Securing the Cloud: A Focused Overview of Microsoft Azure Security Features

Azure security is a comprehensive set of tools, technologies, and best practices designed to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data and resources in Microsoft Azure cloud environments.

Here’s a quick summary of key areas:

1. Identity & Access Security
2. Network Security
3. Data Security
4. Monitoring & Threat Detection
5. Governance & Compliance

Identity & Access Security

• Azure AD – Central identity platform for managing users, groups, and access
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – Adds another layer of protection
• RBAC – Role-Based Access Control to define access levels
• Conditional Access – Policies based on location, risk, or device
• Privileged Identity Management (PIM) – Just-in-time elevation of admin privileges

Network Security

• NSGs – Controls inbound/outbound traffic to Azure resources
• Azure Firewall – Stateful firewall with logging and threat intel
• DDoS Protection – Defence against distributed denial-of-service attacks
• Web Application Firewall / Azure Front Door – Protection from SQLi, XSS, etc.

Data Security

• Disk Encryption – BitLocker/DM-Crypt
• Storage Encryption – At-rest encryption with managed keys
• Key Vault – Securely stores secrets, keys, and certs
• Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) – Encrypt SQL data at rest

Monitoring & Threat Detection

• Defender for Cloud – Unified threat protection for hybrid workloads
• Log Analytics / Azure Monitor – Collect and analyse telemetry data
• Azure Sentinel – Cloud-native SIEM for threat detection & response
• Security Centre Recommendations – Improve security posture continuously

Governance & Compliance

• Azure Policy & Blueprints – Enforce compliance and governance
• Compliance Manager – Assesses posture for standards like GDPR & HIPAA
• Resource Locks – Prevent accidental deletion/modification of resources