
ShoichiroK.00155 (LAC Co., Ltd) asked a question.
Hi everyone,
I have a question regarding the integration between Box and Okta.
In the Box SSO settings, there are two modes: "SSO Test Mode" and "SSO Required". I am curious if you are actually using the "SSO Required" mode in your environments.
While I understand that restricting logins exclusively to SSO is the best practice from a security perspective, I am concerned about the risk of being completely locked out of Box in the event of an Okta outage or a misconfiguration. Because of this, I feel it might be safer not to enforce SSO strictly.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the following points regarding real-world operations:
- Use cases where you enable "SSO Required" (or reasons why you intentionally avoid it).
- Realistic best practices, including ways to prevent lockouts (e.g., excluding admin accounts from the SSO requirement).
If anyone has experience or insights on this, your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hi @ShoichiroK.00155 (LAC Co., Ltd) , Thank you for reaching out to the Okta Community!
To answer your questions in short:
"SSO Required" is a requirement of a complete Box implementation while continuous operation in "SSO Test Mode" is generally considered a security vulnerability.
Detailed explanation for use cases: "SSO Required" vs. "SSO Test Mode"
Why you should enable "SSO Required":
Why you might intentionally avoid it (or use Test Mode):
Best Practices & Preventing Lockouts
Critical Limitation: Box does not natively allow you to exclude or exempt specific managed users (like IT Admins) from the "SSO Required" policy. Once enabled, the policy applies globally to all managed users under your corporate domains.
To mitigate the risk of being locked out:
If my answer helped, remember to mark it as best to increase its visibility for other members of the Okta Community who might have the same questions as you.
Hope my answer helps!
--
Help others in the community by liking or hitting Select as Best if this response helped you.
Collect them all. Learn a new skill and earn a new Okta Learning badge.
Just released: More Okta Community badges just added