AZ-305 Practice Question: Design identity, governance, and monitoring solutions
A company uses Microsoft Entra ID (Microsoft Entra ID) for identity management. They want to enforce that only devices compliant with security policies (e.g., BitLocker enabled, antivirus running) can access corporate cloud applications (Microsoft 365 and custom SaaS apps). They also need a dashboard to monitor device compliance status. Which Microsoft Entra ID feature(s) should they configure?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse Identity Protection (user risk) with device compliance, or assume Device Registration alone is sufficient, missing the need for Intune to define and monitor compliance policies.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Conditional Access policies with device compliance conditions, and Microsoft Intune for compliance management
Conditional Access policies in Microsoft Entra ID can enforce device compliance as a condition for granting access to cloud applications, while Microsoft Intune provides the device compliance policies (e.g., BitLocker, antivirus) and the dashboard to monitor compliance status. Together, they ensure only compliant devices can access corporate resources and provide visibility into device health.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Conditional Access policies with device compliance conditions, and Microsoft Intune for compliance management
Why this is correct
Intune compliance policies define the security baseline a device must meet—such as minimum OS versions, BitLocker/FileVault encryption, and jailbreak/root detection—and report each device's compliance state in the Intune console. Conditional Access then consumes that state during authentication: if the policy requires 'Device to be marked as compliant,' Entra ID blocks or allows access based on the current Intune signal. This combination provides both the enforcement and the visibility of device health that the scenario demands.
- ✗
Microsoft Entra ID Identity Protection with user risk policies
Why it's wrong here
Microsoft Entra ID Identity Protection evaluates risk at the user and sign-in level using signals like leaked credentials, impossible-travel, atypical sign-ins, or malware-flagged IPs, and triggers policies such as requiring MFA or forcing a password reset. These user-risk policies react to compromised identities after the fact, but they never inspect the device's configuration—a corporate-issued laptop missing security patches can still appear low-user-risk. Since the scenario is about restricting access to devices that meet security requirements, Identity Protection addresses the wrong trust boundary.
- ✗
Microsoft Entra ID Access Reviews
Why it's wrong here
Access Reviews are a Microsoft Entra ID Governance feature for periodically recertifying who retains access to applications, groups, and Entra roles—for example, having an owner confirm whether a contractor still needs a project-team membership. The review process evaluates user identity and entitlement, not the endpoint from which access is requested; it has no concept of OS patch level, encryption, or device posture. Therefore, even a thorough access-recertification cycle would leave insecure devices fully capable of reaching resources.
- ✗
Microsoft Entra ID Device Registration only
Why it's wrong here
Registering a device in Entra ID (Microsoft Entra join or Workplace Join) creates a durable device identity and enables SSO and device-based Conditional Access conditions, but it only marks the device as known, not as healthy. Without a management platform like Intune, no compliance policies are evaluated, and the Entra ID console offers no compliance dashboard or health scoring. A registered device could be missing every security update and still be treated as a valid, trusted device for Conditional Access purposes if only registration is required.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This AZ-305 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Microsoft certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the AZ-305 exam.