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Control 1.4: Advanced Connector Policies (ACP) - Portal Walkthrough

This playbook provides portal configuration guidance for Control 1.4.

Prerequisites

Before starting, confirm:

  • Target environments are in a United States region
  • Environments are enabled as Managed Environments (Control 2.1)
  • Environments are members of an Environment Group (Control 2.2)
  • Organization has documented approved connector catalog (allowlist) and restricted connector catalog (denylist)

Step 1: Enable Managed Environments (if not already enabled)

  1. Sign in to the Power Platform Admin Center (https://admin.powerplatform.microsoft.com)
  2. Navigate to Manage > Environments
  3. Select the ellipsis (...) next to your target environment
  4. Select Enable Managed Environments
  5. Configure the settings:
  6. For Financial Sector: Enable all security features
  7. Weekly digest: Enabled (for compliance tracking)
  8. Limit sharing: Enabled (prevent unauthorized data exposure)
  9. Select Enable

Step 2: Create Environment Group

  1. In Power Platform Admin Center, select Manage > Environment Groups
  2. Select New group
  3. Add a Name: Example for FSI: FSI-Production-Agents or Regulated-Banking-Environments
  4. Add a Description: Regulated production environments for financial services Copilot Studio agents - SOX and FINRA compliant
  5. Select Add environments and choose your managed environments
  6. Select Create

Step 3: Configure Advanced Connector Policy

  1. Select the environment group you created
  2. Select the Rules tab
  3. Select Advanced connector policies (preview)
  4. Configure allowed connectors and actions:
  5. Default behavior: Non-blockable connectors (Microsoft Dataverse, Office 365) are pre-loaded
  6. Select Add connectors to add certified connectors
  7. For Financial Sector: Use an explicit allowlist approach—only add connectors that have documented business justification and a completed security/vendor review
  8. To block a connector, select it and choose Remove connector
  • Microsoft Dataverse
  • SharePoint
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Office 365 Users
  • Internal custom connectors (verified by security team)
  • Social media connectors (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
  • Public cloud storage (Dropbox, Box)
  • Consumer file sharing services
  • Any connector that transmits data outside your tenant

For each allowed connector, set the policy to allow only the minimum required actions for agent scenarios. Prefer read-only actions by default; require change control for any write/update/delete actions.

Example action guidance:

  • Microsoft Dataverse
  • Allow: read/query (e.g., list/get rows)
  • Restrict: create/update/delete rows unless a regulated business use case exists
  • SharePoint
  • Allow: read/list/get content needed for retrieval-augmented responses
  • Restrict: create/update/delete files, manage permissions/sharing links
  • Microsoft Teams
  • Allow: post messages to approved channels for escalation
  • Restrict: create teams/channels, add members, export/tenant-wide search actions
  • Custom connectors (internal APIs)
  • Allow: specific, documented endpoints only

  • Restrict: wildcard endpoints, admin functions, bulk export endpoints

  • Select Save

  • Select Publish rules to apply across all environments in the group

Step 3B: Configure DLP Policy Alignment

ACP is not a replacement for DLP. Use DLP to define data loss prevention boundaries (Business / Non-Business / Blocked).

  1. In Power Platform Admin Center, go to Policies > Data policies
  2. Select an existing policy aligned to your regulated zone, or select New policy
  3. Configure connector groups:
  4. Business: enterprise/tenant-approved connectors required by agents
  5. Non-Business: generally prohibited for regulated agent environments
  6. Blocked: connectors explicitly disallowed (high-risk, consumer, or external data egress)
  7. Scope the DLP policy to the same environments covered by your environment group
  8. Select Save

Step 4: Verify Policy Application

  1. Navigate to Manage > Environments
  2. Select an environment in your group
  3. Confirm that the environment shows as part of the group
  4. Test by attempting to create a connection using a blocked connector—should be prevented
  5. Test action-level restrictions: attempt to add a flow/action that is not allowed—should be blocked

Evidence note: Capture a screenshot of the policy in Published status and the blocked connector/action error banner shown to a test maker account.

Configuration Matrix by Governance Zone

Setting Baseline (Zone 1) Recommended (Zone 2) Regulated (Zone 3)
Connector approach DLP-based blocking ACP allowlist Strict ACP allowlist
Social media Block via DLP Block via ACP Block via ACP
External storage Warn Block Block
Custom connectors No restriction Security review Security + legal review
Review frequency Annual Quarterly Monthly

Copilot Studio DLP Examples

Example 1: Block Social Media Connectors

Connector Classification Rationale
Facebook Blocked Customer data exposure risk; not compliant with record retention
Twitter/X Blocked Public disclosure risk; cannot audit conversations
LinkedIn Blocked Data sharing with third party; privacy concerns
Instagram Blocked No business justification for FSI agents

Example 2: Restrict HTTP Request Actions

Setting Configuration
Connector HTTP / HTTP with Microsoft Entra ID
Classification Business (with action restrictions)
Allowed endpoints https://api.internal.bank.com/*, https://services.internal.bank.com/*
Blocked patterns All external URLs, public APIs

Example 3: Knowledge Source Restrictions

Knowledge Source Type Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3
SharePoint (internal sites) Allowed Allowed Allowed (approved sites only)
Dataverse (internal tables) Allowed Allowed Allowed (approved tables only)
Public websites Blocked Blocked Blocked
External file uploads Blocked Blocked Blocked
Third-party APIs Blocked Require review Blocked

Example 4: Restrict Agent Output Channels

Channel Classification FSI Guidance
Microsoft Teams (internal) Business Allowed for internal agents
Web chat (authenticated) Business Allowed with SSO enforcement
Direct Line Non-Business Require security review
Facebook Messenger Blocked Not permitted for FSI
WhatsApp Blocked Not permitted for FSI
Omnichannel Business Requires Dynamics 365 integration approval

Model Context Protocol (MCP) Governance

What is MCP?

MCP (Model Context Protocol) provides a standardized way for AI agents to connect to external tools and data sources. For financial services, MCP servers must be governed with controls equivalent to Power Platform connectors.

MCP Server Categories and Risk Levels

Category Examples Risk Level Approval Process
Internal MCP Servers Self-hosted tools, internal APIs Medium Security review
Vendor MCP Servers Third-party hosted services High Full vendor assessment
Community MCP Servers Open-source, community-built Critical Code review + security audit
Development/Test MCP Local development tools Low Standard approval for non-prod

Zone-Specific MCP Rules

  • Zone 1: MCP not allowed (personal productivity agents do not use MCP)
  • Zone 2: Internal MCP servers only with approval
  • Zone 3: Approved internal + vetted vendor MCP only with full audit logging

"Bring Your Own Agent" (BYOA) Governance

BYOA Scenario Risk Policy
Personal AI Assistants Data leakage to consumer AI Blocked in regulated environments
External AI Agents Unknown governance, audit gaps Requires full assessment
Partner AI Systems Shared responsibility unclear Contract required with audit rights
Acquired Company AI Unknown technical debt Integration assessment required

Back to Control 1.4 | PowerShell Setup | Verification Testing | Troubleshooting

Updated: January 2026 | Version: v1.2