Kickstart Conditional Access in Microsoft Entra: Free Starter Pack with Policies & Automation

Introduction

Conditional Access (CA) is the backbone of Zero Trust in Microsoft Entra ID. It helps you enforce security without compromising productivity. But rolling out CA can feel risky what if you lock out admins or break apps?

To make this easier, I’ve created a free starter pack with:

Ready-to-use policy templates (JSON)
PowerShell scripts for deployment via Microsoft Graph
GitHub Actions workflow for automation
Safe rollout strategy using report-only mode

Why This Matters

Block legacy authentication to reduce attack surface.
Require MFA for admins to protect privileged accounts.
Handle high-risk sign-ins with compliant device + MFA.
Validate impact before enforcing using report-only mode.

What’s Inside the Starter Pack

✔ Policies

Block legacy authentication
Require MFA for admin roles
High-risk sign-ins → compliant device + MFA
Safety-net report-only baseline

✔ Scripts

Deploy policies (deploy-conditional-access.ps1)
Export existing policies
Toggle report-only mode

✔ Automation

GitHub Actions workflow for CI/CD deployment

✔ Docs

Usage guide
Safe rollout checklist

How to Use It

Download the repo: GitHub Repo: https://github.com/soaeb7007/entra-ca-starter-pack
Install Microsoft Graph PowerShell SDK:

Install-Module Microsoft.Graph -Scope CurrentUser
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes 'Policy.ReadWrite.ConditionalAccess','Directory.Read.All'
Select-MgProfile -Name beta

Deploy policies in report-only mode:

./scripts/deploy-conditional-access.ps1 -PolicyPath ./policies -ReportOnly

Validate impact in Sign-in logs before enforcing.

Safe Rollout Checklist

Exclude break-glass accounts, Start with report-only, Validate for 48–72 hours, Roll out to pilot group before org-wide

Next Steps

Enable report-only mode for new policies.
Explore Conditional Access templates in Entra portal.
Watch for my next post: “Optimizing Conditional Access for Performance and Security.”

What’s your biggest challenge with Conditional Access?

Drop it in the comments, I’ll cover the top 3 in my next post.