Details of the NZ ISM Restricted v3.5 Regulatory Compliance built-in initiative
The following article details how the Azure Policy Regulatory Compliance built-in initiative definition maps to compliance domains and controls in NZ ISM Restricted v3.5. For more information about this compliance standard, see NZ ISM Restricted v3.5. To understand Ownership, see Azure Policy policy definition and Shared responsibility in the cloud.
The following mappings are to the NZ ISM Restricted v3.5 controls. Many of the controls are implemented with an Azure Policy initiative definition. To review the complete initiative definition, open Policy in the Azure portal and select the Definitions page. Then, find and select the New Zealand ISM Restricted v3.5 Regulatory Compliance built-in initiative definition.
Important
Each control below is associated with one or more Azure Policy definitions. These policies may help you assess compliance with the control; however, there often is not a one-to-one or complete match between a control and one or more policies. As such, Compliant in Azure Policy refers only to the policy definitions themselves; this doesn't ensure you're fully compliant with all requirements of a control. In addition, the compliance standard includes controls that aren't addressed by any Azure Policy definitions at this time. Therefore, compliance in Azure Policy is only a partial view of your overall compliance status. The associations between compliance domains, controls, and Azure Policy definitions for this compliance standard may change over time. To view the change history, see the GitHub Commit History.
Access Control and Passwords
16.4.30 Privileged Access Management
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-11 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts with owner permissions on Azure resources should be MFA enabled | Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) should be enabled for all subscription accounts with owner permissions to prevent a breach of accounts or resources. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Accounts with write permissions on Azure resources should be MFA enabled | Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) should be enabled for all subscription accounts with write privileges to prevent a breach of accounts or resources. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| An Azure Active Directory administrator should be provisioned for SQL servers | Audit provisioning of an Azure Active Directory administrator for your SQL server to enable Azure AD authentication. Azure AD authentication enables simplified permission management and centralized identity management of database users and other Microsoft services | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Guest accounts with owner permissions on Azure resources should be removed | External accounts with owner permissions should be removed from your subscription in order to prevent unmonitored access. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Guest accounts with read permissions on Azure resources should be removed | External accounts with read privileges should be removed from your subscription in order to prevent unmonitored access. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Guest accounts with write permissions on Azure resources should be removed | External accounts with write privileges should be removed from your subscription in order to prevent unmonitored access. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| There should be more than one owner assigned to your subscription | It is recommended to designate more than one subscription owner in order to have administrator access redundancy. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
16.5.10 Authentication
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-13 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit Linux machines that allow remote connections from accounts without passwords | Requires that prerequisites are deployed to the policy assignment scope. For details, visit https://aka.ms/gcpol. Machines are non-compliant if Linux machines that allow remote connections from accounts without passwords | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
16.6.8 Logging Requirements
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-17 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto provisioning of the Log Analytics agent should be enabled on your subscription | To monitor for security vulnerabilities and threats, Azure Security Center collects data from your Azure virtual machines. Data is collected by the Log Analytics agent, formerly known as the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA), which reads various security-related configurations and event logs from the machine and copies the data to your Log Analytics workspace for analysis. We recommend enabling auto provisioning to automatically deploy the agent to all supported Azure VMs and any new ones that are created. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
16.6.9 Events to be logged
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-18 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Service apps should have resource logs enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs on the app. This enables you to recreate activity trails for investigation purposes if a security incident occurs or your network is compromised. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Audit usage of custom RBAC roles | Audit built-in roles such as 'Owner, Contributer, Reader' instead of custom RBAC roles, which are error prone. Using custom roles is treated as an exception and requires a rigorous review and threat modeling | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Auditing on SQL server should be enabled | Auditing on your SQL Server should be enabled to track database activities across all databases on the server and save them in an audit log. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Disconnections should be logged for PostgreSQL database servers. | This policy helps audit any PostgreSQL databases in your environment without log_disconnections enabled. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Log Analytics agent should be installed on your virtual machine for Azure Security Center monitoring | This policy audits any Windows/Linux virtual machines (VMs) if the Log Analytics agent is not installed which Security Center uses to monitor for security vulnerabilities and threats | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Log Analytics agent should be installed on your virtual machine scale sets for Azure Security Center monitoring | Security Center collects data from your Azure virtual machines (VMs) to monitor for security vulnerabilities and threats. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Log connections should be enabled for PostgreSQL database servers | This policy helps audit any PostgreSQL databases in your environment without log_connections setting enabled. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Azure Data Lake Store should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Azure Kubernetes Service should be enabled | Azure Kubernetes Service's resource logs can help recreate activity trails when investigating security incidents. Enable it to make sure the logs will exist when needed | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Azure Stream Analytics should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Batch accounts should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Data Lake Analytics should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Event Hub should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| Resource logs in IoT Hub should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.1.0 |
| Resource logs in Key Vault should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Logic Apps should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.1.0 |
| Resource logs in Search services should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| Resource logs in Service Bus should be enabled | Audit enabling of resource logs. This enables you to recreate activity trails to use for investigation purposes; when a security incident occurs or when your network is compromised | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 5.0.0 |
