Why MFA Alone Isn't Enough: Enhancing Security with Microsoft Conditional Access

Shawn Akins • May 15, 2025
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Strengthening Your Security Posture with Dynamic Access Control

In today's digital landscape, securing sensitive information and systems is more critical than ever. While Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) has become a standard security measure, it might not be sufficient on its own to protect against sophisticated cyber threats. This is where Microsoft Conditional Access comes into play, offering a robust solution that enhances the effectiveness of MFA.

The Limitations of MFA

MFA requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource, adding an extra layer of security beyond just a password. However, despite its benefits, MFA has some limitations:

  1. User Experience: Implementing MFA can sometimes lead to negative user feedback due to the additional steps required for authentication. Users may find it cumbersome, leading to potential resistance and decreased productivity.
  2. Static Policies: Traditional MFA policies are often static and do not adapt to the changing risk landscape. This can result in either too many or too few authentication challenges, neither of which is ideal for maintaining security and usability.
  3. Legacy Protocols: Many organizations still use legacy authentication protocols that do not support MFA, leaving gaps in their security posture.

The Power of Microsoft Conditional Access

Microsoft Conditional Access addresses these limitations by providing a dynamic and flexible approach to access control. Here’s how it enhances the security provided by MFA:

  1. Contextual Access Decisions: Conditional Access analyzes signals such as user, device, location, and risk level to make real-time access decisions. This means that MFA challenges are only presented when necessary, reducing user friction while maintaining security.
  2. Granular Control: With Conditional Access, organizations can create policies that are tailored to specific scenarios. For example, access can be restricted based on the user's location or the type of device they are using. This granular control ensures that only legitimate users can access sensitive resources.
  3. Blocking Legacy Protocols: Conditional Access policies can be configured to block legacy authentication protocols, ensuring that all access attempts are subject to modern security measures.
  4. Compliance and Reporting: Conditional Access provides detailed reporting and monitoring capabilities, helping organizations meet compliance requirements and gain insights into their security posture.

Implementing Conditional Access with Azure AD

At Akins IT, we have successfully implemented Azure AD MFA with Conditional Access for various clients, enhancing their security while minimizing user disruption. Here’s a brief overview of our approach:

  1. Discovery and Planning: We start by reviewing the existing environment and documentation to ensure compatibility and identify any potential issues.
  2. Policy Creation: We create Azure AD groups for MFA and define Conditional Access policies tailored to the client's needs. This includes setting up policies to block legacy protocols and defining user session lifetimes.
  3. Pilot Testing: Before full deployment, we conduct pilot tests with a select group of users to validate the policies and gather feedback.
  4. Deployment and Support: We deploy the policies across the organization in a staggered approach, providing instructions and support to ensure a smooth transition. Post-deployment, we offer ongoing support and monitoring to address any issues that arise.

Conclusion

While MFA is a crucial component of modern security strategies, it is not a silver bullet. By leveraging Microsoft Conditional Access, organizations can enhance the effectiveness of MFA, providing a more secure and user-friendly authentication experience. At Akins IT, we are committed to helping our clients implement these advanced security measures to protect their valuable assets.

For more information on how we can help your organization implement Azure AD MFA with Conditional Access, please contact us at Akins IT.


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AWS stumbled this morning. Here’s why multi‑cloud keeps you moving.

By Shawn Akins • October 20, 2025
October 20, 2025 — Early today, Amazon Web Services experienced a major incident centered in its US‑EAST‑1 (N. Virginia) region. AWS reports the event began around 12:11 a.m. PT and tied back to DNS resolution affecting DynamoDB , with mitigation within a couple of hours and recovery continuing thereafter. As the outage rippled, popular services like Snapchat, Venmo, Ring, Roblox, Fortnite , and even some Amazon properties saw disruptions before recovering. If your apps or data are anchored to a single cloud, a morning like this can turn into a help‑desk fire drill. A multi‑cloud or cloud‑smart approach helps you ride through these moments with minimal end‑user impact. What happened (and why it matters) Single‑region fragility: US‑EAST‑1 is massive—and when it sneezes, the internet catches a cold. Incidents here have a history of wide blast radius. Shared dependencies: DNS issues to core services (like DynamoDB endpoints) can cascade across workloads that never directly “touch” that service. Multi‑cloud: practical resilience, not buzzwords For mid‑sized orgs, schools, and local government, multi‑cloud doesn’t have to mean “every app in every cloud.” It means thoughtful redundancy where it counts : Multi‑region or multi‑provider failover for critical apps Run active/standby across AWS and Azure (or another provider), or at least across two AWS regions with automated failover. Start with citizen‑facing portals, SIS/LMS access, emergency comms, and payment gateways. Portable platforms Use Kubernetes and containers, keep state externalized, and standardize infra with Terraform/Ansible so you can redeploy fast when a region (or a provider) wobbles. (Today’s DNS hiccup is exactly the kind of scenario this protects against.) Resilient data layers Replicate data asynchronously across clouds/regions; choose databases with cross‑region failover and test RPO/RTO quarterly. If you rely on a managed database tied to one region, design an escape hatch. Traffic and identity that float Use global traffic managers/DNS to shift users automatically; keep identity (MFA/SSO) highly available and not hard‑wired to a single provider’s control plane. Run the playbook Document health checks, automated cutover, and comms templates. Then practice —tabletops and live failovers. Many services today recovered within hours, but only teams with rehearsed playbooks avoided user‑visible downtime. The bottom line Cloud concentration risk is real. Outages will happen—what matters is whether your constituents, students, and staff feel it. A pragmatic multi‑cloud stance limits the blast radius and keeps your mission‑critical services online when one provider has a bad day. Need a resilience check? Akins IT can help you prioritize which systems should be multi‑cloud, design the right level of redundancy, and validate your failover plan—without overspending. Let’s start with a quick, 30‑minute review of your most critical services and RPO/RTO targets. (No slideware, just actionable next steps.)

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