- The core question
- Microsoft Zero Trust Assessment vs. Semperis Entra ID Security Assessment: Why they are different
- Side-by-side comparison
- What the Microsoft security assessment tool provides
- What the Semperis security assessment offers
- What do you receive from the Semperis Entra ID Security Assessment?
- Align your security assessment with your business objectives
- Related reading
The core question
Do you want to measure your Zero Trust maturity?
Or do you want to identify how an attacker could compromise your Entra ID tenant today?
These are fundamentally different objectives. Let’s explore how they may align with your business needs.
Microsoft Zero Trust Assessment vs. Semperis Entra ID Security Assessment: Why they are different
Measuring Zero Trust maturity assesses how well your organization aligns with a strategic security framework across multiple domains: identity, devices, data, applications, and infrastructure. It assesses the presence and adoption of policy controls.
Identifying how an attacker could compromise your Entra ID tenant requires evaluating real-world exploitability. Such an assessment analyzes configuration gaps, privilege exposure, attack paths, and operational weaknesses that could be leveraged today.
In short:
- Maturity = alignment to a model
- Exposure = likelihood of breach
Why the difference matters: An organization can score well on maturity benchmarks while still having exploitable identity attack paths.
Side-by-side comparison
| Category | Microsoft Zero Trust Assessment | Semperis Entra ID Security Assessment |
| Primary Focus | Enterprise Zero Trust maturity across five pillars | In-depth identity security risk analysis within Entra ID |
| Scope | Identity, Devices, Apps, Infrastructure, Data | Identity-only exhaustive Entra ID configuration and exposure review |
| Assessment Type | Strategic maturity scoring | Technical security evaluation plus attack surface analysis |
| Operational Security Review | Not included | Structured operational survey with Identity & Security teams covering governance, monitoring, PIM, lifecycle, logging, and response |
| Attack Path Analysis | Not included | Identifies privilege escalation chains and lateral movement paths |
| Privilege Exposure Mapping | High-level visibility | Enumerates Tier 0 Admin risk, standing privilege, and PIM gaps |
| Conditional Access Review | Maturity indicator | Policy-by-policy technical gap and bypass analysis |
| Legacy Authentication Exposure | Limited visibility | Enumerates users, apps, and risk severity |
| OAuth / App Permission Risk | Minimal insight | Application and delegated permission exposure scoring |
| Evidence Provided | Dashboard maturity scores | Detailed report with object-level evidence and configuration findings |
| Risk Prioritization | General recommendations | Ranked findings: Critical, High, Medium, Low |
| Outcome | Understand where you are | Reduce identity breach probability |
What the Microsoft security assessment tool provides
The Microsoft Zero Trust Assessment provides a baseline overview that includes:
- Zero Trust maturity scoring
- Strategic roadmap recommendations
- Broad enterprise security benchmarking
What the Semperis security assessment offers
Because the Semperis Entra ID Security Assessment is led by seasoned identity forensics and incident response (IFIR) experts who specialize in Entra ID, your assessment will address the specific technical and operational needs of your organization.
| Technical Exposure Analysis | Operational Security Survey |
| • Tier 0 escalation paths • Identification of bypasses in Conditional Access • Privileged users lacking phishing-resistant MFA • Exposure from legacy authentication • Excessive OAuth permissions • Stale or dormant privileged accounts | • PIM enforcement practices • Role governance and approval workflows • Conditional Access exception management • Monitoring and alert response procedures • Identity lifecycle controls • Break-glass account governance • Logging and retention review • Incident response readiness specific to Entra ID |
Deliverables: What do you receive from the Semperis Entra ID Security Assessment?
The reports and analyses you receive from Semperis are tailored to communicate effectively across stakeholders and roles.
| Executive Report | Technical Report | Attack Surface & Operational Output |
| • Identity risk posture summary • Top critical findings • Business impact explanation • Prioritized remediation | • Detailed configuration findings • Object-level references • Evidence artifacts | • Privileged role inventory • Conditional Access exception mapping • Legacy authentication metrics • OAuth permission analysis • PIM and standing privilege evaluation • Operational governance gap summary |
The bottom line: Align your security assessment with your business objectives
Zero Trust maturity measures how closely you follow a model. The Semperis assessment measures how exposed you are to identity-based attacks.
If your objective is to measure alignment to a Zero Trust framework, the Microsoft Zero Trust Assessment provides a strategic maturity benchmark.
If your objective is to understand how an attacker could compromise your Entra ID tenant today—and how to prevent it—the Semperis Entra ID Security Assessment delivers the technical and operational depth required to reduce real breach risk.
The difference is not scoring; it’s risk reduction.
If you are looking for expert guidance to help you remediate vulnerabilities that matter to your organization, contact our team. We’re here to help.
Related reading
