Table of Contents
What is the role of the Azure Security Benchmark in improving cloud security posture?
Learn the key benefits of using the Azure Security Benchmark to improve your cloud security posture. Understand how its predefined security best practices for Azure workloads help you align with industry standards like CIS and NIST to protect your resources.
Question
What is a key benefit of using Azure Security Benchmark for cloud security posture improvement?
A. It provides predefined security best practices for Azure workloads
B. It automatically configures security settings for all Azure resources
C. It monitors user activity logs for suspicious behavior
D. It blocks all incoming network traffic by default
Answer
A. It provides predefined security best practices for Azure workloads
Explanation
Azure Security Benchmark offers a set of best practices and security recommendations to help organizations improve their cloud security posture by aligning with industry standards like CIS and NIST. For more information, please refer to the “Security policies and initiatives improve the cloud security posture” lecture.
The Azure Security Benchmark (ASB) is a Microsoft-authored collection of prescriptive best practices and security recommendations for Azure. Its primary benefit is providing organizations with a single, consolidated security baseline to secure their Azure services.
Core Function of Azure Security Benchmark
Consolidated Best Practices
The ASB centralizes security recommendations across a wide range of Azure services. Instead of researching security configurations for each service individually, organizations can use the ASB as a comprehensive guide. These recommendations are organized into control domains that cover critical security areas like network security, identity and access management, data protection, and incident response.
Alignment with Industry Frameworks
The controls within the ASB are mapped to well-established industry frameworks, including the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Controls and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. This mapping allows organizations to implement Microsoft’s recommended best practices while simultaneously demonstrating compliance with widely recognized standards.
Operationalized Through Microsoft Defender for Cloud
The Azure Security Benchmark is the default policy initiative in Microsoft Defender for Cloud. This integration means that Defender for Cloud automatically and continuously assesses your Azure environment against the ASB controls. It provides a “Secure Score” and a detailed list of non-compliant resources, along with actionable steps for remediation. This operationalizes the benchmark, turning it from a static document into a dynamic tool for posture improvement.
Analysis of Incorrect Options
B. It automatically configures security settings for all Azure resources. The ASB itself is a set of guidelines and recommendations, not an automation engine. While Azure Policy can be configured with “DeployIfNotExist” or “Modify” effects to automatically remediate non-compliant resources based on ASB controls, the benchmark itself does not perform this action. It serves as the standard, not the enforcer.
C. It monitors user activity logs for suspicious behavior. This describes the function of a threat detection solution or a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool like Microsoft Sentinel. The ASB is focused on assessing the security configuration and posture of resources, not monitoring real-time activity for threats.
D. It blocks all incoming network traffic by default. This is a description of a restrictive firewall rule. The ASB is a broad framework of controls, not a single network rule. A control within the ASB might recommend restrictive network rules, but the benchmark itself does not actively block traffic.
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