| SQL servers with auditing to storage account destination should be configured with 90 days retention or higher | For incident investigation purposes, we recommend setting the data retention for your SQL Server' auditing to storage account destination to at least 90 days. Confirm that you are meeting the necessary retention rules for the regions in which you are operating. This is sometimes required for compliance with regulatory standards. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
16.6.12 Event log protection
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-19 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storage account containing the container with activity logs must be encrypted with BYOK | This policy audits if the Storage account containing the container with activity logs is encrypted with BYOK. The policy works only if the storage account lies on the same subscription as activity logs by design. More information on Azure Storage encryption at rest can be found here https://aka.ms/azurestoragebyok. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
16.1.32 System User Identitfication
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-2 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Service apps should use managed identity | Use a managed identity for enhanced authentication security | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Function apps should use managed identity | Use a managed identity for enhanced authentication security | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Service Fabric clusters should only use Azure Active Directory for client authentication | Audit usage of client authentication only via Azure Active Directory in Service Fabric | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.1.0 |
16.1.35 Methods for system user identification and authentication
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-3 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accounts with read permissions on Azure resources should be MFA enabled | Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) should be enabled for all subscription accounts with read privileges to prevent a breach of accounts or resources. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
16.1.46 Suspension of access
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-5 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blocked accounts with owner permissions on Azure resources should be removed | Deprecated accounts with owner permissions should be removed from your subscription. Deprecated accounts are accounts that have been blocked from signing in. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Blocked accounts with read and write permissions on Azure resources should be removed | Deprecated accounts should be removed from your subscriptions. Deprecated accounts are accounts that have been blocked from signing in. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
16.3.5 Use of Privileged Accounts
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark AC-9 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A maximum of 3 owners should be designated for your subscription | It is recommended to designate up to 3 subscription owners in order to reduce the potential for breach by a compromised owner. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
Cryptography
17.5.7 Authentication mechanisms
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark CR-10 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentication to Linux machines should require SSH keys | Although SSH itself provides an encrypted connection, using passwords with SSH still leaves the VM vulnerable to brute-force attacks. The most secure option for authenticating to an Azure Linux virtual machine over SSH is with a public-private key pair, also known as SSH keys. Learn more: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/linux/create-ssh-keys-detailed. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.1.0 |
17.9.25 Contents of KMPs
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark CR-15 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| IP Forwarding on your virtual machine should be disabled | Enabling IP forwarding on a virtual machine's NIC allows the machine to receive traffic addressed to other destinations. IP forwarding is rarely required (e.g., when using the VM as a network virtual appliance), and therefore, this should be reviewed by the network security team. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Key Vault keys should have an expiration date | Cryptographic keys should have a defined expiration date and not be permanent. Keys that are valid forever provide a potential attacker with more time to compromise the key. It is a recommended security practice to set expiration dates on cryptographic keys. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Key Vault secrets should have an expiration date | Secrets should have a defined expiration date and not be permanent. Secrets that are valid forever provide a potential attacker with more time to compromise them. It is a recommended security practice to set expiration dates on secrets. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| PostgreSQL servers should use customer-managed keys to encrypt data at rest | Use customer-managed keys to manage the encryption at rest of your PostgreSQL servers. By default, the data is encrypted at rest with service-managed keys, but customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance standards. Customer-managed keys enable the data to be encrypted with an Azure Key Vault key created and owned by you. You have full control and responsibility for the key lifecycle, including rotation and management. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.4 |
17.1.52 Data Recovery
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark CR-2 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Key vaults should have deletion protection enabled | Malicious deletion of a key vault can lead to permanent data loss. You can prevent permanent data loss by enabling purge protection and soft delete. Purge protection protects you from insider attacks by enforcing a mandatory retention period for soft deleted key vaults. No one inside your organization or Microsoft will be able to purge your key vaults during the soft delete retention period. Keep in mind that key vaults created after September 1st 2019 have soft-delete enabled by default. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.1.0 |
| Key vaults should have soft delete enabled | Deleting a key vault without soft delete enabled permanently deletes all secrets, keys, and certificates stored in the key vault. Accidental deletion of a key vault can lead to permanent data loss. Soft delete allows you to recover an accidentally deleted key vault for a configurable retention period. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
17.1.53 Reducing storage and physical transfer requirements
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark CR-3 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automation account variables should be encrypted | It is important to enable encryption of Automation account variable assets when storing sensitive data | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.1.0 |
| Azure Cosmos DB accounts should use customer-managed keys to encrypt data at rest | Use customer-managed keys to manage the encryption at rest of your Azure Cosmos DB. By default, the data is encrypted at rest with service-managed keys, but customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance standards. Customer-managed keys enable the data to be encrypted with an Azure Key Vault key created and owned by you. You have full control and responsibility for the key lifecycle, including rotation and management. Learn more at https://aka.ms/cosmosdb-cmk. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 1.1.0 |
