AZ-500 Microsoft Azure Security Technologies Exam

Design and Configure Conditional Access Policies

Conditional Access in Azure is a way to control who can reach cloud resources and under what circumstances. These policies use identity and device signals to make decisions, ensuring only authorized users and devices gain entry. By setting clear rules for assignments, conditions, and access controls, organizations can protect sensitive data while keeping access smooth for legitimate users.

Assignments determine who and what a policy applies to. Administrators can include or exclude:

• Users and groups, such as specific departments or roles
• Directory roles or workload identities that need special handling
• Cloud applications to specify which services are covered
• Network locations to identify trusted IP ranges or geographic regions

Conditions shape the context for policy evaluation. Typical conditions include:

• Sign-in risk, which analyzes if a login looks suspicious
• Device platforms, targeting specific operating systems like Windows or iOS
• Client apps, to control access from browsers, mobile clients, or legacy protocols
• Filter for devices, narrowing policies to particular device attributes

Access controls dictate how policies enforce security. You can:

• Grant access with requirements such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), compliant devices, or accepted terms of use
• Block access altogether when criteria are not met, but use this judiciously to avoid business disruptions
• Require session controls, like limiting the duration of access or monitoring user sessions for risk patterns

Implementing Conditional Access policies brings its own challenges. Multiple policies may overlap, requiring all conditions to be satisfied before access is allowed. To avoid unintended blocks, it’s wise to use report-only mode first, which logs the impact of a policy without enforcing it. This approach helps administrators fine-tune settings and minimize disruptions before full rollout.

Conclusion

In this section, we explored how Conditional Access policies use assignments, conditions, and access controls to secure cloud resources in Azure. We saw that assignments target specific users, groups, applications, and network locations, while conditions check factors like sign-in risk and device type. Access controls then enforce requirements like MFA or device compliance. Finally, we covered implementation best practices such as testing policies in report-only mode to ensure a smooth deployment.