microsoft-docs
Microsoft – Identity, NAC-Adjacent Controls & Zero Trust
This section lists official Microsoft documentation related to identity services, Conditional Access, Zero Trust, device posture signals, and RADIUS-adjacent controls. These resources provide authoritative guidance on how Microsoft’s platforms implement access policy evaluation, enforcement timing, and posture signals, all relevant when considering latency in network access control contexts.
Network Policy Server (NPS) & RADIUS
Microsoft does not publish a single monolithic NPS document, but the below links point to current documentation for Network Policy Server (RADIUS) and related configuration guidance.
Network Policy Server (NPS) overview — Overview of NPS, Microsoft’s RADIUS server implementation in Windows Server. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/nps/nps-top
Configure RADIUS clients for NPS — How to add and manage RADIUS clients in NPS. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/nps/nps-radius-clients-configure
Plan NPS as a RADIUS server or proxy — Planning guidance for deployment of NPS in both server and proxy roles. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/networking/technologies/nps/nps-plan-server
These pages describe how Microsoft’s implementation of RADIUS via NPS integrates into identity and access workflows. (Microsoft Learn)
Conditional Access & Identity Timing
Microsoft’s Conditional Access (part of Microsoft Entra ID) is central to Zero Trust policy enforcement timing and post-authentication access controls.
Conditional Access overview — What Conditional Access is and how it evaluates access requests based on identity signals. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access/overview
Conditional Access planning guide — Guidance on planning and structuring Conditional Access policies. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access/plan-conditional-access
Conditional Access documentation landing page — Full reference for Conditional Access content on Microsoft Learn. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access
Zero Trust & Network Segmentation
Microsoft’s Zero Trust guidance connects identity policy evaluation with broader network-centric security principles.
Zero Trust security in Azure — Foundational Zero Trust principles applied to identity and access in Azure. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/zero-trust
Zero Trust identity integration — How identity and access configurations support Zero Trust (part of Microsoft’s security stack and Conditional Access policies). https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/zero-trust/integrate/identity
Zero Trust identity and device access configurations — Identity/device access policy recommendations for implementing Zero Trust in Microsoft environments. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/zero-trust/zero-trust-identity-device-access-policies-overview
Defender & Posture Signals
Microsoft provides a variety of device risk and access evaluation signals that can influence access decisions — and in turn affect access timing, revalidation behavior, and overall policy enforcement.
These signals are often consumed by Conditional Access policies or endpoint compliance engines, and in some scenarios they are used to determine whether access should be allowed, blocked, or re-evaluated.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint overview — Enterprise endpoint security platform that provides threat detection, response, and device posture signals. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/defender-endpoint/overview-microsoft-defender-endpoint
Why this matters: Defender for Endpoint collects risk and threat data from devices. These signals are often used in Conditional Access policies to determine whether device compliance or device risk meets policy requirements.
Integrating Defender Signals with Intune and Conditional Access
Integrate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint with Intune — Shows how Defender reports device security posture, enabling integration with compliance and access policies. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/intune-service/protect/microsoft-defender-integrate
Why this matters:
Once Defender is integrated with Intune, device risk levels and posture reports can be included in Conditional Access decisions, impacting access timing and enforcement convergence.
Continuous Access Evaluation (CAE)
Continuous Access Evaluation in Microsoft Entra — Explains how CAE enables near-real-time policy reevaluation and token revocation based on critical identity and risk events. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access/concept-continuous-access-evaluation
Continuous Access Evaluation for workload identities — CAE support for application and workload tokens, enforcing Conditional Access policies in real time. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/conditional-access/concept-continuous-access-evaluation-workload
Why this matters:
CAE allows policy enforcement to react quickly to changing conditions (like account disablement or risk elevation) without waiting for token expiry, reducing windows of implicit trust.
Architectural Note
Microsoft’s identity and access platforms assume that:
Identity and policy evaluation happens centrally and in a timely manner
Risk signals from device posture engines (such as Defender for Endpoint) are part of the access logic
Conditional Access and CAE aim to enforce policy based on real-time signals rather than static token lifetimes
In latency-sensitive environments (e.g., cloud identity endpoints, Conditional Access evaluation), delays in risk signals or policy reevaluation may extend the window between authentication and enforcement — potentially increasing the time before access decisions are fully applied.
These documents describe how the logic is intended to work, not necessarily how it behaves under all latency conditions.
Last updated