| Azure Machine Learning workspaces should be encrypted with a customer-managed key | Manage encryption at rest of Azure Machine Learning workspace data with customer-managed keys. By default, customer data is encrypted with service-managed keys, but customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance standards. Customer-managed keys enable the data to be encrypted with an Azure Key Vault key created and owned by you. You have full control and responsibility for the key lifecycle, including rotation and management. Learn more at https://aka.ms/azureml-workspaces-cmk. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.3 |
| Cognitive Services accounts should enable data encryption with a customer-managed key | Customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance standards. Customer-managed keys enable the data stored in Cognitive Services to be encrypted with an Azure Key Vault key created and owned by you. You have full control and responsibility for the key lifecycle, including rotation and management. Learn more about customer-managed keys at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2121321. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.1.0 |
| Container registries should be encrypted with a customer-managed key | Use customer-managed keys to manage the encryption at rest of the contents of your registries. By default, the data is encrypted at rest with service-managed keys, but customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance standards. Customer-managed keys enable the data to be encrypted with an Azure Key Vault key created and owned by you. You have full control and responsibility for the key lifecycle, including rotation and management. Learn more at https://aka.ms/acr/CMK. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.1.2 |
| MySQL servers should use customer-managed keys to encrypt data at rest | Use customer-managed keys to manage the encryption at rest of your MySQL servers. By default, the data is encrypted at rest with service-managed keys, but customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance standards. Customer-managed keys enable the data to be encrypted with an Azure Key Vault key created and owned by you. You have full control and responsibility for the key lifecycle, including rotation and management. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.4 |
| Service Fabric clusters should have the ClusterProtectionLevel property set to EncryptAndSign | Service Fabric provides three levels of protection (None, Sign and EncryptAndSign) for node-to-node communication using a primary cluster certificate. Set the protection level to ensure that all node-to-node messages are encrypted and digitally signed | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.1.0 |
| SQL managed instances should use customer-managed keys to encrypt data at rest | Implementing Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with your own key provides you with increased transparency and control over the TDE Protector, increased security with an HSM-backed external service, and promotion of separation of duties. This recommendation applies to organizations with a related compliance requirement. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| SQL servers should use customer-managed keys to encrypt data at rest | Implementing Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) with your own key provides increased transparency and control over the TDE Protector, increased security with an HSM-backed external service, and promotion of separation of duties. This recommendation applies to organizations with a related compliance requirement. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Storage accounts should use customer-managed key for encryption | Secure your blob and file storage account with greater flexibility using customer-managed keys. When you specify a customer-managed key, that key is used to protect and control access to the key that encrypts your data. Using customer-managed keys provides additional capabilities to control rotation of the key encryption key or cryptographically erase data. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.3 |
| Transparent Data Encryption on SQL databases should be enabled | Transparent data encryption should be enabled to protect data-at-rest and meet compliance requirements | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Virtual machines should encrypt temp disks, caches, and data flows between Compute and Storage resources | By default, a virtual machine's OS and data disks are encrypted-at-rest using platform-managed keys. Temp disks, data caches and data flowing between compute and storage aren't encrypted. Disregard this recommendation if: 1. using encryption-at-host, or 2. server-side encryption on Managed Disks meets your security requirements. Learn more in: Server-side encryption of Azure Disk Storage: https://aka.ms/disksse, Different disk encryption offerings: https://aka.ms/diskencryptioncomparison | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.3 |
17.2.24 Using RSA
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark CR-5 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certificates using RSA cryptography should have the specified minimum key size | Manage your organizational compliance requirements by specifying a minimum key size for RSA certificates stored in your key vault. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 2.1.0 |
17.4.16 Using TLS
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark CR-8 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Service apps should use the latest TLS version | Periodically, newer versions are released for TLS either due to security flaws, include additional functionality, and enhance speed. Upgrade to the latest TLS version for App Service apps to take advantage of security fixes, if any, and/or new functionalities of the latest version. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Function apps should use the latest TLS version | Periodically, newer versions are released for TLS either due to security flaws, include additional functionality, and enhance speed. Upgrade to the latest TLS version for Function apps to take advantage of security fixes, if any, and/or new functionalities of the latest version. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Windows machines should be configured to use secure communication protocols | To protect the privacy of information communicated over the Internet, your machines should use the latest version of the industry-standard cryptographic protocol, Transport Layer Security (TLS). TLS secures communications over a network by encrypting a connection between machines. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 4.1.1 |
Gateway security
19.1.11 Using Gateways
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark GS-2 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All authorization rules except RootManageSharedAccessKey should be removed from Service Bus namespace | Service Bus clients should not use a namespace level access policy that provides access to all queues and topics in a namespace. To align with the least privilege security model, you should create access policies at the entity level for queues and topics to provide access to only the specific entity | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Authorized IP ranges should be defined on Kubernetes Services | Restrict access to the Kubernetes Service Management API by granting API access only to IP addresses in specific ranges. It is recommended to limit access to authorized IP ranges to ensure that only applications from allowed networks can access the cluster. | Audit, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Azure Key Vault Managed HSM should have purge protection enabled | Malicious deletion of an Azure Key Vault Managed HSM can lead to permanent data loss. A malicious insider in your organization can potentially delete and purge Azure Key Vault Managed HSM. Purge protection protects you from insider attacks by enforcing a mandatory retention period for soft deleted Azure Key Vault Managed HSM. No one inside your organization or Microsoft will be able to purge your Azure Key Vault Managed HSM during the soft delete retention period. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Cognitive Services accounts should disable public network access | To improve the security of Cognitive Services accounts, ensure that it isn't exposed to the public internet and can only be accessed from a private endpoint. Disable the public network access property as described in https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2129800. This option disables access from any public address space outside the Azure IP range, and denies all logins that match IP or virtual network-based firewall rules. This reduces data leakage risks. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 3.0.1 |
