Risk-based conditional access
Conditional Access in Microsoft Entra ID uses signals from various sources—including IP location, device compliance status, and real-time risk detection—to evaluate access requests and enforce organizational policies. Based on these signals, the system can grant or deny access or require additional verification steps to ensure that only authorized users under appropriate conditions can access sensitive resources.
Define access criteria
Conditional Access policies operate as logical if-then statements. For example, if a user attempts to access a resource such as Microsoft 365, then they—or the device they are using—must meet specific, pre-defined criteria, such as completing multifactor authentication (MFA), using a compliant device, or accessing from a trusted location.
Administrators can configure these policies manually or use predefined templates available in the Microsoft Entra admin center. Policies can also be created programmatically using the Microsoft Graph API.
Tightly control permissions
Privileged Identity Management (PIM) enables time-bound and approval-based role activation to reduce the risks associated with excessive or unnecessary access to sensitive resources.
Using Entra ID, administrators can restrict persistent administrative access, identify users with privileged roles, and conduct access reviews. These capabilities help safeguard organizational data from unauthorized access.
Unified management
Microsoft Entra ID provides a centralized admin interface for managing identity and network access across multicloud environments. This unified management experience allows IT teams to oversee access controls efficiently, improving both security posture and operational productivity.