Reviewing and Testing Microsoft Entra Conditional Access Policies

  • 4 minutes to read

Overview

This training document provides guidance for organizations aiming to achieve compliance with CMMC 2.0 and NIST 800-171 r2 by reviewing, testing, and configuring Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure AD) Conditional Access Policies. These policies are essential for implementing access controls to safeguard Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI).

Objectives

  • Gain an understanding of Conditional Access Policies in Microsoft Entra.
  • Learn to review existing policies for compliance.
  • Test and validate policies using Report-Only mode.
  • Ensure alignment with CMMC 2.0 and NIST 800-171 standards.

Prerequisites

  • Administrator access to the Microsoft Entra portal.
  • Familiarity with your organization’s compliance requirements.
  • A working knowledge of NIST 800-171 and CMMC 2.0 frameworks.

Section 1: Reviewing Conditional Access Policies

Accessing Conditional Access Policies

  1. Log in to the Microsoft Entra Admin Center (GCC: https://entra.microsoft.com/ GCCH: https://entra.microsoft.us).
  2. Navigate to Security > Conditional Access.
  3. Under the Policies tab, review the list of existing policies.

Key Elements to Review

  • Policy Purpose: Verify that each policy has a clear and specific objective (e.g., enforcing MFA, blocking legacy authentication).
  • Assignments:
    • Users and Groups: Ensure the correct users, groups, or roles are targeted.
    • Cloud Apps or Actions: Confirm that applications handling CUI are covered.
    • Conditions: Check configurations like device platforms, locations, and sign-in risk levels to meet compliance requirements.
  • Access Controls:
    • Confirm the use of “Grant” or “Block” controls to enforce policy goals.
    • Ensure MFA is required for sensitive actions.
  • Policy State: Review whether policies are enabled, disabled, or in Report-Only mode.

Compliance Considerations

  • Enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users accessing CUI.
  • Restrict access to trusted devices and locations.
  • Disable legacy authentication protocols lacking modern security features.

Section 2: Testing Conditional Access Policies Using Report-Only Mode

What is Report-Only Mode?

Report-Only mode allows you to test Conditional Access Policies without enforcing them. This mode generates logs that help you evaluate a policy’s impact without affecting users.

Enabling Report-Only Mode

  1. In the Conditional Access policy list, select an existing policy or create a new one.
  2. Navigate to the Enable Policy setting.
  3. Select Report-Only and save the policy.

Testing Scenarios

  • Simulate Real-World Conditions: Test access using accounts under various conditions (e.g., untrusted devices or locations).
  • Review Sign-In Logs:
    1. Navigate to Monitoring > Sign-ins in the Microsoft Entra portal.
    2. Use filters to identify logs impacted by Report-Only policies.
    3. Analyze the Conditional Access tab in each sign-in log for policy evaluation results.

Metrics to Monitor

  • Policy Decisions: Confirm that policies behave as intended (e.g., granting or blocking access).
  • Sign-In Risks: Look for high or medium-risk sign-ins flagged by the policies.
  • Application Impact: Ensure critical applications are not inadvertently blocked.

Section 3: Implementing and Validating Policies

Moving from Report-Only to Enabled

  1. After testing, switch the policy state from Report-Only to On.
  2. Notify affected users and provide instructions for any new requirements (e.g., MFA setup).

Compliance Validation

  • Regularly audit Conditional Access Policies to ensure continued compliance.
  • Use Microsoft Entra’s Access Reviews to confirm user and group assignments remain appropriate.
  • Document all policy changes and testing outcomes as evidence for compliance assessments.

Best Practices

  • Use descriptive names for policies to clearly indicate their purpose.
  • Minimize the number of policies to reduce complexity and conflicts.
  • Monitor sign-in activity frequently and adjust policies based on findings.
  • Maintain break-glass accounts for emergency access, excluding them from restrictive policies.

Resources

Contact Information

For further assistance, contact your internal IT administrator or compliance officer.