| Internet-facing virtual machines should be protected with network security groups | Protect your virtual machines from potential threats by restricting access to them with network security groups (NSG). Learn more about controlling traffic with NSGs at https://aka.ms/nsg-doc | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Non-internet-facing virtual machines should be protected with network security groups | Protect your non-internet-facing virtual machines from potential threats by restricting access with network security groups (NSG). Learn more about controlling traffic with NSGs at https://aka.ms/nsg-doc | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Public network access on Azure SQL Database should be disabled | Disabling the public network access property improves security by ensuring your Azure SQL Database can only be accessed from a private endpoint. This configuration denies all logins that match IP or virtual network based firewall rules. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.1.0 |
| Public network access should be disabled for MariaDB servers | Disable the public network access property to improve security and ensure your Azure Database for MariaDB can only be accessed from a private endpoint. This configuration strictly disables access from any public address space outside of Azure IP range, and denies all logins that match IP or virtual network-based firewall rules. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Public network access should be disabled for MySQL servers | Disable the public network access property to improve security and ensure your Azure Database for MySQL can only be accessed from a private endpoint. This configuration strictly disables access from any public address space outside of Azure IP range, and denies all logins that match IP or virtual network-based firewall rules. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Public network access should be disabled for PostgreSQL servers | Disable the public network access property to improve security and ensure your Azure Database for PostgreSQL can only be accessed from a private endpoint. This configuration disables access from any public address space outside of Azure IP range, and denies all logins that match IP or virtual network-based firewall rules. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Storage account keys should not be expired | Ensure the user storage account keys are not expired when key expiration policy is set, for improving security of account keys by taking action when the keys are expired. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
19.1.12 Configuration of Gateways
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark GS-3 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All network ports should be restricted on network security groups associated to your virtual machine | Azure Security Center has identified some of your network security groups' inbound rules to be too permissive. Inbound rules should not allow access from 'Any' or 'Internet' ranges. This can potentially enable attackers to target your resources. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Azure Cosmos DB accounts should have firewall rules | Firewall rules should be defined on your Azure Cosmos DB accounts to prevent traffic from unauthorized sources. Accounts that have at least one IP rule defined with the virtual network filter enabled are deemed compliant. Accounts disabling public access are also deemed compliant. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Cognitive Services accounts should restrict network access | Network access to Cognitive Services accounts should be restricted. Configure network rules so only applications from allowed networks can access the Cognitive Services account. To allow connections from specific internet or on-premises clients, access can be granted to traffic from specific Azure virtual networks or to public internet IP address ranges. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Container registries should not allow unrestricted network access | Azure container registries by default accept connections over the internet from hosts on any network. To protect your registries from potential threats, allow access from only specific private endpoints, public IP addresses or address ranges. If your registry doesn't have network rules configured, it will appear in the unhealthy resources. Learn more about Container Registry network rules here: https://aka.ms/acr/privatelink, https://aka.ms/acr/portal/public-network and https://aka.ms/acr/vnet. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Storage accounts should restrict network access | Network access to storage accounts should be restricted. Configure network rules so only applications from allowed networks can access the storage account. To allow connections from specific internet or on-premises clients, access can be granted to traffic from specific Azure virtual networks or to public internet IP address ranges | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.1.1 |
| Subnets should be associated with a Network Security Group | Protect your subnet from potential threats by restricting access to it with a Network Security Group (NSG). NSGs contain a list of Access Control List (ACL) rules that allow or deny network traffic to your subnet. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
19.1.23 Testing of Gateways
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark GS-5 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptive network hardening recommendations should be applied on internet facing virtual machines | Azure Security Center analyzes the traffic patterns of Internet facing virtual machines and provides Network Security Group rule recommendations that reduce the potential attack surface | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
Infrastructure
10.8.35 Security Architecture
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark INF-9 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| API Management services should use a virtual network | Azure Virtual Network deployment provides enhanced security, isolation and allows you to place your API Management service in a non-internet routable network that you control access to. These networks can then be connected to your on-premises networks using various VPN technologies, which enables access to your backend services within the network and/or on-premises. The developer portal and API gateway, can be configured to be accessible either from the Internet or only within the virtual network. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| App Configuration should use private link | Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The private link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network. By mapping private endpoints to your app configuration instances instead of the entire service, you'll also be protected against data leakage risks. Learn more at: https://aka.ms/appconfig/private-endpoint. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Azure Event Grid domains should use private link | Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The Private Link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network. By mapping private endpoints to your Event Grid domain instead of the entire service, you'll also be protected against data leakage risks. Learn more at: https://aka.ms/privateendpoints. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Azure Event Grid topics should use private link | Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The Private Link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network. By mapping private endpoints to your Event Grid topic instead of the entire service, you'll also be protected against data leakage risks. Learn more at: https://aka.ms/privateendpoints. