Azure Security Best Practices

Azure Security Best Practices

Azure security combines Microsoft Entra identity, Azure RBAC, Policy, Key Vault, Defender for Cloud, network segmentation, encryption, logging, and operational processes. Secure defaults must be reinforced by continuous governance and response.

Core ideas

• Azure Policy audits or restricts resource configuration and can deploy required settings.
• Defender for Cloud assesses posture and provides workload-protection recommendations and alerts.
• Key Vault protects secrets, keys, and certificates with Azure RBAC, logging, soft delete, and purge protection.
• Private endpoints can remove supported platform services from public network paths.

Design and operating model

Build a governed landing zone, require strong identity, minimize public endpoints, encrypt and classify data, apply policy initiatives, scan workloads, patch images, and centralize security logs. Prioritize exposed, privileged, and high-impact attack paths. Test backup recovery and incident containment.

Example

az keyvault create \
  --name replace-unique-training-vault \
  --resource-group learning-rg \
  --location centralindia \
  --enable-rbac-authorization true \
  --enable-purge-protection true

az security pricing list --output table

Run examples in a disposable training subscription. Replace names, Regions, identifiers, scopes, sizes, and policies with reviewed values, and confirm current Azure CLI and service requirements before production use.

Production guidance

• Prefer short-lived identities and managed identity over storage keys, shared secrets, or certificates.
• Use separate subscriptions and privileged groups to reduce blast radius.
• Audit policy exemptions, role changes, public network access, Key Vault activity, and security finding closure.

The chapter quiz follows the lesson and checks both service vocabulary and architecture decisions.