The problem states a "significant rise in unauthorized access to applications from personal devices," posing a "critical security risk" and potential "data loss." The immediate goal is to "immediately restrict user access to these applications" from personal devices.

Context-Aware Access (CAA) is specifically designed to control access to Google Workspace applications based on the "context" of the user and their device. This includes whether the device is managed (company-issued) or unmanaged (personal), its security posture, IP address, and location. By configuring CAA policies, you can enforce that users can only access specific applications if they are using a company-issued device.

Here's why the other options are less effective or not the primary solution for this immediate restriction:

B. Enable multi-factor authentication for application access. MFA is a crucial security layer, but it authenticates the user, not the device. A disgruntled employee could still use their personal device with MFA enabled to download data if no device-based restriction is in place. It prevents unauthorized users but not authorized users on unauthorized devices.

C. Enable data loss prevention rules. DLP rules are excellent for preventing sensitive data from leaving the organization (e.g., by blocking sharing of files containing credit card numbers). However, they don't restrict access to applications based on the device type. An employee could still access and potentially download non-DLP-sensitive data from a personal device if only DLP is enabled. The immediate risk is access from personal devices, not just content-based data loss.

D. Configure apps data access to Limited to only allow access to unrestricted services. This option typically refers to allowing specific APIs or services to be accessed by third-party apps, or perhaps limiting access within a highly restricted environment. It's not a direct control mechanism for user access from personal vs. company-issued devices to core Google Workspace applications.

References from Google Workspace Administrator:

Protect your business with Context-Aware Access: This is the primary documentation for Context-Aware Access, explicitly mentioning its use case for "Allow access to apps only from company-issued devices."