Details of the Reserve Bank of India IT Framework for Banks v2016 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 Reserve Bank of India IT Framework for Banks v2016. For more information about this compliance standard, see Reserve Bank of India IT Framework for Banks v2016. To understand Ownership, see Azure Policy policy definition and Shared responsibility in the cloud.

The following mappings are to the Reserve Bank of India IT Framework for Banks v2016 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 [Preview]: Reserve Bank of India - IT Framework for Banks 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.

Authentication Framework For Customers

Authentication Framework For Customers-9.1

ID:

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 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
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
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 3.2.0

Authentication Framework For Customers-9.3

ID:

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 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
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
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 3.2.0
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

Network Management And Security

Network Inventory-4.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: All Internet traffic should be routed via your deployed Azure Firewall Azure Security Center has identified that some of your subnets aren't protected with a next generation firewall. Protect your subnets from potential threats by restricting access to them with Azure Firewall or a supported next generation firewall AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0-preview
[Preview]: Network traffic data collection agent should be installed on Linux virtual machines Security Center uses the Microsoft Dependency agent to collect network traffic data from your Azure virtual machines to enable advanced network protection features such as traffic visualization on the network map, network hardening recommendations and specific network threats. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.2-preview
[Preview]: Network traffic data collection agent should be installed on Windows virtual machines Security Center uses the Microsoft Dependency agent to collect network traffic data from your Azure virtual machines to enable advanced network protection features such as traffic visualization on the network map, network hardening recommendations and specific network threats. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.2-preview
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
Network Watcher flow logs should have traffic analytics enabled Traffic analytics analyzes flow logs to provide insights into traffic flow in your Azure cloud. It can be used to visualize network activity across your Azure subscriptions and identify hot spots, identify security threats, understand traffic flow patterns, pinpoint network misconfigurations and more. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1

Network Device Configuration Management-4.3

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: All Internet traffic should be routed via your deployed Azure Firewall Azure Security Center has identified that some of your subnets aren't protected with a next generation firewall. Protect your subnets from potential threats by restricting access to them with Azure Firewall or a supported next generation firewall AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0-preview
[Preview]: vTPM should be enabled on supported virtual machines Enable virtual TPM device on supported virtual machines to facilitate Measured Boot and other OS security features that require a TPM. Once enabled, vTPM can be used to attest boot integrity. This assessment only applies to trusted launch enabled virtual machines. Audit, Disabled 2.0.0-preview
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
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
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. This policy applies to apps with Http version set to 1.1. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
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
Azure firewall policy should enable TLS inspection within application rules Enabling TLS inspection is recommended for all application rules to detect, alert, and mitigate malicious activity in HTTPS. To learn more about TLS inspection with Azure Firewall, visit https://aka.ms/fw-tlsinspect Audit, Deny, Disabled 1.0.0
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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 enable all firewall rules for Application Gateway Enabling all Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules strengthens your application security and protects your web applications against common vulnerabilities. To learn more about Web Application Firewall (WAF) with Application Gateway, visit https://aka.ms/waf-ag Audit, Deny, Disabled 1.0.1

Anomaly Detection-4.7

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: All Internet traffic should be routed via your deployed Azure Firewall Azure Security Center has identified that some of your subnets aren't protected with a next generation firewall. Protect your subnets from potential threats by restricting access to them with Azure Firewall or a supported next generation firewall AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0-preview
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Security Operation Centre-4.9

ID:

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 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
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
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 should be enabled Microsoft Defender for Storage detects potential threats to your storage accounts. It helps prevent the three major impacts on your data and workload: malicious file uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. The new Defender for Storage plan includes Malware Scanning and Sensitive Data Threat Detection. This plan also provides a predictable pricing structure (per storage account) for control over coverage and costs. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
Network Watcher should be enabled Network Watcher is a regional service that enables you to monitor and diagnose conditions at a network scenario level in, to, and from Azure. Scenario level monitoring enables you to diagnose problems at an end to end network level view. It is required to have a network watcher resource group to be created in every region where a virtual network is present. An alert is enabled if a network watcher resource group is not available in a particular region. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0
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

