Managing contractor access is harder than it should be.
You need to give access fast so work can start. But that often leads to shared passwords, rushed account setups, and logins that never get removed. Over time, those forgotten accounts turn into real security risks.
There is a better way.
With Microsoft Entra Conditional Access, you can grant precise access, enforce strong security, and revoke access automatically when work ends. No reminders. No cleanup. No risk left behind.
Best of all, you can set this up in about 60 minutes.
Contractors often need access to key systems. Email, files, collaboration tools, or cloud apps. But when access is handled manually, mistakes happen.
The biggest risk is forgotten accounts.
Inactive contractor accounts—often called ghost accounts—are a favorite target for attackers. No one is watching them, but they still work. Once compromised, attackers can move quietly inside your environment.
This is not theoretical.
In the well-known Target breach, attackers entered through a third-party vendor account with more access than it needed. From there, they moved across the network and exposed millions of records.
The lesson is simple:
Access must be limited, monitored, and removed automatically.
Security is only part of the story. Automated access also supports compliance.
Regulations like HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2 expect you to control who has access—and for how long. Relying on memory or manual checklists is not defensible during an audit.
Microsoft Entra Conditional Access helps you:
Enforce least privilege
Remove access immediately when contracts end
Reduce your overall attack surface
Show consistent, repeatable controls to auditors
Automation turns a risky manual task into a reliable system.
Start with organization.
In the Microsoft Entra admin center, create a new security group. Use a clear name like:
External-Contractors
Temporary-Access
Vendors-Limited
This group becomes your control point.
When a contractor starts, you add them to the group.
When work ends, you remove them.
Everything else flows from this step.
Now let Conditional Access do the work.
Create a new Conditional Access policy and assign it to your contractor group.
Key settings to apply:
Require Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
This blocks most credential-based attacks.
Set a sign-in frequency
For example, 90 days or the length of the contract.
Once a contractor is removed from the group, they cannot sign in again. Active sessions end. Access stops immediately.
No follow-up required.
Contractors do not need full access.
A writer may need SharePoint.
A developer may need Teams or a staging site.
They do not need finance, HR, or admin tools.
Create a second Conditional Access policy:
Assign it to the contractor group
Allow access only to approved cloud apps
Block everything else
This applies least privilege by default and sharply reduces risk.
You may not manage a contractor’s device—and that’s okay.
What you can control is how they authenticate.
Use Conditional Access to require:
Microsoft Authenticator push approvals
Phishing-resistant authentication methods
Optional device-based checks where appropriate
This makes stolen passwords nearly useless to attackers, even if a contractor falls for phishing.
Once this is in place, the system runs itself.
Add a contractor to the group → access is granted
Remove them from the group → access is revoked
No shared passwords
No forgotten accounts
No lingering risk
You remove the human error from the process.
This setup gives you:
Faster onboarding for contractors
Automatic offboarding with no cleanup
Strong authentication by default
Clear audit trails
Less work for IT and security teams
Most importantly, it closes one of the most common gaps attackers exploit.
Contractor access does not have to be stressful or risky.
With a small investment of time in Microsoft Entra Conditional Access, you can build a secure, automatic system that protects your business and saves you work.
Grant access with precision.
Revoke it automatically.
Sleep better knowing the door closes when the job ends.
If you want help setting this up or reviewing your current access model, contact Caldera Cybersecurity. We’ll help you build a system that works quietly—and securely—in the background.