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Home → All Courses → Engineering and Technology Courses → Microsoft Azure Certification: Cloud Solutions Architect → Flashcard

Discuss the key security controls and best practices for securing Azure resources.



Securing Azure resources is crucial to protect sensitive data, maintain regulatory compliance, and prevent unauthorized access or malicious activities. Azure provides a robust set of security controls and best practices to help organizations safeguard their resources effectively. Let's discuss the key security controls and best practices for securing Azure resources:

1. Identity and Access Management (IAM):

* Implement strong authentication mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to ensure that only authorized users can access Azure resources.
* Utilize Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) for centralized identity management, role-based access control (RBAC), and fine-grained access control to enforce the principle of least privilege.
* Regularly review and audit user access permissions to ensure they align with the organization's security policies.
2. Network Security:

* Utilize virtual networks (VNets), subnets, and network security groups (NSGs) to segment and isolate resources, controlling inbound and outbound traffic.
* Apply appropriate firewall rules, including allowing only necessary ports and protocols, to restrict unauthorized access to resources.
* Leverage Azure DDoS Protection to mitigate distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and ensure the availability of your resources.
3. Data Encryption:

* Encrypt data at rest using Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) for Azure Blob Storage, Azure File Storage, and Azure Disk Storage.
* Enable Azure SQL Database Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) to encrypt data in Azure SQL databases.
* Use Azure Key Vault to securely store and manage encryption keys, secrets, and certificates.
4. Threat Detection and Monitoring:

* Enable Azure Security Center to provide a centralized view of security alerts, vulnerability assessments, and threat intelligence.
* Implement Azure Monitor to collect and analyze security logs, enabling proactive threat detection and incident response.
* Leverage Azure Sentinel, a cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) system, for advanced threat detection, analytics, and automated response.
5. Security Baselines and Compliance:

* Adhere to Azure security baselines, such as Azure CIS (Center for Internet Security) benchmarks, to establish a foundation of secure configuration for Azure resources.
* Regularly scan and assess the security posture of your Azure environment using Azure Security Center's Secure Score and Azure Advisor recommendations.
* Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations by leveraging Azure services that provide built-in compliance controls, such as Azure Policy and Azure Regulatory Compliance Dashboard.
6. Backup and Disaster Recovery:

* Implement a robust backup and disaster recovery strategy to protect against data loss and minimize downtime.
* Utilize Azure Backup to perform regular backups of virtual machines, databases, and files, enabling quick data recovery.
* Leverage Azure Site Recovery to replicate critical workloads and applications to a secondary region for disaster recovery purposes.
7. Secure DevOps:

* Implement secure development practices, such as integrating security into the DevOps pipeline and performing continuous security testing and code scanning.
* Utilize Azure DevOps services, such as Azure DevOps Boards, Repos, and Pipelines, with appropriate access controls and security configurations.
* Automate security checks and incorporate security tools, such as Azure Security Center and Azure DevOps Secure Pipeline, to ensure secure deployments.
8. Regular Updates and Patching:

* Keep your Azure resources up to date by applying regular updates and patches to operating systems, applications, and virtual machine images.
* Enable automatic updates and utilize Azure Update Management to streamline patching across multiple virtual machines.
9. Employee Training and Awareness:

* Educate your employees about security best practices, including strong password management, phishing awareness, and secure data handling.
* Conduct regular security training sessions and maintain a culture of security awareness throughout the organization.
10. Incident Response and Recovery:

* Establish an