Explore the top 5 Microsoft Azure cloud security strategies of the year
Securing many applications distributed across various cloud environments can be intricate and daunting, often requiring a dedicated project. However, adhering to the additional security measures can help you safeguard your applications in Azure with minimal effort. Discover the best Azure cloud security strategies to protect your data from breaches and threats.
Implement Azure Multi-Factor Authentication
- One of the best measures to secure your Microsoft Azure account is activating multifactor authentication. It functions alongside the traditional password approach and helps to reduce the risk of unauthorized access following password theft. Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication ensures that data and application access are protected while meeting user demands with a simple authentication process.
In addition, this feature provides robust authentication through simple checks, including phone calls, SMS messages, and mobile application notifications. Users can select the authentication method that suits their preferences.
Restrict Unauthorized User Access
- Using Microsoft Azure for development environments and labs can benefit organizations. This is because it allows organizations to improve their test agility and development by eliminating the delays associated with hardware or equipment supply. However, the DevOps approach, widely embraced by companies, can unintentionally expose the organization to internal attacks.
In addition, in some cases, DevOps teams may allocate access rights due to a lack of Azure knowledge. Fortunately, Azure DevTest Labs offer Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), which enables the division of responsibilities within teams to grant only the necessary access levels appropriate for each user’s task.
Leverage A Key Management Solution
- In today’s digital landscape, a robust key management solution is essential to safeguard cloud data against unauthorized access. Azure Key Vault provides a secure storage solution for encryption and secret keys, such as passwords, in hardware security modules (HSMs). In addition, HSM keys can be imported or generated as needed to enhance security further.
To ensure the highest level of security for your keys, Microsoft processes them per the FIPS 140-2 Level 2 standard. Additionally, key usage can be tracked and audited by sending logs to Azure or your SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) for additional threat analysis and detection.
Virtual Disks and Disk Storage Encryption
- The risk of data theft or unauthorized access can be significantly reduced by encrypting virtual disks and disk storage in Azure. Azure Disk Encryption leverages BitLocker on Windows and DM-Crypt on Linux to encrypt the operating system and data drives. This encryption is integrated with Key Vault to control and manage encryption keys efficiently.
This feature is available for both standard and premium virtual machines. In addition, Azure Storage Services encryption provides an additional layer of security by encrypting data at rest. This encryption, activated at the storage account level, automatically encrypts data as it is written to Azure and decrypts it when authorized users access it.
Ensure The Security of Operating Systems
Ensuring the security of the operating system is crucial in an IaaS deployment. The users are responsible for managing the operating system like any other environment server. This involves performing regular maintenance activities such as corrective updates, enhanced security measures, assigning user rights, and more.
Adhering to the security rules of the IaaS provider, installing and managing anti-malware software, keeping up-to-date with the latest security updates, implementing a backup solution, and utilizing a continuous vulnerability detection solution are some essential steps that help you safeguard your operating system.
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