As one of the most widely-deployed cloud computing platforms today, Microsoft Azure serves as a vital component for the cloud infrastructure of many organizations across the world. However, it is also been prone to attacks by cybercriminals eager to access the valuable data and resources these organizations have set up within their Microsoft Azure implementations.
Fortunately, Azure provides security features and technologies that are designed to help protect Azure customers' applications, data, and resources from various threats and vulnerabilities such as Azure Active Directory (AD) for identity and access management, Azure Security Center for monitoring and managing security across Azure resources, and Azure Key Vault for securely storing and managing cryptographic keys and other secrets. Still, users should do their part in ensuring the security of their Azure-based systems.
As cyberthreats continue to evolve and pose a greater threat this 2025, here are the top five Azure security practices users should keep in mind:
1. Implement identity management
Identity management helps ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive data and resources. This helps prevent unauthorized access to sensitive information and reduces the risk of security breaches. Azure itself provides identity management using: Azure Active Directory (AD), which offers features such as user and group management, single sign-on (SSO), and multi-factor authentication (MFA). Furthermore, users can set up Azure AD B2B collaboration, allowing them to securely share resources and collaborate with external partners without having to create and manage separate user accounts.
2. Restrict administrator access
Limiting the number of users who have administrator privileges can help reduce the risk of malicious actors gaining access to sensitive information or making changes to critical systems that will leave the organization prone to cyberattacks. Azure AD offers built-in role-based access control (RBAC) feature which can create custom roles that have specific permissions and then assign those roles to users or groups of users. There are also Azure AD’s conditional access policies that allow users to specify conditions under which users are allowed to access specific resources. This can help to prevent unauthorized access, even if someone has a valid username and password.
3. Protect keys and other secret data
Azure Key Vault is a Microsoft Azure service that provides secure storage for keys such as passwords, API keys, and other secret information through encryption and other security measures. It also facilitates the auditing and versioning of keys, as well as revoking and rotating keys. It is integrated with other Azure services, making it easy to use and manage such information within the organization’s Azure environment.
4. Encrypt data
By encoding data using a secret code or key, encryption makes it unreadable to anyone who does not have that key, thus preventing unauthorized access to sensitive information even if the data is intercepted or stolen. Azure offers encryption capabilities via Azure Disk Encryption, which allows for the encryption of data on Azure virtual machines and Azure-managed disks, and Azure SQL Database Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), which allows for the encryption of data in Azure SQL databases. Both services use advanced security standards and are integrated with other Azure services such as the aforementioned Azure Key Vault
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5. Make use of Microsoft Defender
Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a cloud-based security platform built into Azure and it has proven to be effective in detecting, addressing, and preventing online threats through its various features. It also helps ensure the organization’s compliance with various regulations and standards, such as GDPR and HIPAA.
It is important that Azure users not only familiarize themselves with the various security features that the platform offers but, more importantly, maximize the usage of these features to ensure the security of their organization’s data and cloud infrastructure which are vital for their continued operations.
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