Continuous Access Evaluation (CAE) is a feature embedded in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) that offers real-time authorization. As an SC-300 Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator Exam topic, it’s crucial to understand how to effectively implement CAE in your organization. This examines not only how CAE can boost your organization’s security but also explores the steps needed to enable this feature.
Continuous Access Evaluation Basics
Normally, security tokens issued by Azure AD have a lifetime of about 1 hour. Once the token has been granted, Azure AD does not re-evaluate the token until it’s refreshed. However, with CAE, certain events trigger re-evaluation of the user’s sessions before the security token expires.
This means that CAE provides real-time access control, significantly reducing the time window for an attacker to exploit a granted access token.
CAE Triggers
Understanding the events that trigger CAE is crucial for proper implementation. Here are common triggers:
- User account deletion or disabling.
- Password reset.
- Administrator enforced user sign out.
- Granting or revoking a role from a user.
- MFA registration information changes.
Configure CAE
To configure and enable CAE, follow the steps below:
- Sign into the Azure AD admin center.
- Go to ‘Azure Active Directory’, then to ‘Security’.
- Click on ‘Conditional Access’.
- Click on ‘Continuous access evaluation’ and configure per your organization’s preferences, enabling ‘Continuous access evaluation’.
CAE Client Applications
Currently, the following client applications support CAE:
- Microsoft Teams
- Microsoft Exchange Online
- SharePoint Online
- OneDrive
Benefits of CAE
Implementing CAE into your organization provides numerous benefits. The most significant advantage is tightening your security by ensuring that access control decisions are made in real-time, reducing your risk against certain attacks. In addition, by re-evaluating a token continuously, CAE makes sure that changes in the state of the user are promptly reflected in their access to resources.
Moreover, the impact on end-user experiences is minimal. When a session is found to be out of compliance due to changes in user state and an access re-evaluation happens, the user is only forced to sign-out if the session is deleted.
In conclusion, by implementing continuous access evaluation, you will bolster your organization’s security posture without degrading the end-user experience. As a prospective SC-300 Microsoft Identity and Access Administrator, understanding how to setup and manage CAE is an essential skill, as it meets ever-increasing security demands in today’s digital world.
Practice Test
True or False: Continuous access evaluation (CAE) in Microsoft Azure allows for dynamic access decisions when accessing a resource.
- Answer: True
Explanation: The CAE feature provides real-time access control decisions based on changes to user or device status, making it a fundamental element of access management in Azure.
What does Continuous Access Evaluation in Azure AD primarily monitor?
- a) User attributes
- b) Device attributes
- c) Session risk
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Continuous Access Evaluation in Azure keeps a watch on user attributes, device attributes, and session risk to make pinpoint dynamic access decisions.
True or False: Continuous Access Evaluation in Azure AD is disabled by default.
- Answer: False
Explanation: CAE in Azure AD is enabled by default. You can adjust settings as per the specifications of your organization.
Which Azure AD roles does continuous access evaluation currently support?
- a) User
- b) Global administrator
- c) Security administrator
- d) All of the above
Answer: b) Global administrator
Explanation: As of now, continuous access evaluation supports the global administrator role.
True or False: CAE maintains and evaluates access based on the initial token issued.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Unlike traditional access evaluation where access is based on the initial token issued at sign-in, CAE pushes changes in real-time to open sessions when conditions change.
Continuous Access Evaluation supports which of the following token types?
- a) Access tokens
- b) Refresh tokens
- c) Bearer tokens
- d) All of the above
Answer: a) Access tokens
Explanation: Currently, CAE supports only access tokens.
True or False: You can configure policies to initiate continuous access evaluations.
- Answer: True
Explanation: You can configure policies that define conditions for continuous access evaluations and to determine when they should be initiated.
Which of the following can trigger a re-evaluation of access in CAE?
- a) User password change
- b) User account deletion
- c) Elevated risk detection
- d) All of the above
Answer: d) All of the above
Explanation: Any changes like a user password change, account deletion or elevated risk detection, can trigger a re-evaluation of access in CAE.
True or False: Continuous Access Evaluation in Azure AD is for users’ sessions only.
- Answer: False
Explanation: Besides monitoring user sessions, CAE also incorporates real-time evaluations for service principals.
Which API is not supported by Continuous Access Evaluation in Azure AD to perform real-time and continuous session evaluations?
- a) Microsoft Graph API
- b) OpenID Connect protocol
- c) OAuth 0 protocol
- d) REST API
Answer: d) REST API
Explanation: The REST API is not supported by CAE in Azure AD for continuous session evaluations; it supports Microsoft Graph API, OpenID Connect and OAuth 0 protocols.
Interview Questions
What is Continuous Access Evaluation (CAE) in Microsoft Azure AD?
Continuous Access Evaluation (CAE) is a feature of Microsoft Azure Active Directory, which enhances security by reducing the latency of access token validation. This means that changes in user attributes and permissions are propagated in real-time, ensuring that any changes are immediately enforced.
How does Continuous Access Evaluation help to improve security in Microsoft Azure?
Continuous Access Evaluation improves security by reducing the time of detection and response to a potential security risk. With CAE, critical changes in user state are quickly detected and thereby access to resources is immediately revoked.
Can CAE be scoped to specific sets of users?
Yes, Continuous Access Evaluation can be scoped to specific sets of users, allowing organizations to tailor their access policies to individuals or groups based on their role, department, or any other attribute.
What type of changes triggers Continuous Access Evaluation?
Certain changes, such as a user’s password being updated, an admin revoking a session, or updates to a user’s role or security group, trigger Continuous Access Evaluation.
What Microsoft 365 subscriptions support Continuous Access Evaluation?
Continuous Access Evaluation is available in Microsoft 365 E5, Office 365 E5, A5, and EMS E5 subscriptions.
How do you enable Continuous Access Evaluation in Azure AD?
Continuous Access Evaluation can be enabled in Azure AD via PowerShell commands. Executing certain PowerShell cmdlets allows you to customize and enable CAE.
How are legacy applications affected by Continuous Access Evaluation?
Legacy applications without CAE support may not respect real-time access changes and may continue to provide access until the access token they use has expired.
Is Continuous Access Evaluation Azure AD feature enabled by default?
No, Continuous Access Evaluation is not enabled by default and must be manually configured.
Does Continuous Access Evaluation affect all tokens equally?
No, Continuous Access Evaluation primarily impacts access tokens. Refresh tokens can still be valid even if change events occur, as long as they haven’t expired.
When should organizations use Continuous Access Evaluation?
Organizations should use Continuous Access Evaluation when they have sensitive data or operations where they require immediate intervention upon detection of a potential security risk.
Does utilizing CAE cause Azure AD to frequently request token renewal?
Yes, with the use of the CAE, Azure AD forces clients and applications to renew their tokens frequently ensuring that they always have the most updated permissions.
Can CAE be used along with other Microsoft Azure AD security features?
Yes, CAE can function alongside other Microsoft Azure AD security features like Conditional Access and Multi-Factor Authentication.
What role does the Azure portal play in implementing Continuous Access Evaluation?
The Azure portal serves as the central interface for implementing and managing Continuous Access Evaluation. It can be used for enabling CAE, establishing policies, and monitoring its operation.
Can non-administrator users benefit from CAE?
Yes, CAE is beneficial for all user types. With CAE, any crucial changes in the user state are immediately signaled, resulting in users having only the access that they should have.
How does Continuous Access Evaluation benefit applications?
Applications benefit from CAE by receiving real-time updates on policy changes. This reduces their exposure to risk, as they can immediately respond to any changes that could potentially compromise security.
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