As organizations strive to stay ahead of evolving cyber threats, Microsoft has introduced Microsoft-managed Conditional Access policies—a powerful way to enforce security best practices with minimal administrative overhead.
These policies are pre-configured by Microsoft and designed to protect your environment by enforcing controls like blocking legacy authentication, requiring MFA, and preventing risky sign-ins. They are initially deployed in Report-only mode, allowing you to evaluate their impact before enforcement.
📌 But here’s the catch: these policies can automatically switch from Report-only to On—without manual intervention.
What Are Microsoft-Managed Conditional Access Policies?
Microsoft-managed policies are predefined Conditional Access rules that Microsoft rolls out to tenants to improve baseline security. You can find them in
Protection > Conditional Access > Policies
These policies are:
- Immutable: You can’t rename or delete them.
- Customizable: You can exclude users or groups.
- Monitored: Initially set to Report-only so you can assess their impact.
⚠️ Automatic Activation: What You Should Watch For
Microsoft may automatically enable these policies 45–90 days after introduction. You’ll typically receive a Message Center notification at least 28 days in advance.
For example, the policy “Block device code flow” was recently flipped from Report-only to Enabled—automatically.
Audit log showing Microsoft-managed policy change
As shown above, the audit log clearly indicates that the change was made by Microsoft Managed Policy Manager, not a human admin.
You can verify this in the
- Activity:
Update conditional access policy - Service:
Conditional Access
Examples of Microsoft-Managed Policies
| Policy Name | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Block legacy authentication | Prevents insecure protocols like POP/IMAP |
| Block device code flow | Blocks device code flow used in some OAuth scenarios |
| MFA for admins accessing Microsoft Admin portals | Adds MFA for privileged access |
| MFA for all users | Enforces MFA tenant-wide |
| MFA for per-user MFA users | Applies MFA to users with legacy per-user MFA |
| MFA and reauthentication for risky sign-ins | Adds extra verification for risky logins |
Read more in the
official Microsoft documentationBest Practices
- Monitor audit logs regularly to track automatic changes.
- Exclude break-glass accounts from these policies.
- Duplicate policies if you need more control or customization.
- Set alerts for policy changes using
Loginal ThoughtsMicrosoft-managed Conditional Access policies are a great way to harden your security posture with minimal effort. But it’s crucial to stay aware of automatic changes and review audit logs to ensure you’re not caught off guard.
Want help setting up alerts or customizing these policies? Let’s dive in together.
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