Perimeter Protection And Detection-4.10

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: All Internet traffic should be routed via your deployed Azure Firewall Azure Security Center has identified that some of your subnets aren't protected with a next generation firewall. Protect your subnets from potential threats by restricting access to them with Azure Firewall or a supported next generation firewall AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0-preview
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
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 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 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Preventing Execution Of Unauthorised Software

Software Inventory-2.1

ID:

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

Authorised Software Installation-2.2

ID:

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

Security Update Management-2.3

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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
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

Patch/Vulnerability & Change Management

Patch/Vulnerability & Change Management-7.1

ID:

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
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
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
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
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

Patch/Vulnerability & Change Management-7.2

ID:

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
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
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
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
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

Patch/Vulnerability & Change Management-7.6

ID:

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 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 should be enabled Microsoft Defender for Storage detects potential threats to your storage accounts. It helps prevent the three major impacts on your data and workload: malicious file uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. The new Defender for Storage plan includes Malware Scanning and Sensitive Data Threat Detection. This plan also provides a predictable pricing structure (per storage account) for control over coverage and costs. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
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
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
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

Patch/Vulnerability & Change Management-7.7

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: Storage account public access should be disallowed Anonymous public read access to containers and blobs in Azure Storage is a convenient way to share data but might present security risks. To prevent data breaches caused by undesired anonymous access, Microsoft recommends preventing public access to a storage account unless your scenario requires it. audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled 3.1.0-preview
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
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 3.2.0
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 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 Key Vault should have firewall enabled Enable the key vault firewall so that the key vault is not accessible by default to any public IPs. Optionally, you can configure specific IP ranges to limit access to those networks. Learn more at: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/key-vault/general/network-security Audit, Deny, Disabled 3.2.1
Azure Key Vaults should use private link Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual networks 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 key vault, you can reduce data leakage risks. Learn more about private links at: https://aka.ms/akvprivatelink. [parameters('audit_effect')] 1.2.1
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 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 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
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 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
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 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
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

Maintenance, Monitoring, And Analysis Of Audit Logs

Maintenance, Monitoring, And Analysis Of Audit Logs-16.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
All flow log resources should be in enabled state Audit for flow log resources to verify if flow log status is enabled. Enabling flow logs allows to log information about IP traffic flowing. It can be used for optimizing network flows, monitoring throughput, verifying compliance, detecting intrusions and more. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1
Azure Monitor should collect activity logs from all regions This policy audits the Azure Monitor log profile which does not export activities from all Azure supported regions including global. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 2.0.0
Flow logs should be configured for every network security group Audit for network security groups to verify if flow logs are configured. 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. Audit, Disabled 1.1.0
Log duration should be enabled for PostgreSQL database servers This policy helps audit any PostgreSQL databases in your environment without log_duration setting enabled. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
Network Watcher flow logs should have traffic analytics enabled Traffic analytics analyzes flow logs to provide insights into traffic flow in your Azure cloud. It can be used to visualize network activity across your Azure subscriptions and identify hot spots, identify security threats, understand traffic flow patterns, pinpoint network misconfigurations and more. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1

Maintenance, Monitoring, And Analysis Of Audit Logs-16.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: Log Analytics extension should be installed on your Linux Azure Arc machines This policy audits Linux Azure Arc machines if the Log Analytics extension is not installed. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.1-preview
[Preview]: Log Analytics extension should be installed on your Windows Azure Arc machines This policy audits Windows Azure Arc machines if the Log Analytics extension is not installed. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.1-preview
Azure Monitor log profile should collect logs for categories 'write,' 'delete,' and 'action' This policy ensures that a log profile collects logs for categories 'write,' 'delete,' and 'action' AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
Azure subscriptions should have a log profile for Activity Log This policy ensures if a log profile is enabled for exporting activity logs. It audits if there is no log profile created to export the logs either to a storage account or to an event hub. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0

