Connect to Security and Compliance PowerShell with Connect-IPPSSession

To connect to Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview compliance portal with PowerShell, you need to use the Connect-IPPSSession cmdlet in Exchange Online. In this article, you will learn how to connect to the Security and Compliance center with the Connect-IPPSSession PowerShell cmdlet.

How to connect to Security & Compliance PowerShell

Go through the below steps that are required to run the Connect-IPPSSession PowerShell cmdlet.

1. Install Exchange Online Management module

Before you start, you need to Install Exchange Online PowerShell module.

You can install Exchange Online Management modules with:

1. PowerShellGet
2. PSResourceGet

Method 1. Use PowerShellGet

Run the below PowerShell command to install the Exchange Online Management module.

Install-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement -Force

Method 2. Use Microsoft PowerShell PSResourceGet

Run the Install-PSResource cmdlet to install the Exchange Online Management module.

Install-PSResource -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement -Force

2. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell

To run the PowerShell commands, you must Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell.

Start Windows PowerShell as administrator and run the Connect-ExchangeOnline cmdlet.

Connect-ExchangeOnline

Sign in with your admin credentials with or without MFA enabled.

The PowerShell output shows the below after you sign in successfully.

This V3 EXO PowerShell module contains new REST API backed Exchange Online cmdlets which doesn't require WinRM for Client-Server communication. You can now run these cmdlets after turning off WinRM Basic Auth in your client machine thus making it more secure. 

Unlike the EXO* prefixed cmdlets, the cmdlets in this module support full functional parity with the RPS (V1) cmdlets.

V3 cmdlets in the downloaded module are resilient to transient failures, handling retries and throttling errors inherently. 

REST backed EOP and SCC cmdlets are also available in the V3 module. Similar to EXO, the cmdlets can be run without WinRM basic auth enabled. 

For more information check https://aka.ms/exov3-module

3. Connect to Security & Compliance PowerShell

Then you need to connect again and run the Connect-IPPSSession PowerShell cmdlet.

Connect-IPPSSession

Sign in with your admin credentials with or without MFA enabled.

The PowerShell output shows the below result.

We have made updates to move the SCC admin experience to REST-based APIs. In doing so, we will be deprecating the legacy Remote PowerShell (RPS) protocol starting July 15, 2023.

Benefits of REST-based cmdlets: improved security, WinRM no longer required for client-server communication, improved error handling.

The REST API has the same cmdlets available and feature parity with RPS(V1) cmdlets, so existing scripts and processes don't need to be updated. Simply using the new module will ensure REST is used rather than RPS.

For more information, go to https://aka.ms/exov3-module

Now, you are connected to the Security and Compliance PowerShell.

Connect-IPPSSession cmdlet error

To connect to the Security and Compliance center with Connect-IPPSSession using REST API, you need the version EXO 3.2.0 and later.

If you don’t have Exchange Online Management module 3.2.0 or later, you will get the below warning when running the Connect-IPPSSession cmdlet.

When you run the below cmdlet, you will get an error.

New-ComplianceSearch -Name "Test Mailbox" -ExchangeLocation "Amanda.Hansen@m365info.com"

How to fix Connect-IPPSSession cmdlet error

To fix the Connect-IPPSSession error in PowerShell, follow the below steps.

Check Exchange Online Management module version

There are two methods to check which EXO version you installed, depending on how you installed Exchange Online Management.

Method 1: Use Get-module

To check if you have the latest EXO module, run the Get-Module PowerShell cmdlet.

Get-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement | Format-Table -Property Name, Version, ModuleType

The PowerShell output shows the version of the ExchangeOnlineManagement module.

Name                     Version ModuleType
----                     ------- ----------
ExchangeOnlineManagement 3.4.0       Script

Method 2: Use Get-InstalledPSResource

To check if you have the latest EXO module, run the Get-InstalledPSResource PowerShell cmdlet.

Get-InstalledPSResource -Scope AllUsers

It shows a list of the ExchangeOnlineManagement and other modules you have installed.

Name                     Version Prerelease Repository Description
----                     ------- ---------- ---------- -----------
ExchangeOnlineManagement 3.4.0              PSGallery  This is a General Availability (GA) release of the Exchange Online Powershell V3 module.
Microsoft.Graph          2.12.0             PSGallery  Microsoft Graph PowerShell module

Update Exchange Online Management module

If you already installed the Exchange Online module, you only need to update it. Always update the latest Exchange Online Management module to run the Connect-IPPSSession cmdlet.

There are two methods to update the Exchange Online Management module, depending on how you installed it.

Method 1: Use PowerShellGet

To update the Exchange Online module to the latest version run the below PowerShell command.

Update-Module -Name ExchangeOnlineManagement -Force

Method 2: Use Microsoft PowerShell PSResource

Run the below PowerShell command to update to the latest version of the Exchange Online module.

Install-PSResource ExchangeOnlineManagement -Reinstall -Scope AllUsers -TrustRepository

That’s it!

Read more: Install Microsoft Graph PowerShell module»

Conclusion

You learned how to use the Connect-IPPSSession cmdlet in Exchange Online PowerShell. You must install and update the latest Exchange Online Management module version in PowerShell. Otherwise, you will get an error when you run the Connect-IPPSSession cmdlet.

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