Azure Policy built-in initiative definitions
This page is an index of Azure Policy built-in initiative definitions.
The name on each built-in links to the initiative definition source on the Azure Policy GitHub repo. The built-ins are grouped by the category property in metadata. To jump to a specific category, use the menu on the right side of the page. Otherwise, use Ctrl-F to use your browser's search feature.
ChangeTrackingAndInventory
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Enable ChangeTracking and Inventory for Arc-enabled virtual machines | Enable ChangeTracking and Inventory for Arc-enabled virtual machines. Takes Data Collection Rule ID as parameter and asks for an option to input applicable locations. | 6 | 1.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Enable ChangeTracking and Inventory for virtual machine scale sets | Enable ChangeTracking and Inventory for virtual machine scale sets. Takes Data Collection Rule ID as parameter and asks for an option to input applicable locations and user-assigned identity for Azure Monitor Agent. | 7 | 1.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Enable ChangeTracking and Inventory for virtual machines | Enable ChangeTracking and Inventory for virtual machines. Takes Data Collection Rule ID as parameter and asks for an option to input applicable locations and user-assigned identity for Azure Monitor Agent. | 7 | 1.0.0-preview |
Cosmos DB
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enable Azure Cosmos DB throughput policy | Enable throughput control for Azure Cosmos DB resources in the specified scope (Management group, Subscription or resource group). Takes max throughput as parameter. Use this policy to help enforce throughput control via the resource provider. | 2 | 1.0.0 |
Guest Configuration
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Deploy prerequisites to enable Guest Configuration policies on virtual machines using user-assigned managed identity | This initiative adds a user-assigned managed identity and deploys the platform-appropriate Guest Configuration extension to virtual machines that are eligible to be monitored by Guest Configuration policies. This is a prerequisite for all Guest Configuration policies and must be assigned to the policy assignment scope before using any Guest Configuration policy. For more information on Guest Configuration, visit https://aka.ms/gcpol. | 3 | 1.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Windows machines should meet requirements for the Azure compute security baseline | This initiative audits Windows machines with settings that do not meet the Azure compute security baseline. For details, please visit https://aka.ms/gcpol | 29 | 2.0.1-preview |
| Audit machines with insecure password security settings | This initiative deploys the policy requirements and audits machines with insecure password security settings. For more information on Guest Configuration policies, please visit https://aka.ms/gcpol | 9 | 1.0.0 |
| Deploy prerequisites to enable Guest Configuration policies on virtual machines | This initiative adds a system-assigned managed identity and deploys the platform-appropriate Guest Configuration extension to virtual machines that are eligible to be monitored by Guest Configuration policies. This is a prerequisite for all Guest Configuration policies and must be assigned to the policy assignment scope before using any Guest Configuration policy. For more information on Guest Configuration, visit https://aka.ms/gcpol. | 4 | 1.0.0 |
Kubernetes
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kubernetes cluster pod security baseline standards for Linux-based workloads | This initiative includes the policies for the Kubernetes cluster pod security baseline standards. This policy is generally available for Kubernetes Service (AKS), and preview for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes. For instructions on using this policy, visit https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | 5 | 1.2.1 |
| Kubernetes cluster pod security restricted standards for Linux-based workloads | This initiative includes the policies for the Kubernetes cluster pod security restricted standards. This policy is generally available for Kubernetes Service (AKS), and preview for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes. For instructions on using this policy, visit https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | 8 | 2.3.1 |
Monitoring
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Configure Azure Defender for SQL agents on virtual machines | Configure virtual machines to automatically install the Azure Defender for SQL agents where the Azure Monitor Agent is installed. Security Center collects events from the agents and uses them to provide security alerts and tailored hardening tasks (recommendations). Creates a resource group and Log Analytics workspace in the same region as the machine. This policy only applies to VMs in a few regions. | 2 | 1.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Configure machines to automatically install the Azure Monitor and Azure Security agents on virtual machines | Configure machines to automatically install the Azure Monitor and Azure Security agents. Security Center collects events from the agents and uses them to provide security alerts and tailored hardening tasks (recommendations). Create a resource group and Log Analytics workspace in the same region as the machine to store audit records. This policy only applies to VMs in a few regions. | 7 | 3.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Enable Azure Monitor for Hybrid VMs with AMA | Enable Azure Monitor for the hybrid virtual machines with AMA. Takes Log Analytics workspace as parameter and asks for an option to enable Processes and Dependencies. | 5 | 2.1.1-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Enable Azure Monitor for VMs with Azure Monitoring Agent(AMA) | Enable Azure Monitor for the virtual machines (VMs) with AMA. Takes Log Analytics workspace as parameter and asks for an option to enable Processes and Dependencies. | 6 | 1.1.1-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Enable Azure Monitor for VMSS with Azure Monitoring Agent(AMA) | Enable Azure Monitor for the virtual machines scale set (VMSS) with AMA. Takes Log Analytics workspace as parameter and asks for an option to enable Processes and Dependencies. | 6 | 1.1.1-preview |