Maintenance, Monitoring, And Analysis Of Audit Logs-16.3

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: Network traffic data collection agent should be installed on Linux virtual machines Security Center uses the Microsoft Dependency agent to collect network traffic data from your Azure virtual machines to enable advanced network protection features such as traffic visualization on the network map, network hardening recommendations and specific network threats. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.2-preview
[Preview]: Network traffic data collection agent should be installed on Windows virtual machines Security Center uses the Microsoft Dependency agent to collect network traffic data from your Azure virtual machines to enable advanced network protection features such as traffic visualization on the network map, network hardening recommendations and specific network threats. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.2-preview
Azure Monitor should collect activity logs from all regions This policy audits the Azure Monitor log profile which does not export activities from all Azure supported regions including global. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 2.0.0
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
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

Secure Configuration

Secure Configuration-5.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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 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 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 Azure Cosmos DB should be enabled Microsoft Defender for Azure Cosmos DB is an Azure-native layer of security that detects attempts to exploit databases in your Azure Cosmos DB accounts. Defender for Azure Cosmos DB detects potential SQL injections, known bad actors based on Microsoft Threat Intelligence, suspicious access patterns, and potential exploitations of your database through compromised identities or malicious insiders. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
Microsoft Defender for Storage should be enabled Microsoft Defender for Storage detects potential threats to your storage accounts. It helps prevent the three major impacts on your data and workload: malicious file uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. The new Defender for Storage plan includes Malware Scanning and Sensitive Data Threat Detection. This plan also provides a predictable pricing structure (per storage account) for control over coverage and costs. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
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

Secure Configuration-5.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
Hotpatch should be enabled for Windows Server Azure Edition VMs Minimize reboots and install updates quickly with hotpatch. Learn more at https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/automanage/automanage-hotpatch Audit, Deny, Disabled 1.0.0
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

Secure Mail And Messaging Systems

Secure Mail And Messaging Systems-10.1

ID:

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
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
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 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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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

Secure Mail And Messaging Systems-10.2

ID:

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
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
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 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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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

User Access Control / Management

User Access Control / Management-8.1

ID:

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 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
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
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
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
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
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

User Access Control / Management-8.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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
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
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

User Access Control / Management-8.3

ID:

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
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
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
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
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

User Access Control / Management-8.4

ID:

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
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

User Access Control / Management-8.5

ID:

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

User Access Control / Management-8.8

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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

Vulnerability Assessment And Penetration Test And Red Team Exercises

Vulnerability Assessment And Penetration Test And Red Team Exercises-18.1

ID:

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

Vulnerability Assessment And Penetration Test And Red Team Exercises-18.2

ID:

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
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
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

Vulnerability Assessment And Penetration Test And Red Team Exercises-18.4

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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

Risk Based Transaction Monitoring

Risk Based Transaction Monitoring-20.1

ID:

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
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
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
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

Metrics

Metrics-21.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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 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 Key Vault should have firewall enabled Enable the key vault firewall so that the key vault is not accessible by default to any public IPs. Optionally, you can configure specific IP ranges to limit access to those networks. Learn more at: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/key-vault/general/network-security Audit, Deny, Disabled 3.2.1
Azure Key Vaults should use private link Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual networks 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 key vault, you can reduce data leakage risks. Learn more about private links at: https://aka.ms/akvprivatelink. [parameters('audit_effect')] 1.2.1
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
Certificates should have the specified maximum validity period Manage your organizational compliance requirements by specifying the maximum amount of time that a certificate can be valid within your key vault. audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled 2.2.1
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
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
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
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
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

Metrics-21.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
Hotpatch should be enabled for Windows Server Azure Edition VMs Minimize reboots and install updates quickly with hotpatch. Learn more at https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/automanage/automanage-hotpatch Audit, Deny, Disabled 1.0.0

