Microsoft Purview · Insider Risk Management

Insider Risk Management Admins

Configure IRM policies, settings, integrations, and Adaptive Protection without access to investigate individual cases.

Scope: Configuration and policy management only - no access to individual cases or user alerts

Permissions

  • Policy Creation - Create and configure insider risk policies
  • Indicators - Manage policy indicators and scoring thresholds
  • Global Settings - Configure global settings and integrations
  • Adaptive Protection - Configure Adaptive Protection and insider risk levels
  • Evidence Requests - Create forensic evidence capturing requests
  • Analytics - Access analytics insights and reports
  • Reports - View alert and case reports
  • Priority Users - Manage priority user groups and exclusions
  • Reporting Settings - Configure analytics and reporting settings
  • Integration - Set up integration with DLP and Conditional Access
  • Alert Customization - Configure inline alert customization settings

Common use cases

  • Security engineers implementing insider risk policies
  • Compliance administrators configuring detection settings
  • IT administrators managing integrations and connectors
  • Policy owners who define but do not investigate violations
  • Configuring Adaptive Protection for DLP and Conditional Access
  • Setting up policy templates for data theft and security violations

Best practices

  • Separate policy configuration from investigation duties
  • Test policies in audit mode before enabling enforcement
  • Use this role for technical staff who configure but don't investigate
  • Document all policy changes with business justification
  • Review and update policies quarterly based on threat landscape
  • Configure Adaptive Protection to dynamically assign DLP policies
  • Ensure forensic evidence capturing requires dual authorization
  • Use policy templates (data theft, risky AI, browser usage) as starting points

Security considerations

  • Cannot view individual alerts or cases - maintains privacy boundaries
  • Can configure policies that affect entire organization
  • Adaptive Protection configuration impacts DLP and Conditional Access
  • Forensic evidence settings require careful legal and privacy review
  • Should coordinate with legal before enabling intrusive monitoring

Common questions

When should I assign the Insider Risk Management Admins role?

Assign Insider Risk Management Admins when you need to: Security engineers implementing insider risk policies; Compliance administrators configuring detection settings; IT administrators managing integrations and connectors; Policy owners who define but do not investigate violations; and Configuring Adaptive Protection for DLP and Conditional Access. It is part of Microsoft Purview and should be granted as a least-privilege alternative to broader roles like Global Administrator.

What can someone with the Insider Risk Management Admins role do?

The Insider Risk Management Admins role grants permissions including: Policy Creation - Create and configure insider risk policies; Indicators - Manage policy indicators and scoring thresholds; Global Settings - Configure global settings and integrations; Adaptive Protection - Configure Adaptive Protection and insider risk levels; Evidence Requests - Create forensic evidence capturing requests; and Analytics - Access analytics insights and reports. See the Permissions section above for the full list.

What are the security risks of the Insider Risk Management Admins role?

Key considerations when assigning Insider Risk Management Admins: Cannot view individual alerts or cases - maintains privacy boundaries; Can configure policies that affect entire organization; Adaptive Protection configuration impacts DLP and Conditional Access; and Forensic evidence settings require careful legal and privacy review. Review the Security considerations section before assignment, and pair with Privileged Identity Management (PIM) for just-in-time access where possible.

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