| Configure Linux machines to run Azure Monitor Agent and associate them to a Data Collection Rule | Monitor and secure your Linux virtual machines, virtual machine scale sets, and Arc machines by deploying the Azure Monitor Agent extension and associating the machines with a specified Data Collection Rule. Deployment will occur on machines with supported OS images (or machines matching the provided list of images) in supported regions. | 4 | 3.0.0 |
| Configure Windows machines to run Azure Monitor Agent and associate them to a Data Collection Rule | Monitor and secure your Windows virtual machines, virtual machine scale sets, and Arc machines by deploying the Azure Monitor Agent extension and associating the machines with a specified Data Collection Rule. Deployment will occur on machines with supported OS images (or machines matching the provided list of images) in supported regions. | 4 | 3.0.0 |
| Deploy Linux Azure Monitor Agent with user-assigned managed identity-based auth and associate with Data Collection Rule | Monitor your Linux virtual machines and virtual machine scale sets by deploying the Azure Monitor Agent extension with user-assigned managed identity authentication and associating with specified Data Collection Rule. Azure Monitor Agent Deployment will occur on machines with supported OS images (or machines matching the provided list of images) in supported regions. | 5 | 2.0.0 |
| Deploy Windows Azure Monitor Agent with user-assigned managed identity-based auth and associate with Data Collection Rule | Monitor your Windows virtual machines and virtual machine scale sets by deploying the Azure Monitor Agent extension with user-assigned managed identity authentication and associating with specified Data Collection Rule. Azure Monitor Agent Deployment will occur on machines with supported OS images (or machines matching the provided list of images) in supported regions. | 5 | 2.0.0 |
| Legacy - Enable Azure Monitor for Virtual Machine Scale Sets | Legacy - Enable Azure Monitor for the Virtual Machine Scale Sets in the specified scope (Management group, Subscription or resource group). Takes Log Analytics workspace as parameter. Use the new initiative named: Enable Azure Monitor for VMSS with Azure Monitoring Agent(AMA). Note: if your scale set upgradePolicy is set to Manual, you need to apply the extension to the all VMs in the set by calling upgrade on them. In CLI this would be az vmss update-instances. | 6 | 1.0.2 |
| Legacy - Enable Azure Monitor for VMs | Legacy - Enable Azure Monitor for the virtual machines (VMs) in the specified scope (management group, subscription or resource group). Takes Log Analytics workspace as parameter. Use the new initiative named: Enable Azure Monitor for VMs with Azure Monitoring Agent(AMA) | 10 | 2.0.1 |
Network
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flow logs should be configured and enabled for every network security group | Audit for network security groups to verify if flow logs are configured and if flow log status is enabled. Enabling flow logs allows to log information about IP traffic flowing through network security group. It can be used for optimizing network flows, monitoring throughput, verifying compliance, detecting intrusions and more. | 2 | 1.0.0 |
Regulatory Compliance
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Australian Government ISM PROTECTED | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of Australian Government Information Security Manual (ISM) controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/auism-initiative. | 55 | 8.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: CMMC 2.0 Level 2 | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of CMMC 2.0 Level 2 practices. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/cmmc2l2-initiative. | 256 | 2.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) | This initiative includes audit and virtual machine extension deployment policies that address a subset of Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) security and guidelines controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/mpaa-init. | 36 | 4.0.3-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Reserve Bank of India - IT Framework for Banks | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of Reserve Bank of India IT Framework for Banks controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/rbiitfbanks-initiative. | 187 | 1.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Reserve Bank of India - IT Framework for NBFC | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of Reserve Bank of India IT Framework for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/rbiitfnbfc-initiative. | 143 | 2.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: RMIT Malaysia | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of RMIT requirements. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit aka.ms/rmit-initiative. | 216 | 9.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: SWIFT CSP-CSCF v2020 | This initiative includes audit and virtual machine extension deployment policies that address a subset of SWIFT CSP-CSCF v2020 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/swift2020-init. | 59 | 6.0.0-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: SWIFT CSP-CSCF v2021 | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of the SWIFT Customer Security Program's Customer Security Controls Framework v2021 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/swift2021-init. | 140 | 4.0.0-preview |