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Azure Machine Learning workspaces should use private link | Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The Private Link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network. By mapping private endpoints to Azure Machine Learning workspaces, data leakage risks are reduced. Learn more about private links at: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/machine-learning/how-to-configure-private-link. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Azure Policy Add-on for Kubernetes service (AKS) should be installed and enabled on your clusters | Azure Policy Add-on for Kubernetes service (AKS) extends Gatekeeper v3, an admission controller webhook for Open Policy Agent (OPA), to apply at-scale enforcements and safeguards on your clusters in a centralized, consistent manner. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) should be used on Kubernetes Services | To provide granular filtering on the actions that users can perform, use Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to manage permissions in Kubernetes Service Clusters and configure relevant authorization policies. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.3 |
| Azure Spring Cloud should use network injection | Azure Spring Cloud instances should use virtual network injection for the following purposes: 1. Isolate Azure Spring Cloud from Internet. 2. Enable Azure Spring Cloud to interact with systems in either on premises data centers or Azure service in other virtual networks. 3. Empower customers to control inbound and outbound network communications for Azure Spring Cloud. | Audit, Disabled, Deny | 1.2.0 |
| Container registries should use private link | Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The private link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network.By mapping private endpoints to your container registries instead of the entire service, you'll also be protected against data leakage risks. Learn more at: https://aka.ms/acr/private-link. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Private endpoint connections on Azure SQL Database should be enabled | Private endpoint connections enforce secure communication by enabling private connectivity to Azure SQL Database. | Audit, Disabled | 1.1.0 |
| Private endpoint connections on Batch accounts should be enabled | Private endpoint connections allow secure communication by enabling private connectivity to Batch accounts without a need for public IP addresses at the source or destination. Learn more about private endpoints in Batch at https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/batch/private-connectivity. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Private endpoint should be enabled for MariaDB servers | Private endpoint connections enforce secure communication by enabling private connectivity to Azure Database for MariaDB. Configure a private endpoint connection to enable access to traffic coming only from known networks and prevent access from all other IP addresses, including within Azure. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Private endpoint should be enabled for MySQL servers | Private endpoint connections enforce secure communication by enabling private connectivity to Azure Database for MySQL. Configure a private endpoint connection to enable access to traffic coming only from known networks and prevent access from all other IP addresses, including within Azure. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Private endpoint should be enabled for PostgreSQL servers | Private endpoint connections enforce secure communication by enabling private connectivity to Azure Database for PostgreSQL. Configure a private endpoint connection to enable access to traffic coming only from known networks and prevent access from all other IP addresses, including within Azure. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Storage accounts should restrict network access using virtual network rules | Protect your storage accounts from potential threats using virtual network rules as a preferred method instead of IP-based filtering. Disabling IP-based filtering prevents public IPs from accessing your storage accounts. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Storage accounts should use private link | Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The Private Link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network. By mapping private endpoints to your storage account, data leakage risks are reduced. Learn more about private links at - https://aka.ms/azureprivatelinkoverview | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| VM Image Builder templates should use private link | Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The Private Link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network. By mapping private endpoints to your VM Image Builder building resources, data leakage risks are reduced. Learn more about private links at: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/linux/image-builder-networking#deploy-using-an-existing-vnet. | Audit, Disabled, Deny | 1.1.0 |
Information Security Incidents
7.1.7 Preventing and detecting information security incidents
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark ISI-2 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Defender for App Service should be enabled | Azure Defender for App Service leverages the scale of the cloud, and the visibility that Azure has as a cloud provider, to monitor for common web app attacks. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.3 |
| Azure Defender for Azure SQL Database servers should be enabled | Azure Defender for SQL provides functionality for surfacing and mitigating potential database vulnerabilities, detecting anomalous activities that could indicate threats to SQL databases, and discovering and classifying sensitive data. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Azure Defender for DNS should be enabled | Azure Defender for DNS provides an additional layer of protection for your cloud resources by continuously monitoring all DNS queries from your Azure resources. Azure Defender alerts you about suspicious activity at the DNS layer. Learn more about the capabilities of Azure Defender for DNS at https://aka.ms/defender-for-dns . Enabling this Azure Defender plan results in charges. Learn about the pricing details per region on Security Center's pricing page: https://aka.ms/pricing-security-center . | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Azure Defender for Key Vault should be enabled | Azure Defender for Key Vault provides an additional layer of protection and security intelligence by detecting unusual and potentially harmful attempts to access or exploit key vault accounts. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.3 |
| Azure Defender for open-source relational databases should be enabled | Azure Defender for open-source relational databases detects anomalous activities indicating unusual and potentially harmful attempts to access or exploit databases. Learn more about the capabilities of Azure Defender for open-source relational databases at https://aka.ms/AzDforOpenSourceDBsDocu. Important: Enabling this plan will result in charges for protecting your open-source relational databases. Learn about the pricing on Security Center's pricing page: https://aka.ms/pricing-security-center | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Azure Defender for Resource Manager should be enabled | Azure Defender for Resource Manager automatically monitors the resource management operations in your organization. Azure Defender detects threats and alerts you about suspicious activity. Learn more about the capabilities of Azure Defender for Resource Manager at https://aka.ms/defender-for-resource-manager . Enabling this Azure Defender plan results in charges. Learn about the pricing details per region on Security Center's pricing page: https://aka.ms/pricing-security-center . | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Azure Defender for servers should be enabled | Azure Defender for servers provides real-time threat protection for server workloads and generates hardening recommendations as well as alerts about suspicious activities. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.3 |
