Azure security baseline for Azure Bot Service
This security baseline applies guidance from the Microsoft cloud security benchmark version 1.0 to Azure Bot Service. The Microsoft cloud security benchmark provides recommendations on how you can secure your cloud solutions on Azure. The content is grouped by the security controls defined by the Microsoft cloud security benchmark and the related guidance applicable to Azure Bot Service.
You can monitor this security baseline and its recommendations using Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Azure Policy definitions will be listed in the Regulatory Compliance section of the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal page.
When a feature has relevant Azure Policy Definitions, they are listed in this baseline to help you measure compliance with the Microsoft cloud security benchmark controls and recommendations. Some recommendations may require a paid Microsoft Defender plan to enable certain security scenarios.
Note
Features not applicable to Azure Bot Service have been excluded. To see how Azure Bot Service completely maps to the Microsoft cloud security benchmark, see the full Azure Bot Service security baseline mapping file.
Security profile
The security profile summarizes high-impact behaviors of Azure Bot Service, which may result in increased security considerations.
| Service Behavior Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Product Category | AI+ML |
| Customer can access HOST / OS | No Access |
| Service can be deployed into customer's virtual network | False |
| Stores customer content at rest | True |
Network security
For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Network security.
NS-1: Establish network segmentation boundaries
Features
Virtual Network Integration
Description: Service supports deployment into customer's private Virtual Network (VNet). Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Deploy the service into a virtual network. Assign private IPs to the resource (where applicable) unless there is a strong reason to assign public IPs directly to the resource.
Reference: Network isolation in Azure Bot Service
Network Security Group Support
Description: Service network traffic respects Network Security Groups rule assignment on its subnets. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Use network security groups (NSG) to restrict or monitor traffic by port, protocol, source IP address, or destination IP address. Create NSG rules to restrict your service's open ports (such as preventing management ports from being accessed from untrusted networks). Be aware that by default, NSGs deny all inbound traffic but allow traffic from virtual network and Azure Load Balancers.
Reference: Use Direct Line App Service extension within a virtual network
NS-2: Secure cloud services with network controls
Features
Azure Private Link
Description: Service native IP filtering capability for filtering network traffic (not to be confused with NSG or Azure Firewall). Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Feature notes: The only way to do this in the Azure Bot Service is to use the Direct Line App Service extension.
Configuration Guidance: Deploy private endpoints for Azure Bot Service that support the Private Link feature, to establish a private access point for the resources.
Reference: Configure network isolation
Disable Public Network Access
Description: Service supports disabling public network access either through using service-level IP ACL filtering rule (not NSG or Azure Firewall) or using a 'Disable Public Network Access' toggle switch. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Disable public network access using a toggling switch for public network access.
Reference: Configure network isolation
Identity management
For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Identity management.
IM-1: Use centralized identity and authentication system
Features
Azure AD Authentication Required for Data Plane Access
Description: Service supports using Azure AD authentication for data plane access. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Use Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) as the default authentication method to control your data plane access.
Reference: Authentication with the Bot Connector API
Local Authentication Methods for Data Plane Access
Description: Local authentications methods supported for data plane access, such as a local username and password. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Feature notes: Avoid the usage of local authentication methods or accounts, these should be disabled wherever possible. Instead use Azure AD to authenticate where possible.
Configuration Guidance: When you add the Direct Channel, the Bot Framework generates secret keys. Your client application uses these keys to authenticate the Direct Line API requests that it issues to communicate with a bot.
Reference: Connect a bot to Direct Line
IM-3: Manage application identities securely and automatically
Features
Managed Identities
Description: Data plane actions support authentication using managed identities. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Use Azure managed identities instead of service principals when possible, which can authenticate to Azure services and resources that support Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) authentication. Managed identity credentials are fully managed, rotated, and protected by the platform, avoiding hard-coded credentials in source code or configuration files.
Reference: Create an Azure Bot resource
Service Principals
Description: Data plane supports authentication using service principals. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: There is no current Microsoft guidance for this feature configuration. Please review and determine if your organization wants to configure this security feature.
Reference: Add authentication to a bot
IM-7: Restrict resource access based on conditions
Features
Conditional Access for Data Plane
Description: Data plane access can be controlled using Azure AD Conditional Access Policies. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
IM-8: Restrict the exposure of credential and secrets
Features
Service Credential and Secrets Support Integration and Storage in Azure Key Vault
Description: Data plane supports native use of Azure Key Vault for credential and secrets store. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Ensure that secrets and credentials are stored in secure locations such as Azure Key Vault, instead of embedding them into code or configuration files.
