Microsoft Azure is one of the top cloud players in the world. Like any other cloud platform, Azure also has its share of security issues. According to cloud security experts, you can tackle various Azure security issues with the right strategies. Here is the list of strategies you need to follow for optimal security of your Microsoft Azure account.
Identity Security
Identity Management refers to information systems used within an enterprise. It is a systematic management of every single identity by providing explicit privileges, authentication, authorization, and the role of enterprise boundaries. The primary purpose of identity management is upgrading productivity and security while decreasing repetitive tasks, total costs, and system downtime.
Identity management covers all types of cloud users who can access cloud services under different circumstances. Various security tools used in identity management support directory integration, allowing organizations to implement BYOD policy. The identity security tools support role-based access controls for all identities associated with the cloud account.
The mapping of RBAC assignments allows enterprises to track permissions of any given identity, including inherited permissions. The Azure security tools look for access keys granted to storage accounts and understand if users have access permissions beyond IAM protocol.
Data Governance
According to leading research, 80% of organizations using cloud services have reported at least one cloud breach in 18 months, while 43% of companies have reported ten cloud breaches. Data governance is an essential aspect of cloud security. It refers to setting internal standards on how data is gathered, stored, processed, and shared between cloud objects. The data governance strategy defines what type of data should be governed and how.
Organizations need to employ data governance tools that identify all types of data within the Azure cloud. The best Azure Security tools provide an up-to-date model of who accesses data, when and from where. The platform should provide an audit on every action related, so the organization knows what is happening with data at any given point in time. If the security tools detect any data access patterns that deviate from data governance policies, they should send alerts to the right team to fix the problem.
Companies can use 3rd party data governance and security tools that work out of the box and help an organization identify and classify PII (personally identifiable information) and other sensitive data. The data governance tools should allow the organization to implement its unique data models.
Governance Automation
Application security is a primary concern for organizations moving to the cloud. According to cloud security experts, several factors impact confidence and trust while deploying applications in the cloud environment. The governance automation focuses on dividing the environment and workloads into management, subscriptions, and resource groups.
According to cloud security experts, the Azure environment is quite complex, and it can be a challenging task to keep track of every identity and the permissions it has. The automation governance tools map inherited permissions, trust relationships, and policies for all cloud resources. The governance automation tools can detect any risks such as toxic combinations, separation of duty violations, and privilege escalation across the Azure environment.
The governance automation engine employs the “shift left” policy and integrates teams through organized analysis. It also considers alerts and actions and how they align with the way the organization uses the Azure platform.
Use Multiple Authentication
Microsoft supports multiple authentications, and experts suggest organizations use this feature for optimal security of Azure accounts. Multiple authentications refer to a secured access method where the user must enter more details than the password associated with the account. The multiple authentication methods are a useful security feature that allows mitigating the risk of password theft.
The multiple authentication features help organizations secure data and systems by implementing a simple authentication process through simple checks like SMS messages, phone calls, or mobile notifications. The user has the freedom to select any mode of authentication for secured access.
Restrict Administrator Access
According to cloud security experts, account security management is an integral part of Azure subscription. Compromised admin accounts make other security protocols less effective. An internal attack is always a possibility, affecting the entire cloud infrastructure managed by the organization.
Microsoft Azure allows you to set up an administration account with restricted privileges when certain access rights are not required. As per Privileged Identity Management policies, the admin accounts are assigned more access rights for a specified period when the administrator needs to perform specific tasks. These access rights are removed after the completion of the task.
These are some of the security strategies used to thwart risks in the Azure cloud environment.