| Canada Federal PBMM | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of Canada Federal PBMM controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/canadafederalpbmm-init. | 57 | 8.0.0 |
| CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark v1.1.0 | The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a nonprofit entity whose mission is to 'identify, develop, validate, promote, and sustain best practice solutions for cyberdefense.' CIS benchmarks are configuration baselines and best practices for securely configuring a system. These policies address a subset of CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark v1.1.0 controls. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/cisazure110-initiative | 168 | 16.0.0 |
| CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark v1.3.0 | The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a nonprofit entity whose mission is to 'identify, develop, validate, promote, and sustain best practice solutions for cyberdefense.' CIS benchmarks are configuration baselines and best practices for securely configuring a system. These policies address a subset of CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark v1.3.0 controls. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/cisazure130-initiative | 183 | 8.0.0 |
| CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark v1.4.0 | The Center for Internet Security (CIS) is a nonprofit entity whose mission is to 'identify, develop, validate, promote, and sustain best practice solutions for cyberdefense.' CIS benchmarks are configuration baselines and best practices for securely configuring a system. These policies address a subset of CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark v1.4.0 controls. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/cisazure140-initiative | 182 | 1.1.0 |
| CMMC Level 3 | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 3 requirements. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/cmmc-initiative. | 170 | 11.0.0 |
| FedRAMP High | FedRAMP is a US government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud-based products and services. FedRAMP defines a set of controls for Low, Moderate, or High security impact level systems based on NIST baseline controls. These policies address a subset of FedRAMP (High) controls. For more information, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/compliance/offerings/offering-fedramp | 741 | 17.0.0 |
| FedRAMP Moderate | FedRAMP is a U.S. government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud-based products and services. FedRAMP defines a set of controls for Low, Moderate, or High security impact level systems based on NIST baseline controls. These policies address a subset of FedRAMP (Moderate) controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://www.fedramp.gov/documents-templates/ | 672 | 17.0.0 |
| HITRUST/HIPAA | Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) helps organizations from all sectors-but especially healthcare-effectively manage data, information risk, and compliance. HITRUST certification means that the organization has undergone a thorough assessment of the information security program. These policies address a subset of HITRUST controls. For more information, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/governance/policy/samples/hipaa-hitrust-9-2 | 611 | 14.0.0 |
| IRS1075 September 2016 | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of IRS1075 September 2016 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/irs1075-init. | 60 | 8.0.0 |
| ISO 27001:2013 | The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001 standard provides requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continuously improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). These policies address a subset of ISO 27001:2013 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/iso27001-init | 460 | 8.0.0 |
| New Zealand ISM Restricted | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of New Zealand Information Security Manual controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/nzism-initiative. | 134 | 11.0.0 |
| New Zealand ISM Restricted v3.5 | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of New Zealand Information Security Manual v3.5 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/nzism-initiative. | 172 | 2.0.1 |
| NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 | The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) promotes and maintains measurement standards and guidelines to help protect the information and information systems of federal agencies. In response to Executive Order 13556 on managing controlled unclassified information (CUI), it published NIST SP 800-171. These policies address a subset of NIST SP 800-171 Rev. 2 controls. For more information, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/compliance/offerings/offering-nist-800-171 | 471 | 15.0.0 |
| NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 4 | National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-53 R4 provides a standardized approach for assessing, monitoring and authorizing cloud computing products and services to manage information security risk.These policies address a subset of NIST SP 800-53 R4 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/nist800-53r4-initiative | 742 | 17.0.0 |
| NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5 | National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-53 Rev. 5 provides a standardized approach for assessing, monitoring and authorizing cloud computing products and services to manage information security risk. These policies address a subset of NIST SP 800-53 R5 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/nist800-53r5-initiative | 727 | 14.0.0 |