Audit Log Settings

Audit Log Settings-17.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: Network traffic data collection agent should be installed on Linux virtual machines Security Center uses the Microsoft Dependency agent to collect network traffic data from your Azure virtual machines to enable advanced network protection features such as traffic visualization on the network map, network hardening recommendations and specific network threats. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.2-preview
[Preview]: Network traffic data collection agent should be installed on Windows virtual machines Security Center uses the Microsoft Dependency agent to collect network traffic data from your Azure virtual machines to enable advanced network protection features such as traffic visualization on the network map, network hardening recommendations and specific network threats. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.2-preview
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
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
Linux machines should meet requirements for the Azure compute security baseline Requires that prerequisites are deployed to the policy assignment scope. For details, visit https://aka.ms/gcpol. Machines are non-compliant if the machine is not configured correctly for one of the recommendations in the Azure compute security baseline. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 2.2.0
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 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 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 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 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
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 machines should meet requirements of the Azure compute security baseline Requires that prerequisites are deployed to the policy assignment scope. For details, visit https://aka.ms/gcpol. Machines are non-compliant if the machine is not configured correctly for one of the recommendations in the Azure compute security baseline. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 2.0.0

Anti-Phishing

Anti-Phishing-14.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: Azure Recovery Services vaults should use private link for backup 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 Recovery Services vaults, data leakage risks are reduced. Learn more about private links at: https://aka.ms/AB-PrivateEndpoints. Audit, Disabled 2.0.0-preview
[Preview]: Storage account public access should be disallowed Anonymous public read access to containers and blobs in Azure Storage is a convenient way to share data but might present security risks. To prevent data breaches caused by undesired anonymous access, Microsoft recommends preventing public access to a storage account unless your scenario requires it. audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled 3.1.0-preview
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
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
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 AI Services resources should restrict network access By restricting network access, you can ensure that only allowed networks can access the service. This can be achieved by configuring network rules so that only applications from allowed networks can access the Azure AI service. Audit, Deny, Disabled 3.2.0
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 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 File Sync should use private link Creating a private endpoint for the indicated Storage Sync Service resource allows you to address your Storage Sync Service resource from within the private IP address space of your organization's network, rather than through the internet-accessible public endpoint. Creating a private endpoint by itself does not disable the public endpoint. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
Azure Key Vault should have firewall enabled Enable the key vault firewall so that the key vault is not accessible by default to any public IPs. Optionally, you can configure specific IP ranges to limit access to those networks. Learn more at: https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/key-vault/general/network-security Audit, Deny, Disabled 3.2.1
Azure Key Vaults should use private link Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual networks 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 key vault, you can reduce data leakage risks. Learn more about private links at: https://aka.ms/akvprivatelink. [parameters('audit_effect')] 1.2.1
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 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
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
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
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 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
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 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
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

