If you are new to the security world, it is fair to ask yourself, “Isn’t access to data and systems always conditional? Isn’t it always granted to someone who has access to the credentials (ID and password)?” True enough, but in totality, the approach to managing access encompasses a broader spectrum of privacy policies. These policies include a mix of different strategies that can be applied based on an organization’s security vulnerabilities.

Conditional access is one such security management practice that many companies have opted for. The shift to smart mobile devices and cloud has made it necessary to ensure conditional access. Further, this has become imperative, as remote working is here to stay. With several companies making announcements about permanent work-from-home policies, a zero-trust model of conditional access has become crucial. IT security teams must be prepared to both validate and verify devices and users with a set of automated policies.

IT teams could easily monitor incoming IP addresses as the first step for identifying credentials. However, growing use of VPNs coupled within a remote working environment is making that impossible, thus rendering organizations more vulnerable to threats. Therefore, to ensure secure remote work, a different strategy is required.

Provided below are a few insights that your organization can use to set up conditional access.

Key Considerations for Conditional access

IT department can focus on and incorporate several key considerations into their existing security checks to build a strong and resilient security system. These include:

  • Verified user identities
  • Usage of trusted devices
  • Allowing access to users on an approved network

Together, these elements form conditional access. As a practical example of how this works, Microsoft’s conditional access policies enable an organization to examine various sources and factors while deciding whether to give a user access to a (Read more...)