How Many Conditional Access Policies Should Your Organization Actually Have? 

Do you know that conditional access policies are one of the most effective approaches to uplift an organization’s cybersecurity? Adopting conditional access policy best practices ensures that each of the employee gets the right and required security, lowering the chances of unauthorized access and compromise in account.  

But still a big confusion dwells here – how many policies to adopt? Simply creating more will not improve security, and having too few can support security gaps. The answer is in finding the right balance. 

Keep reading to explore how many conditional access policies your business should actually have.

Key Takeaways

• Too many conditional access policies can make it complex to follow the rules, and having too few creates various security gaps.
• According to industry data, most of the typical organizations maintain between 10 and 30 conditional access policies.
• Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and blocking unnecessary devices should be the core foundation of conditional access policies.

What Are Conditional Access Policies and Why Do They Matter?

Conditional access policies assess signals when someone tries to log in to judge whether they should be given access. The organization can figure out who is let in and who is turned away. This “if”, “Then” procedure helps prevent an organization from allowing those who don’t belong.

Is There an Ideal Number of Conditional Access Policies?

There is no set right or wrong number of policies, but most organizations put across 10 to 30 policies. When they are executed effectively, these policies are enough to secure the organization. Too many rules confuse things, and too few leave blanks.

The Hidden Problems of Having Too Few Policies

When directing conditional access policies, it’s tempting to create just a few policies and deem it good. However, there are issues that can come up when there are not enough policies in existence. They include:

• Device Leaks
• Geographic Bypasses
• Authentication Exploits
• Admin Risks

The Risks of Having Too Many Conditional Access Policies

On the other side, it’s not uncommon to have too many conditional access policies. Instead of boosting overall protection for your company, it can cause blocks, rare solutions, and more, such as:

• Uncertain Results
• Unexpected Blocks of Valid People
• Hidden Gaps
• Troubles for Administrators

What Determines the Right Number of Policies?

There’s no defined ideal or wrong number for conditional access policies. What’s right for one company may not work for another. Instead, see what works for you based on these crucial variables:

• Groups: Group your apps based on their individual access conditions instead of making a collective policy for everything.
• User Diversity: Require security settings for existing employees, district heads, third-party contractors, and others to get the right access solutions for each.
• Devices: In-house tools may be different from those in remote spaces.
• Risk Tolerance: Decide how much risk you are ready to take.
  

Core Conditional Access Policies Every Organization Should Consider

Not every business will need help creating conditional access policies if they have the core regulations in place. Which policies are the core? They include:

• MFA: If you enforce multi-factor authentication for every user through secure practices.
• Legacy Authentication Blocking: Older protocols should be proactively blocked as they are unsecured.
• Unmanaged Device Refusal: Unless a device is approved with your standards, it should be blocked, as it has not been dealt with, so it won’t put you at risk.
• User Risk Policies: If any threat signals arise as a user proceeds to sign in, take automatic password resets or block access completely.

Should You Combine Policies or Keep Them Separate?

The Washington Post points out errors that lead to major hacks in large companies. What you do or don’t do can improve your company or keep it open to such threats. When you bundle too many policies, it can make problems harder, and it also increases the risk of turning administrators out and laying off workers. It’s best to keep CA policies separate and flexible.

In conclusion 

At the end of the day, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for the right number of conditional access policies a business should have. To find the right number, it requires evaluating users, devices, applications and the strength to tolerate risks. 

Knowing this allows one to avoid the random creation of policies and focus on creating clear and easy-to-manage policies. A well-thought-out conditional access strategy not just improve security but also ensures employees feel frictionless while working. 

FAQs