Advanced Real-Timethreat Defenceand Management

Advanced Real-Timethreat Defenceand Management-13.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Deprecated]: 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. This policy has been replaced by a new policy with the same name because Http 2.0 doesn't support client certificates. Audit, Disabled 3.1.0-deprecated
[Preview]: Guest Attestation extension should be installed on supported Linux virtual machines Install Guest Attestation extension on supported Linux virtual machines to allow Azure Security Center to proactively attest and monitor the boot integrity. Once installed, boot integrity will be attested via Remote Attestation. This assessment applies to Trusted Launch and Confidential Linux virtual machines. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 6.0.0-preview
[Preview]: Guest Attestation extension should be installed on supported Linux virtual machines scale sets Install Guest Attestation extension on supported Linux virtual machines scale sets to allow Azure Security Center to proactively attest and monitor the boot integrity. Once installed, boot integrity will be attested via Remote Attestation. This assessment applies to Trusted Launch and Confidential Linux virtual machine scale sets. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 5.1.0-preview
[Preview]: Guest Attestation extension should be installed on supported Windows virtual machines Install Guest Attestation extension on supported virtual machines to allow Azure Security Center to proactively attest and monitor the boot integrity. Once installed, boot integrity will be attested via Remote Attestation. This assessment applies to Trusted Launch and Confidential Windows virtual machines. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 4.0.0-preview
[Preview]: Guest Attestation extension should be installed on supported Windows virtual machines scale sets Install Guest Attestation extension on supported virtual machines scale sets to allow Azure Security Center to proactively attest and monitor the boot integrity. Once installed, boot integrity will be attested via Remote Attestation. This assessment applies to Trusted Launch and Confidential Windows virtual machine scale sets. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.1.0-preview
[Preview]: Secure Boot should be enabled on supported Windows virtual machines Enable Secure Boot on supported Windows virtual machines to mitigate against malicious and unauthorized changes to the boot chain. Once enabled, only trusted bootloaders, kernel and kernel drivers will be allowed to run. This assessment applies to Trusted Launch and Confidential Windows virtual machines. Audit, Disabled 4.0.0-preview
[Preview]: vTPM should be enabled on supported virtual machines Enable virtual TPM device on supported virtual machines to facilitate Measured Boot and other OS security features that require a TPM. Once enabled, vTPM can be used to attest boot integrity. This assessment only applies to trusted launch enabled virtual machines. Audit, Disabled 2.0.0-preview
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
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. This policy applies to apps with Http version set to 1.1. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
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
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 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
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
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
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 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
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
Linux machines should meet requirements for the Azure compute security baseline Requires that prerequisites are deployed to the policy assignment scope. For details, visit https://aka.ms/gcpol. Machines are non-compliant if the machine is not configured correctly for one of the recommendations in the Azure compute security baseline. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 2.2.0
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
Storage accounts should be migrated to new Azure Resource Manager resources Use new Azure Resource Manager for your storage accounts to provide security enhancements such as: stronger access control (RBAC), better auditing, Azure Resource Manager based deployment and governance, access to managed identities, access to key vault for secrets, Azure AD-based authentication and support for tags and resource groups for easier security management Audit, Deny, Disabled 1.0.0
Virtual machines should be migrated to new Azure Resource Manager resources Use new Azure Resource Manager for your virtual machines to provide security enhancements such as: stronger access control (RBAC), better auditing, Azure Resource Manager based deployment and governance, access to managed identities, access to key vault for secrets, Azure AD-based authentication and support for tags and resource groups for easier security management Audit, Deny, Disabled 1.0.0
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
Windows machines should meet requirements of the Azure compute security baseline Requires that prerequisites are deployed to the policy assignment scope. For details, visit https://aka.ms/gcpol. Machines are non-compliant if the machine is not configured correctly for one of the recommendations in the Azure compute security baseline. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 2.0.0

Advanced Real-Timethreat Defenceand Management-13.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: Azure Arc enabled Kubernetes clusters should have Microsoft Defender for Cloud extension installed Microsoft Defender for Cloud extension for Azure Arc provides threat protection for your Arc enabled Kubernetes clusters. The extension collects data from all nodes in the cluster and sends it to the Azure Defender for Kubernetes backend in the cloud for further analysis. Learn more in https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/defender-for-cloud/defender-for-containers-enable?pivots=defender-for-container-arc. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 6.0.0-preview
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
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 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
Azure Kubernetes Service clusters should have Defender profile enabled Microsoft Defender for Containers provides cloud-native Kubernetes security capabilities including environment hardening, workload protection, and run-time protection. When you enable the SecurityProfile.AzureDefender on your Azure Kubernetes Service cluster, an agent is deployed to your cluster to collect security event data. Learn more about Microsoft Defender for Containers in https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/defender-for-cloud/defender-for-containers-introduction?tabs=defender-for-container-arch-aks Audit, Disabled 2.0.1
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
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 should be enabled Microsoft Defender for Storage detects potential threats to your storage accounts. It helps prevent the three major impacts on your data and workload: malicious file uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. The new Defender for Storage plan includes Malware Scanning and Sensitive Data Threat Detection. This plan also provides a predictable pricing structure (per storage account) for control over coverage and costs. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
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
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
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