| PCI DSS v4 | The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) is a global information security standard designed to prevent fraud through increased control of credit card data. Compliance with PCI DSS is required for any organization that stores, processes, or transmits payment and cardholder data. These policies address a subset of PCI-DSS v4 controls. For more information, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/governance/policy/samples/pci-dss-3-2-1 | 277 | 1.0.0 |
| PCI v3.2.1:2018 | This initiative includes policies that address a subset of PCI v3.2.1:2018 controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/pciv321-init. | 36 | 6.0.0 |
| SOC 2 Type 2 | A System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 is a report based on the Trust Service Principles and Criteria established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The Report evaluates an organization's information system relevant to the following principles: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. These policies address a subset of SOC 2 Type 2 controls. For more information, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/compliance/offerings/offering-soc-2 | 321 | 1.0.0 |
| SWIFT CSP-CSCF v2022 | SWIFT's Customer Security Programme (CSP) helps financial institutions ensure their defences against cyberattacks are up to date and effective, to protect the integrity of the wider financial network. Users compare the security measures they have implemented with those detailed in the Customer Security Controls Framework (CSCF). These policies address a subset of SWIFT controls. For more information, visit https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/governance/policy/samples/swift-cscf-v2021 | 344 | 2.0.0 |
| UK OFFICIAL and UK NHS | This initiative includes audit and virtual machine extension deployment policies that address a subset of UK OFFICIAL and UK NHS controls. Additional policies will be added in upcoming releases. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/ukofficial-init and https://aka.ms/uknhs-init. | 57 | 9.0.0 |
SDN
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Public Network Access | Audit Azure resources that allow access from the public internet | 36 | 4.0.0 |
| Evaluate Private Link Usage Across All Supported Azure Resources | Compliant resources have at least one approved private endpoint connection | 30 | 1.0.0 |
Security Center
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Configure machines to create the default Microsoft Defender for Cloud pipeline using Azure Monitor Agent | Configure machines to automatically install the Azure Monitor and Azure Security agents. Microsoft Defender for Cloud collects events from the agents and uses them to provide security alerts and tailored hardening tasks (recommendations). Create a resource group, a Data Collection Rule and Log Analytics workspace in the same region as the machine to store audit records. Target machines must be in a supported location. | 13 | 1.0.1-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Configure machines to create the user-defined Microsoft Defender for Cloud pipeline using Azure Monitor Agent | Configure machines to automatically install the Azure Monitor and Azure Security agents. Microsoft Defender for Cloud collects events from the agents and uses them to provide security alerts and tailored hardening tasks (recommendations). Use the user-provided Log Analytics workspace to store audit records. Creates a resource group and a Data Collection Rule in the same region as the user-provided Log Analytics workspace. Target machines must be in a supported location. | 13 | 1.0.1-preview |
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Deploy Microsoft Defender for Endpoint agent | Deploy Microsoft Defender for Endpoint agent on applicable images. | 4 | 1.0.0-preview |
| Azure Security Benchmark | The Azure Security Benchmark initiative represents the policies and controls implementing security recommendations defined in Azure Security Benchmark v3, see https://aka.ms/azsecbm. This also serves as the Microsoft Defender for Cloud default policy initiative. You can directly assign this initiative, or manage its policies and compliance results within Microsoft Defender for Cloud. | 209 | 57.0.0 |
| Configure Advanced Threat Protection to be enabled on open-source relational databases | Enable Advanced Threat Protection on your non-Basic tier open-source relational databases to detect anomalous activities indicating unusual and potentially harmful attempts to access or exploit databases. See https://aka.ms/AzDforOpenSourceDBsDocu. | 3 | 1.0.1 |
| Configure Azure Defender to be enabled on SQL Servers and SQL Managed Instances | Enable Azure Defender on your SQL Servers and SQL Managed Instances to detect anomalous activities indicating unusual and potentially harmful attempts to access or exploit databases. | 3 | 3.0.0 |
| Configure Microsoft Defender for Databases to be enabled | Configure Microsoft Defender for Databases to protect your Azure SQL Databases, Managed Instances, Open-source relational databases and Cosmos DB. | 4 | 1.0.0 |
Trusted Launch
| Name | Description | Policies | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Preview]: [Preview]: Configure prerequisites to enable Guest Attestation on Trusted Launch enabled VMs | Configure the Trusted Launch enabled virtual machines to automatically install the Guest Attestation extension and enable system-assigned managed identity to allow Azure Security Center to proactively attest and monitor the boot integrity. Boot integrity is attested via Remote Attestation. For more details, please refer to the following link - https://aka.ms/trustedlaunch | 7 | 3.0.0-preview |
Next steps
- See the built-ins on the Azure Policy GitHub repo.
- Review the Azure Policy definition structure.
- Review Understanding policy effects.
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