Reference: Azure Bot Service encryption for data at rest
Privileged access
For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Privileged access.
PA-1: Separate and limit highly privileged/administrative users
Features
Local Admin Accounts
Description: Service has the concept of a local administrative account. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
PA-7: Follow just enough administration (least privilege) principle
Features
Azure RBAC for Data Plane
Description: Azure Role-Based Access Control (Azure RBAC) can be used to managed access to service's data plane actions. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
Data protection
For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Data protection.
DP-1: Discover, classify, and label sensitive data
Features
Sensitive Data Discovery and Classification
Description: Tools (such as Azure Purview or Azure Information Protection) can be used for data discovery and classification in the service. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
DP-2: Monitor anomalies and threats targeting sensitive data
Features
Data Leakage/Loss Prevention
Description: Service supports DLP solution to monitor sensitive data movement (in customer's content). Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
DP-3: Encrypt sensitive data in transit
Features
Data in Transit Encryption
Description: Service supports data in-transit encryption for data plane. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | True | Microsoft |
Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.
Reference: Azure Bot Service enforcing transport layer security (TLS) 1.2
DP-4: Enable data at rest encryption by default
Features
Data at Rest Encryption Using Platform Keys
Description: Data at-rest encryption using platform keys is supported, any customer content at rest is encrypted with these Microsoft managed keys. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | True | Microsoft |
Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.
Reference: Azure Bot Service encryption for data at rest
DP-5: Use customer-managed key option in data at rest encryption when required
Features
Data at Rest Encryption Using CMK
Description: Data at-rest encryption using customer-managed keys is supported for customer content stored by the service. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: If required for regulatory compliance, define the use case and service scope where encryption using customer-managed keys are needed. Enable and implement data at rest encryption using customer-managed key for those services.
Reference: Azure Bot Service encryption for data at rest
DP-6: Use a secure key management process
Features
Key Management in Azure Key Vault
Description: The service supports Azure Key Vault integration for any customer keys, secrets, or certificates. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Use Azure Key Vault to create and control the life cycle of your encryption keys, including key generation, distribution, and storage. Rotate and revoke your keys in Azure Key Vault and your service based on a defined schedule or when there is a key retirement or compromise. When there is a need to use customer-managed key (CMK) in the workload, service, or application level, ensure you follow the best practices for key management: Use a key hierarchy to generate a separate data encryption key (DEK) with your key encryption key (KEK) in your key vault. Ensure keys are registered with Azure Key Vault and referenced via key IDs from the service or application. If you need to bring your own key (BYOK) to the service (such as importing HSM-protected keys from your on-premises HSMs into Azure Key Vault), follow recommended guidelines to perform initial key generation and key transfer.
Reference: Azure Bot Service encryption for data at rest
Asset management
For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Asset management.
AM-2: Use only approved services
Features
Azure Policy Support
Description: Service configurations can be monitored and enforced via Azure Policy. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to configure Azure Policy to audit and enforce configurations of your Azure resources. Use Azure Monitor to create alerts when there is a configuration deviation detected on the resources. Use Azure Policy [deny] and [deploy if not exists] effects to enforce secure configuration across Azure resources.
Reference: Azure Policy built-in definitions for Azure Bot Service
Logging and threat detection
For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Logging and threat detection.
LT-1: Enable threat detection capabilities
Features
Microsoft Defender for Service / Product Offering
Description: Service has an offering-specific Microsoft Defender solution to monitor and alert on security issues. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
LT-4: Enable logging for security investigation
Features
Azure Resource Logs
Description: Service produces resource logs that can provide enhanced service-specific metrics and logging. The customer can configure these resource logs and send them to their own data sink like a storage account or log analytics workspace. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| True | False | Customer |
Configuration Guidance: Enable resource logs for the service.
Reference: Monitoring Azure Bot Service
Backup and recovery
For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Backup and recovery.
BR-1: Ensure regular automated backups
Features
Azure Backup
Description: The service can be backed up by the Azure Backup service. Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Feature notes: Bot Service is a messaging service; storage is solely metadata and transient messaging caching (<24 hours). Customer backup of Bot Service resource would not be impactful as primary storage of bot information is in other, customer managed resources.
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
Service Native Backup Capability
Description: Service supports its own native backup capability (if not using Azure Backup). Learn more.
| Supported | Enabled By Default | Configuration Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| False | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.
Next steps
- See the Microsoft cloud security benchmark overview
- Learn more about Azure security baselines
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