Advanced Real-Timethreat Defenceand Management-13.3

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: All Internet traffic should be routed via your deployed Azure Firewall Azure Security Center has identified that some of your subnets aren't protected with a next generation firewall. Protect your subnets from potential threats by restricting access to them with Azure Firewall or a supported next generation firewall AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0-preview
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
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
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
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
Azure Backup should be enabled for Virtual Machines Ensure protection of your Azure Virtual Machines by enabling Azure Backup. Azure Backup is a secure and cost effective data protection solution for Azure. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0
Geo-redundant backup should be enabled for Azure Database for MariaDB Azure Database for MariaDB allows you to choose the redundancy option for your database server. It can be set to a geo-redundant backup storage in which the data is not only stored within the region in which your server is hosted, but is also replicated to a paired region to provide recovery option in case of a region failure. Configuring geo-redundant storage for backup is only allowed during server create. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1
Geo-redundant backup should be enabled for Azure Database for MySQL Azure Database for MySQL allows you to choose the redundancy option for your database server. It can be set to a geo-redundant backup storage in which the data is not only stored within the region in which your server is hosted, but is also replicated to a paired region to provide recovery option in case of a region failure. Configuring geo-redundant storage for backup is only allowed during server create. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1
Geo-redundant backup should be enabled for Azure Database for PostgreSQL Azure Database for PostgreSQL allows you to choose the redundancy option for your database server. It can be set to a geo-redundant backup storage in which the data is not only stored within the region in which your server is hosted, but is also replicated to a paired region to provide recovery option in case of a region failure. Configuring geo-redundant storage for backup is only allowed during server create. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1
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
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
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
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
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
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

Advanced Real-Timethreat Defenceand Management-13.4

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
[Preview]: All Internet traffic should be routed via your deployed Azure Firewall Azure Security Center has identified that some of your subnets aren't protected with a next generation firewall. Protect your subnets from potential threats by restricting access to them with Azure Firewall or a supported next generation firewall AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0-preview
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
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
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
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 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
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 3.2.0
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 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 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 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 SQL Managed Instances Audit each SQL Managed Instance without advanced data security. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.2
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
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
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
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
Microsoft Defender for Storage should be enabled Microsoft Defender for Storage detects potential threats to your storage accounts. It helps prevent the three major impacts on your data and workload: malicious file uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. The new Defender for Storage plan includes Malware Scanning and Sensitive Data Threat Detection. This plan also provides a predictable pricing structure (per storage account) for control over coverage and costs. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Application Security Life Cycle (Aslc)

Application Security Life Cycle (Aslc)-6.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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

Application Security Life Cycle (Aslc)-6.3

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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

Application Security Life Cycle (Aslc)-6.4

ID:

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
App Service apps should use managed identity Use a managed identity for enhanced authentication security AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0
Application Insights components should block log ingestion and querying from public networks Improve Application Insights security by blocking log ingestion and querying from public networks. Only private-link connected networks will be able to ingest and query logs of this component. Learn more at https://aka.ms/AzMonPrivateLink#configure-application-insights. audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled 1.1.0
Application Insights components should block non-Azure Active Directory based ingestion. Enforcing log ingestion to require Azure Active Directory authentication prevents unauthenticated logs from an attacker which could lead to incorrect status, false alerts, and incorrect logs stored in the system. Deny, Audit, Disabled 1.0.0
Application Insights components with Private Link enabled should use Bring Your Own Storage accounts for profiler and debugger. To support private link and customer-managed key policies, create your own storage account for profiler and debugger. Learn more in https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-monitor/app/profiler-bring-your-own-storage Deny, Audit, Disabled 1.0.0
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 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 Monitor Logs for Application Insights should be linked to a Log Analytics workspace Link the Application Insights component to a Log Analytics workspace for logs encryption. Customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance and for more control over the access to your data in Azure Monitor. Linking your component to a Log Analytics workspace that's enabled with a customer-managed key, ensures that your Application Insights logs meet this compliance requirement, see https://docs.microsoft.com/azure/azure-monitor/platform/customer-managed-keys. audit, Audit, deny, Deny, disabled, Disabled 1.1.0
Function apps should use managed identity Use a managed identity for enhanced authentication security AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0
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 should be enabled Microsoft Defender for Storage detects potential threats to your storage accounts. It helps prevent the three major impacts on your data and workload: malicious file uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. The new Defender for Storage plan includes Malware Scanning and Sensitive Data Threat Detection. This plan also provides a predictable pricing structure (per storage account) for control over coverage and costs. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 1.0.0
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

