Keeping your Microsoft 365 environment secure is essential for organizations of all sizes. One powerful strategy is to use a Conditional Access GeoPolicy, which lets you control sign-ins based on a user’s location—helping to block suspicious or risky attempts from outside approved countries.
What Is a Conditional Access GeoPolicy?
A Conditional Access GeoPolicy uses Microsoft Entra (formerly Azure Active Directory) to allow or deny access to Office 365 and other cloud apps based on where a user is signing in from. For businesses with remote teams or global operations, this can prevent unauthorized logins from countries where you don’t operate—dramatically improving Microsoft 365 Security Management and compliance.
Step-by-Step: Setting Up a Country-Based Conditional Access Policy
- Sign in to the Microsoft Entra admin center as a Conditional Access Administrator.
- Go to Protection > Conditional Access > Policies.
- Click New policy. Give your policy a meaningful name (such as “Block O365 Access: Non-Canada”).
- Under Assignments:
- Select Users or workload identities.
- Under Include, pick All users.
- Under Exclude, select Users and groups—then choose your emergency or break-glass accounts so they’re always accessible.
- In Target resources > Cloud apps > Include, select All cloud apps. This will apply the policy across your Microsoft 365 suite.
- Navigate to Network and set Configure to Yes.
- Under Include, choose Selected networks and locations. Here, select the location (e.g., “Block: All countries except Canada”) you set up for your organization.
- After selecting your location, click Select.
- Under Access controls, choose Block Access and then Select to apply.
- Double-check your settings and initially set Enable policy to Report-only. This lets IT teams test the policy impacts without interrupting users.
- Click Create to save the policy.
- Once you’re confident the settings work as expected in report-only mode, switch to On to enforce it.
Why Conditional Access GeoPolicies Matter
GeoPolicies are a cornerstone of Cloud Security Services in Canada. They let you preemptively block unauthorized access—even if a user’s password is compromised—by preventing sign-ins from outside permitted countries. This is especially important for protection against phishing, credential theft, and brute-force attacks.
Want even more robust protection? Consider combining GeoPolicies with other safety measures such as:
- Backup Services (Server & Microsoft 365) to ensure your data is safe from ransom or deletion.
- Business Continuity Services for disaster preparedness.
- Network & Security Appliance Support for end-to-end threat monitoring.
Get Expert Help with Microsoft 365 Security
Securing your business technology doesn’t have to be complicated. System Support has over 15 years of experience helping Canadian companies set up effective, worry-free IT solutions—including Conditional Access GeoPolicies, managed cybersecurity, and more. Contact us today for a free quote and let our friendly experts help lock down your Microsoft 365 environment with proven, real-world practices.