| Azure Defender for SQL servers on machines should be enabled | Azure Defender for SQL provides functionality for surfacing and mitigating potential database vulnerabilities, detecting anomalous activities that could indicate threats to SQL databases, and discovering and classifying sensitive data. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Azure Defender for SQL should be enabled for unprotected Azure SQL servers | Audit SQL servers without Advanced Data Security | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Azure Defender for SQL should be enabled for unprotected SQL Managed Instances | Audit each SQL Managed Instance without advanced data security. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Microsoft Defender for Containers should be enabled | Microsoft Defender for Containers provides hardening, vulnerability assessment and run-time protections for your Azure, hybrid, and multi-cloud Kubernetes environments. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Microsoft Defender for Storage (Classic) should be enabled | Microsoft Defender for Storage (Classic) provides detections of unusual and potentially harmful attempts to access or exploit storage accounts. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.4 |
Information security monitoring
6.2.5 Conducting vulnerability assessments
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark ISM-3 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A vulnerability assessment solution should be enabled on your virtual machines | Audits virtual machines to detect whether they are running a supported vulnerability assessment solution. A core component of every cyber risk and security program is the identification and analysis of vulnerabilities. Azure Security Center's standard pricing tier includes vulnerability scanning for your virtual machines at no extra cost. Additionally, Security Center can automatically deploy this tool for you. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Vulnerability assessment should be enabled on SQL Managed Instance | Audit each SQL Managed Instance which doesn't have recurring vulnerability assessment scans enabled. Vulnerability assessment can discover, track, and help you remediate potential database vulnerabilities. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Vulnerability assessment should be enabled on your SQL servers | Audit Azure SQL servers which do not have vulnerability assessment properly configured. Vulnerability assessment can discover, track, and help you remediate potential database vulnerabilities. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
6.2.6 Resolving vulnerabilities
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark ISM-4 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Container registry images should have vulnerability findings resolved | Container image vulnerability assessment scans your registry for security vulnerabilities and exposes detailed findings for each image. Resolving the vulnerabilities can greatly improve your containers' security posture and protect them from attacks. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| Email notification for high severity alerts should be enabled | To ensure the relevant people in your organization are notified when there is a potential security breach in one of your subscriptions, enable email notifications for high severity alerts in Security Center. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Email notification to subscription owner for high severity alerts should be enabled | To ensure your subscription owners are notified when there is a potential security breach in their subscription, set email notifications to subscription owners for high severity alerts in Security Center. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Enforce SSL connection should be enabled for MySQL database servers | Azure Database for MySQL supports connecting your Azure Database for MySQL server to client applications using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Enforcing SSL connections between your database server and your client applications helps protect against 'man in the middle' attacks by encrypting the data stream between the server and your application. This configuration enforces that SSL is always enabled for accessing your database server. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Enforce SSL connection should be enabled for PostgreSQL database servers | Azure Database for PostgreSQL supports connecting your Azure Database for PostgreSQL server to client applications using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Enforcing SSL connections between your database server and your client applications helps protect against 'man in the middle' attacks by encrypting the data stream between the server and your application. This configuration enforces that SSL is always enabled for accessing your database server. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| SQL databases should have vulnerability findings resolved | Monitor vulnerability assessment scan results and recommendations for how to remediate database vulnerabilities. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 4.1.0 |
| SQL servers on machines should have vulnerability findings resolved | SQL vulnerability assessment scans your database for security vulnerabilities, and exposes any deviations from best practices such as misconfigurations, excessive permissions, and unprotected sensitive data. Resolving the vulnerabilities found can greatly improve your database security posture. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Subscriptions should have a contact email address for security issues | To ensure the relevant people in your organization are notified when there is a potential security breach in one of your subscriptions, set a security contact to receive email notifications from Security Center. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Vulnerabilities in container security configurations should be remediated | Audit vulnerabilities in security configuration on machines with Docker installed and display as recommendations in Azure Security Center. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Vulnerabilities in security configuration on your machines should be remediated | Servers which do not satisfy the configured baseline will be monitored by Azure Security Center as recommendations | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.1.0 |
| Vulnerabilities in security configuration on your virtual machine scale sets should be remediated | Audit the OS vulnerabilities on your virtual machine scale sets to protect them from attacks. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
6.4.5 Availability requirements
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark ISM-7 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit virtual machines without disaster recovery configured | Audit virtual machines which do not have disaster recovery configured. To learn more about disaster recovery, visit https://aka.ms/asr-doc. | auditIfNotExists | 1.0.0 |
Network security
18.3.19 Content of a Denial of Service (DoS) response plan
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark NS-5 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure DDoS Protection Standard should be enabled | DDoS protection standard should be enabled for all virtual networks with a subnet that is part of an application gateway with a public IP. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
18.4.7 Intrusion Detection and Prevention strategy (IDS/IPS)
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark NS-7 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connection throttling should be enabled for PostgreSQL database servers | This policy helps audit any PostgreSQL databases in your environment without Connection throttling enabled. This setting enables temporary connection throttling per IP for too many invalid password login failures. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
18.4.8 IDS/IPSs on gateways