Application Security Life Cycle (Aslc)-6.6

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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

Application Security Life Cycle (Aslc)-6.7

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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 enable all firewall rules for Application Gateway Enabling all Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules strengthens your application security and protects your web applications against common vulnerabilities. To learn more about Web Application Firewall (WAF) with Application Gateway, visit https://aka.ms/waf-ag Audit, Deny, Disabled 1.0.1
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

Data Leak Prevention Strategy

Data Leak Prevention Strategy-15.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
All flow log resources should be in enabled state Audit for flow log resources to verify if flow log status is enabled. Enabling flow logs allows to log information about IP traffic flowing. It can be used for optimizing network flows, monitoring throughput, verifying compliance, detecting intrusions and more. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1
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
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
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
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
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

Data Leak Prevention Strategy-15.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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 flexible servers Disabling the public network access property improves security by ensuring your Azure Database for MySQL flexible servers 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 2.1.0
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 flexible servers Disabling the public network access property improves security by ensuring your Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible servers 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 3.0.1
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 accounts should disable public network access To improve the security of Storage Accounts, ensure that they aren'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://aka.ms/storageaccountpublicnetworkaccess. 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 1.0.1
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

Data Leak Prevention Strategy-15.3

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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
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

Forensics

Forensics-22.1

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
Azure DDoS Protection should be enabled DDoS protection should be enabled for all virtual networks with a subnet that is part of an application gateway with a public IP. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.1

Incident Response & Management

Responding To Cyber-Incidents:-19.2

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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

Recovery From Cyber - Incidents-19.4

ID:

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
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

Recovery From Cyber - Incidents-19.5

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
Azure Backup should be enabled for Virtual Machines Ensure protection of your Azure Virtual Machines by enabling Azure Backup. Azure Backup is a secure and cost effective data protection solution for Azure. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.0
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
Geo-redundant backup should be enabled for Azure Database for MariaDB Azure Database for MariaDB allows you to choose the redundancy option for your database server. It can be set to a geo-redundant backup storage in which the data is not only stored within the region in which your server is hosted, but is also replicated to a paired region to provide recovery option in case of a region failure. Configuring geo-redundant storage for backup is only allowed during server create. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1
Geo-redundant backup should be enabled for Azure Database for MySQL Azure Database for MySQL allows you to choose the redundancy option for your database server. It can be set to a geo-redundant backup storage in which the data is not only stored within the region in which your server is hosted, but is also replicated to a paired region to provide recovery option in case of a region failure. Configuring geo-redundant storage for backup is only allowed during server create. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1
Geo-redundant backup should be enabled for Azure Database for PostgreSQL Azure Database for PostgreSQL allows you to choose the redundancy option for your database server. It can be set to a geo-redundant backup storage in which the data is not only stored within the region in which your server is hosted, but is also replicated to a paired region to provide recovery option in case of a region failure. Configuring geo-redundant storage for backup is only allowed during server create. Audit, Disabled 1.0.1

Recovery From Cyber - Incidents-19.6

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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
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

Recovery From Cyber - Incidents-19.6b

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
Azure DDoS Protection should be enabled DDoS protection should be enabled for all virtual networks with a subnet that is part of an application gateway with a public IP. AuditIfNotExists, Disabled 3.0.1
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
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

Recovery From Cyber - Incidents-19.6c

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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
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

Recovery From Cyber - Incidents-19.6e

ID:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
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

Next steps

Additional articles about Azure Policy: