An older email protocol relying on legacy sign-in that cannot prompt for multifactor authentication; this weakness is the reason organisations use Conditional Access to shut legacy authentication off.
Also called Internet Message Access Protocol.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains IMAP in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- MFA
Multifactor authentication: asking for another factor on top of a password at sign-in, usually required by a Conditional Access grant control.
- Conditional Access
Policy engine in Microsoft Entra ID P1 that, depending on signals such as risk or named locations, allows access subject to controls like MFA or a compliant device, or blocks it.
- Legacy authentication
Older protocols, such as Exchange ActiveSync and legacy mail apps (the Other clients category), that sign in with basic authentication. MFA isn't possible with them, so Conditional Access policies use the client apps condition to block them.