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark NS-8 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Web Application Firewall should be enabled for Azure Front Door entry-points | Deploy Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) in front of public facing web applications for additional inspection of incoming traffic. Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides centralized protection of your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities such as SQL injections, Cross-Site Scripting, local and remote file executions. You can also restrict access to your web applications by countries, IP address ranges, and other http(s) parameters via custom rules. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.2 |
| Web Application Firewall (WAF) should be enabled for Application Gateway | Deploy Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) in front of public facing web applications for additional inspection of incoming traffic. Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides centralized protection of your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities such as SQL injections, Cross-Site Scripting, local and remote file executions. You can also restrict access to your web applications by countries, IP address ranges, and other http(s) parameters via custom rules. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Web Application Firewall (WAF) should use the specified mode for Application Gateway | Mandates the use of 'Detection' or 'Prevention' mode to be active on all Web Application Firewall policies for Application Gateway. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Web Application Firewall (WAF) should use the specified mode for Azure Front Door Service | Mandates the use of 'Detection' or 'Prevention' mode to be active on all Web Application Firewall policies for Azure Front Door Service. | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
Product Security
12.4.4 Patching vulnerabilities in products
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark PRS-5 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| System updates on virtual machine scale sets should be installed | Audit whether there are any missing system security updates and critical updates that should be installed to ensure that your Windows and Linux virtual machine scale sets are secure. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| System updates should be installed on your machines | Missing security system updates on your servers will be monitored by Azure Security Center as recommendations | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 4.0.0 |
Physical Security
8.3.5 Network infrastructure in unsecure areas
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark PS-4 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Only secure connections to your Azure Cache for Redis should be enabled | Audit enabling of only connections via SSL to Azure Cache for Redis. Use of secure connections ensures authentication between the server and the service and protects data in transit from network layer attacks such as man-in-the-middle, eavesdropping, and session-hijacking | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Secure transfer to storage accounts should be enabled | Audit requirement of Secure transfer in your storage account. Secure transfer is an option that forces your storage account to accept requests only from secure connections (HTTPS). Use of HTTPS ensures authentication between the server and the service and protects data in transit from network layer attacks such as man-in-the-middle, eavesdropping, and session-hijacking | Audit, Deny, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
Software security
14.1.8 Developing hardened SOEs
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark SS-2 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Service apps should have remote debugging turned off | Remote debugging requires inbound ports to be opened on an App Service app. Remote debugging should be turned off. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Function apps should have remote debugging turned off | Remote debugging requires inbound ports to be opened on Function apps. Remote debugging should be turned off. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Management ports should be closed on your virtual machines | Open remote management ports are exposing your VM to a high level of risk from Internet-based attacks. These attacks attempt to brute force credentials to gain admin access to the machine. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
14.1.9 Maintaining hardened SOEs
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark SS-3 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure API for FHIR should use private link | Azure API for FHIR should have at least one approved private endpoint connection. Clients in a virtual network can securely access resources that have private endpoint connections through private links. For more information, visit: https://aka.ms/fhir-privatelink. | Audit, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Endpoint protection health issues should be resolved on your machines | Resolve endpoint protection health issues on your virtual machines to protect them from latest threats and vulnerabilities. Azure Security Center supported endpoint protection solutions are documented here - https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/security-center/security-center-services?tabs=features-windows#supported-endpoint-protection-solutions. Endpoint protection assessment is documented here - https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/security-center/security-center-endpoint-protection. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Endpoint protection should be installed on your machines | To protect your machines from threats and vulnerabilities, install a supported endpoint protection solution. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.0 |
| Endpoint protection solution should be installed on virtual machine scale sets | Audit the existence and health of an endpoint protection solution on your virtual machines scale sets, to protect them from threats and vulnerabilities. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Guest Configuration extension should be installed on your machines | To ensure secure configurations of in-guest settings of your machine, install the Guest Configuration extension. In-guest settings that the extension monitors include the configuration of the operating system, application configuration or presence, and environment settings. Once installed, in-guest policies will be available such as 'Windows Exploit guard should be enabled'. Learn more at https://aka.ms/gcpol. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.3 |
| Kubernetes cluster containers should not share host process ID or host IPC namespace | Block pod containers from sharing the host process ID namespace and host IPC namespace in a Kubernetes cluster. This recommendation is part of CIS 5.2.2 and CIS 5.2.3 which are intended to improve the security of your Kubernetes environments. This policy is generally available for Kubernetes Service (AKS), and preview for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes. For more information, see https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 5.1.0 |
| Kubernetes cluster containers should run with a read only root file system | Run containers with a read only root file system to protect from changes at run-time with malicious binaries being added to PATH in a Kubernetes cluster. This policy is generally available for Kubernetes Service (AKS), and preview for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes. For more information, see https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 6.1.0 |
| Kubernetes cluster should not allow privileged containers | Do not allow privileged containers creation in a Kubernetes cluster. This recommendation is part of CIS 5.2.1 which is intended to improve the security of your Kubernetes environments. This policy is generally available for Kubernetes Service (AKS), and preview for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes. For more information, see https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 9.1.0 |
