What does zero trust security in Azure look like? How can this benefit your company or organization? If you want to know more, then read on.
Zero Trust Security in Azure
In Azure, there are several key components that makeup zero trust security.
1. Conditional Access
2. Multi-Factor Authentication
3. Identity Services
4. Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Privileged Identity Management (PIM)
5. Azure Resource Manager
6. Azure Security Center
7. Azure Security & Audit Logs
8. Secure Score and Threat Protection Dashboard
9. Azure Advanced Threat Protection (Azure ATP)
10. Virtual Network Segmentation and Application Gateway (WAF)
11. Microsoft Intune – Mobile Device Management (MDM)
Conditional access is an enterprise service in Azure that enables you to control access to resources based on
- user identity,
- device,
- location,
- network,
- and application.
Then, conditional access supports a wide range of use cases like supporting Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). Or ensuring corporate data stays within your corporate network, and more.
When it comes to identity, it’s all about securing your corporate assets, so you want to be able to ensure that the user is the one you expect. Azure Multi-Factor Authentication does just that by providing a strong form of identity proofing.
In addition to conditional access and multi-factor authentication, Azure also provides identity services. This helps you manage accounts within your organization. Plus, Azure Active Directory Privileged Identity Management (PIM) can help you control privileges in your company or organization.
PIM is a management service that’s included with Azure Active Directory Premium P1 and above. It helps you achieve single sign-on (SSO) and gain control over administrator accounts in your organization. Once you have an Azure AD P1 license, then PIM is automatically enabled for all users in your tenant.
Why Zero Trust Security?
Why do companies today need to adopt a zero trust model? The answer is simple, security. With the rise of cloud computing and BYOD, companies need to be able to ensure that corporate data is kept within their corporate networks. This is especially important in regulated industries.
For example, healthcare companies are typically required to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). And companies in the financial industry are typically required to comply with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). And the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). So, companies need to have a way to enforce their compliance requirements.
As you may know, a zero trust security approach requires you and your company or organization to rethink how you secure access to your sensitive data. With the traditional model of security, if someone gains access to your network, they can gain access to everything.
However, with zero trust security in Azure, you can have more granular control over who has access to different resources.
Final Words
As you can see, it is important for companies today to adopt a zero trust security approach in Azure. This includes using conditional access, multi-factor authentication, and identity services. Plus, it includes leveraging Azure Security Center and Azure ATP for threat detection.