Protect Your Business Using Conditional Access

Conditional access doesn’t have to be tricky. Think of it as using two forms of government-issued identification to prove you are who you say you are. That’s easy enough, right?

Picture this, it’s Friday evening, and you’ve just settled into your hotel room in downtown New York City, but you aren’t ready to settle into bed yet. You venture out of your room, and just as you close the door, you realize you’ve left your wallet inside. It’s not a great start to the evening, but we’ve all been there. You venture down to the hotel lobby to alert them of your mistake, and they ask for a form of ID to prove you are who you say you are. Without your wallet, this is a tad tricky, but thankfully, you’ve got your phone on you with a photo of your passport and driver’s license. Since you don’t have the physical copy, they require two forms of ID to let you back into your room.

This is the concept of conditional access. Your room access is conditional on you proving you are who you say you are by showing your government-issued ID. Since you don’t have a physical copy to show them, they require two forms of ID. Since you didn’t have your passport or ID on you, you were able to use a digital version, a trusted source. However, without the physical copy, two forms of ID were required, a sort of insurance that you truly are who you say you are.

Much like using two-factor authentication to log in to your email, phone, or work computer, the second form of ID was requested as extra assurance. If you had a physical copy of the document, perhaps a second form of ID would not have been necessary. When you log in to your work computer from a trusted location, such as the office, your password alone will suffice. However, when you try to access your work documents from the local coffee shop on an unprotected, unencrypted wi-fi network with no Antivirus protection, you may have to use two-factor authentication (MFA) to log in or answer a lengthier series of questions. This not onlyprotects you from having your password stolen, but it protects your colleagues and customers by not leaving sensitive data behind.

Conditional Access gives businesses the granular control to check different facets of a user’s logon attempt. One company may want to restrict users from accessing corporate email on a personal computer. Another organization may require multi-factor authentication (MFA) to access company resources from outside the office. No matter your security requirements, Conditional Access can help protect your organization.

How Tech Experts Can Help

At Tech Experts we work with our clients to define these scenarios, enforce restrictions and protect firm data while also not causing inconvenience for the users. Creating a safe and usable environment for your business is one of our top priorities. Tech Experts is a full-service information technology consulting partner that helps businesses meet their objectives using strategic technology components and services. We measure our success in how well we achieve their business objectives. Client interactions are one-on-one personalized service with a familiar face. No help desk tickets, no rotating technicians, just real people. Schedule a 15 minute one-on-one to see how we can help.