": "jobTitle" }, "configuration": "https://login.microsoftonline.com/{tenant}/v2.0", "clientId": "{your-client-id}", "redirectUri": "vcclient://openid/" } ] } } - What this does: It tells the Authenticator app which claims to pull from an existing OIDC-compliant identity provider (like your corporate Entra ID) to issue the credential.
6. Post-Deployment Validation and Testing
With the infrastructure in place, you must test the issuance and presentation flow. This involves using the Microsoft Authenticator app on a mobile device.
Step‑by‑step guide:
- From the Verified ID portal, select your new credential type and click “Issue credential.”
- Use the generated QR code to scan with Authenticator. The app should prompt you to sign in and then issue the verified credential.
- Troubleshooting: If issuance fails, check the Azure Key Vault logs for unauthorized signing attempts. Also, verify that the application registration used for the idToken hint has the correct redirect URI (
vcclient://openid/). Use `az monitor activity-log list` to check for deployment failures.
7. Integrating API Security and Presentation Verification
For a complete solution, you need an API that can verify the credentials presented by users. This can be done using the Microsoft Entra Verified ID Request Service REST API.
Step‑by‑step guide (Conceptual cURL):
- You would create a presentation request API endpoint. The service needs an API key (often managed in Key Vault).
- A sample request to the Verification Service looks like:
curl -X POST https://verifiedid.did.msidentity.com/v1.0/verifiableCredentials/createPresentationRequest \ -H "Authorization: Bearer {your-accesstoken}" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "includeQRCode": true, "callback": { "url": "https://your-app.azurewebsites.net/api/verificationcallback", "headers": { "api-key": "{KEY-FROM-KEYVAULT}" } }, "authority": "did:ion:{your-did}", "registration": { "clientName": "Your App Name" } }' - What this does: This endpoint generates a new presentation request QR code. When the user scans it, the app sends the Verifiable Presentation (VP) to your callback URL, where you validate the signature and the claims.
What Undercode Say:
- Key Takeaway 1: Automating Verified ID deployment removes human error from the critical process of key creation and DID registration. By using Bicep, organizations can enforce a “secure-by-default” baseline across development, staging, and production environments, ensuring that keys are always stored in a managed HSM-backed Key Vault.
- Key Takeaway 2: This setup bridges the gap between Identity Governance and DevSecOps. It demonstrates that decentralized identity infrastructure is not just an add-on but can be treated as code, enabling version control, peer reviews, and automated security scanning of credential contracts before they go live.
- Analysis: The move towards automated Verified ID deployment is a significant leap for the identity community. It democratizes access to advanced SSI (Self-Sovereign Identity) features, which were previously locked behind complex manual configurations. For security professionals, this means they can now focus on designing sophisticated verification flows and trust frameworks rather than wrestling with portal navigation. The inclusion of Key Vault from the start reinforces the principle that key material must never leave hardware security boundaries. As phishing-resistant authentication becomes mandatory, having a repeatable, auditable deployment for Verified ID will become a baseline compliance requirement for enterprises aiming for passwordless nirvana.
Prediction:
In the next 18 months, the manual configuration of decentralized identity systems will become obsolete. We will see the rise of “Identity GitOps,” where organizations manage their entire verifiable credential ecosystem—from DID documents to revocation lists—via pull requests. This automation will accelerate the adoption of Verified ID for high-value use cases like remote onboarding and cross-border employee verification, forcing legacy identity providers to adopt similar Infrastructure-as-Code models to remain competitive. The combination of automated deployment and hardware-backed keys will make stolen credentials far less valuable, as attackers will find it nearly impossible to compromise the issuance pipeline.
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Reported By: Nathanmcnulty A – Hackers Feeds
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