Cybersecurity remains an ongoing headache for organizations moving to the cloud. IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, specifically regarding the global average cost of a breach being $4.88 million, indicates these breaches include contributing costs or. cloud misconfigurations and/or human error.
When teams use cloud platforms to scale their development with cloud native applications, they can no longer assume the same risk for their application development life cycles without implementing some form of proactive checks to limit risk.
In this article, we’re going to identify four security checks that organizations should implement in Azure to protect their data, limit breaches, and maintain operational resiliency.
Key Takeaways
- Understanding numerous ways to strengthen identity
- Looking at the measures to secure network traffic
- Decoding the protected data and encrypting
- Uncovering how to manage workloads
Start with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). It blocks most unauthorized access attempts. Configure Conditional Access policies to enforce device compliance, location checks, or application-specific restrictions.
By enabling just-in-time role assignments, Azure Active Directory’s Privileged Identity Management (PIM) can help reduce over-privileged accounts. Check for unused accounts and ensure that passwordless authentication methods such as FIDO2 keys are in place for increased security.
Audit login logs regularly using Azure AD sign-in reports. Look for unusual activity patterns that could indicate a breach. For those unfamiliar with any aspect of this, working with an external expert to conduct an Azure security assessment is a good way to get an overview of your environment. You can then prioritize the next steps rather than relying on guesswork.
Review your Network Security Groups (NSGs). Ensure rules block unnecessary traffic and only allow required ports and IP ranges. Harden inbound traffic by minimizing public endpoint exposure, and use Private Endpoints wherever possible.
Enable Azure Firewall for centralized network protection, with optional layers such as application filtering or threat intelligence feeds. Secure data transfers over public internet paths can be achieved through Virtual Network (VNet) peering or ExpressRoute connections.
Implement DDoS Protection Plans to defend against volumetric attacks that disrupt availability, of which more than 500,000 incidents were reported over the course of 2023 and 2024. Regularly test configurations for misaligned rules or gaps using Azure Advisor’s recommendations, reducing risks from unmonitored entry points effectively.
Encrypting data at rest and in transit is a core tenet of cloud security. Enable Azure Storage Service Encryption for storage accounts, and use TLS 1.2 or higher for secure transmissions.
Use Azure Key Vault to protect sensitive data by securely storing secrets, certificates, and keys, and applying strict access controls through Managed Identity integrations. Regularly review storage permissions to uphold the principle of least privilege and restrict public access to blob containers whenever feasible.
Enable Advanced Threat Protection on databases like SQL or Cosmos DB to detect anomalies.
Data encryption combined with careful access policies significantly reduces risks of exposure or unauthorized use during operations. Below, you can see the major benefits of encryption.
ALT TEXT: Benefits of Encryption
Enable Azure Defender across workloads, including virtual machines, containers, and databases. It detects misconfigurations or active threats in real-time.
Keep your operating systems and software current by using Azure Automation’s patch management. Schedule routine scans to detect missing updates.
Use the Application Gateway Web Application Firewall (WAF) for extra defense against common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting.
Configure logging to monitor and record system activity Analytics Workspace to comprehensively monitor workload activity, tracking resource performance and identifying unusual patterns early.
Proactive monitoring helps mitigate vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them, keeping workloads secure and efficient under all conditions.
PRO TIP : Regularly rotate encryption keys and secrets in Azure Key Vault to reduce risk!
Securing enterprise systems in Azure requires vigilance and proactive measures. By focusing on identity, networks, data, workloads, and governance, you address vulnerabilities comprehensively.
Azure’s powerful security tools help teams keep their assets safe and sound. It’s a good idea to check your settings regularly so you can stay ahead of new threats while keeping everything running smoothly in the organization.
Q1 What are the security issues with Microsoft Teams?
Ans: Microsoft Teams security issues stem from social engineering, misconfiguration, third-party app vulnerabilities, and data leakage via screen sharing or external sharing.
Q2 Which kind of security services does Microsoft Azure have?
Ans: Azure offers a wide array of security products that can be grouped by category, including: identity and access management (Microsoft Entra ID/Azure AD), threat detection and protection (Microsoft Defender for Cloud, Microsoft Sentinel), and network security.
Q3 Is Microsoft Teams fully encrypted?Ans: By default, Teams encrypts all communication using industry-standard technologies such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol (SRTP).