| Kubernetes clusters should be accessible only over HTTPS | Use of HTTPS ensures authentication and protects data in transit from network layer eavesdropping attacks. This capability is currently generally available for Kubernetes Service (AKS), and in preview for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes. For more info, visit https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 8.1.0 |
| Kubernetes clusters should disable automounting API credentials | Disable automounting API credentials to prevent a potentially compromised Pod resource to run API commands against Kubernetes clusters. For more information, see https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 4.1.0 |
| Kubernetes clusters should not allow container privilege escalation | Do not allow containers to run with privilege escalation to root in a Kubernetes cluster. This recommendation is part of CIS 5.2.5 which is intended to improve the security of your Kubernetes environments. This policy is generally available for Kubernetes Service (AKS), and preview for Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes. For more information, see https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 7.1.0 |
| Kubernetes clusters should not grant CAP_SYS_ADMIN security capabilities | To reduce the attack surface of your containers, restrict CAP_SYS_ADMIN Linux capabilities. For more information, see https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 5.1.0 |
| Kubernetes clusters should not use the default namespace | Prevent usage of the default namespace in Kubernetes clusters to protect against unauthorized access for ConfigMap, Pod, Secret, Service, and ServiceAccount resource types. For more information, see https://aka.ms/kubepolicydoc. | audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled | 4.1.0 |
| Management ports of virtual machines should be protected with just-in-time network access control | Possible network Just In Time (JIT) access will be monitored by Azure Security Center as recommendations | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Monitor missing Endpoint Protection in Azure Security Center | Servers without an installed Endpoint Protection agent will be monitored by Azure Security Center as recommendations | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Virtual machines' Guest Configuration extension should be deployed with system-assigned managed identity | The Guest Configuration extension requires a system assigned managed identity. Azure virtual machines in the scope of this policy will be non-compliant when they have the Guest Configuration extension installed but do not have a system assigned managed identity. Learn more at https://aka.ms/gcpol | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 1.0.1 |
| Windows Defender Exploit Guard should be enabled on your machines | Windows Defender Exploit Guard uses the Azure Policy Guest Configuration agent. Exploit Guard has four components that are designed to lock down devices against a wide variety of attack vectors and block behaviors commonly used in malware attacks while enabling enterprises to balance their security risk and productivity requirements (Windows only). | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
14.2.4 Application Whitelisting
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark SS-5 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adaptive application controls for defining safe applications should be enabled on your machines | Enable application controls to define the list of known-safe applications running on your machines, and alert you when other applications run. This helps harden your machines against malware. To simplify the process of configuring and maintaining your rules, Security Center uses machine learning to analyze the applications running on each machine and suggest the list of known-safe applications. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Allowlist rules in your adaptive application control policy should be updated | Monitor for changes in behavior on groups of machines configured for auditing by Azure Security Center's adaptive application controls. Security Center uses machine learning to analyze the running processes on your machines and suggest a list of known-safe applications. These are presented as recommended apps to allow in adaptive application control policies. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
14.5.8 Web applications
ID: NZISM Security Benchmark SS-9 Ownership: Customer
| Name (Azure portal) |
Description | Effect(s) | Version (GitHub) |
|---|---|---|---|
| App Service apps should have 'Client Certificates (Incoming client certificates)' enabled | Client certificates allow for the app to request a certificate for incoming requests. Only clients that have a valid certificate will be able to reach the app. | Audit, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| App Service apps should have authentication enabled | Azure App Service Authentication is a feature that can prevent anonymous HTTP requests from reaching the web app, or authenticate those that have tokens before they reach the web app. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.1 |
| App Service apps should not have CORS configured to allow every resource to access your apps | Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) should not allow all domains to access your app. Allow only required domains to interact with your app. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| App Service apps should only be accessible over HTTPS | Use of HTTPS ensures server/service authentication and protects data in transit from network layer eavesdropping attacks. | Audit, Disabled, Deny | 4.0.0 |
| App Service apps should require FTPS only | Enable FTPS enforcement for enhanced security. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| App Service apps should use latest 'HTTP Version' | Periodically, newer versions are released for HTTP either due to security flaws or to include additional functionality. Using the latest HTTP version for web apps to take advantage of security fixes, if any, and/or new functionalities of the newer version. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 4.0.0 |
| Function apps should have 'Client Certificates (Incoming client certificates)' enabled | Client certificates allow for the app to request a certificate for incoming requests. Only clients with valid certificates will be able to reach the app. | Audit, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Function apps should have authentication enabled | Azure App Service Authentication is a feature that can prevent anonymous HTTP requests from reaching the Function app, or authenticate those that have tokens before they reach the Function app. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Function apps should not have CORS configured to allow every resource to access your apps | Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) should not allow all domains to access your Function app. Allow only required domains to interact with your Function app. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 2.0.0 |
| Function apps should only be accessible over HTTPS | Use of HTTPS ensures server/service authentication and protects data in transit from network layer eavesdropping attacks. | Audit, Disabled, Deny | 5.0.0 |
| Function apps should require FTPS only | Enable FTPS enforcement for enhanced security. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 3.0.0 |
| Function apps should use latest 'HTTP Version' | Periodically, newer versions are released for HTTP either due to security flaws or to include additional functionality. Using the latest HTTP version for web apps to take advantage of security fixes, if any, and/or new functionalities of the newer version. | AuditIfNotExists, Disabled | 4.0.0 |
Next steps
Additional articles about Azure Policy:
- Regulatory Compliance overview.
- See the initiative definition structure.
- Review other examples at Azure Policy samples.
- Review Understanding policy effects.
- Learn how to remediate non-compliant resources.
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