10 Azure Security Best Practices You Need to Know

Your Azure environment holds your most valuable data. Customer records, financial information, intellectual property: it’s all there, running smoothly in the cloud. Until it isn’t. 

The recent Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack shows just how costly security breaches can be. While cloud platforms offer many strong security features, they’re only effective when they’re properly configured and managed. That’s where this guide comes in. 

Whether you’re an IT manager securing your first Azure deployment, a cloud architect designing enterprise systems, or a security pro evaluating your current approach, this guide provides practical steps you can implement today. 

We’ll walk you through ten essential Azure security best practices. We’ll also show you how to secure your development pipeline and bring everything together with Azure’s security services. 

Before diving into specific practices, let’s clarify who’s responsible for what in Azure security. Microsoft secures the infrastructure: the physical data centres, network, and hypervisors. You secure everything you put on that infrastructure: your applications, data, identities, and configurations. 

It’s a bit like renting office space. The building owner handles the locks, security cameras, and guard at the main entrance. You’re responsible for who gets keys to your office, what goes in your safe, and whether or not you leave confidential documents on your desk. 

This split means you can’t assume Azure automatically protects your workloads. Microsoft won’t configure your firewalls, manage your user permissions, or encrypt your application data. These responsibilities fall squarely on your shoulders. 

Knowing this, you’re now able to focus your security efforts where they matter most

1. Start with identity: Azure AD security best practices

Identity is your new security perimeter. With remote work and cloud services, traditional network boundaries have dissolved. Your users are everywhere, accessing resources from anywhere. So, start with multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all users, no exceptions. Passwordless authentication takes this further, eliminating passwords entirely while improving both security and user experience. 

Conditional access policies let you enforce rules based on context. Block sign-ins from risky locations, require stronger authentication for sensitive apps, or limit access to managed devices. These policies adapt to risk levels automatically. 

Don’t forget privileged identity management (PIM). It grants admin access only when needed, for limited time periods. You’ll want to run regular access reviews to make sure that permissions don’t accumulate over time. For more on identity management, check out our guide on using Azure Entra ID for identity management. 

2. Implement zero trust security principles

Zero trust means exactly that: trust nothing, verify everything. Every request gets validated, whether it comes from inside or outside your network. 

Start by implementing least privilege access. This means users get only the permissions they need for their specific tasks. Verify them explicitly by checking multiple signals: user identity, device health, location, and application sensitivity. Then make access decisions based on all the available data points. 

Assume breaches in your planning: design your security as if attackers are already inside your network. Segment your resources, limit lateral movement, and monitor everything. This mindset shift should fundamentally change how you approach security. 

3. Master role-based access control (RBAC)

Azure IAM best practices start with well-designed RBAC. Instead of giving users direct permissions, assign them to roles that bundle related permissions together. 

Use built-in roles where possible – Azure has dozens covering common scenarios. Create custom roles only when built-in options don’t fit your needs. Keep custom roles focused and avoid permission creep. 

Review role assignments frequently: ideally you’d do it quarterly. Remove unnecessary permissions, consolidate duplicate roles, and ensure separation of duties for critical operations. Document who has access to what and why – this’ll become invaluable during audits or security incidents. 

4. Secure your network with NSGs

Network Security Groups (NSGs) are your first line of network defence. Azure NSG best practices start with a default-deny approach: block everything, then explicitly allow only required traffic. 

Create separate NSGs for each subnet rather than applying them to individual VMs. This ensures consistent protection and makes management a lot simpler. Use application security groups to define rules based on application roles rather than IP addresses. 

Service tags will simplify rule creation. Instead of maintaining lists of Azure service IPs, use tags like ‘Storage’ or ‘SQL’ that automatically update as Azure’s infrastructure evolves. For advanced firewall management, see our guide on managing Azure Firewall policy changes. 

5. Protect your secrets with Azure Key Vault

Hard-coded passwords in configuration files are security disasters waiting to happen. Azure Key Vault centralises secret management, keeping your credentials, certificates, and encryption keys secure. 

Use managed identities to authenticate applications to Key Vault. There are no passwords needed: Azure handles the authentication automatically. Set up key rotation policies to change secrets regularly without touching your code. 

Remember to monitor Key Vault access logs to spot unusual activity. Configure alerts for failed access attempts or unexpected permission changes. These early warnings can prevent breaches before they cause serious problems. 

6. Enable monitoring with Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Microsoft Defender for Cloud (formerly Azure Security Center) provides unified security management across your entire Azure estate. It continuously assesses your security posture, identifies vulnerabilities, and provides actionable recommendations. 

Your secure score gives you a single metric to track security improvements. You’ll want to focus on high-impact recommendations first. Enabling MFA might boost your score more than minor configuration tweaks, for example. 

Defender for Cloud also provides threat protection for your workloads. It detects suspicious activities, blocks malicious traffic, and alerts you to potential breaches. 

You can also consider using Sentinel, which is Microsoft’s SIEM tool – check out our comparison between Microsoft Defender vs Sentinel if you’d like to know more. 

7. Implement robust Azure data protection

Data protection starts with encryption everywhere. Azure encrypts data at rest by default, but you should manage your own encryption keys for sensitive workloads. Enable encryption in transit using TLS for all communications. 

Classify your data based on sensitivity. Azure Information Protection helps label and protect documents automatically. Apply different protection levels based on classification. Public data might need minimal protection, while financial records require stringent controls. 

Microsoft Purview for data governance can be a good choice here. It provides visibility into where sensitive data lives, who accesses it, and how it moves through your organisation.

8. Use Azure Policy for compliance and governance

Azure Policy creates guardrails that prevent security misconfigurations. Unlike RBAC, which controls who can do what, policies control what can be done regardless of who’s doing it. 

Start with Azure Security Benchmark initiatives. These pre-built policy sets align with industry standards and save you from creating policies from scratch. Assign policies at the management group level for consistent enforcement across subscriptions. 

For deeper insights into compliance management, explore our guide on mastering cloud compliance with Azure Policy. 

9. Make use of Azure security monitoring tools

Visibility is really important for keeping things secure. Azure Monitor collects logs and metrics from all your resources, while Log Analytics workspaces let you query and analyse this data. 

Set up alerts for security-relevant events: failed login attempts, permission changes, resource deletions. Don’t just collect logs, actively monitor them for anomalies. Our essential guide to Azure Monitor shows you all the different things you can monitor. 

Azure Advisor provides security recommendations tailored to your environment. It identifies unused resources, suggests performance improvements, and highlights security gaps. Review these recommendations weekly and act on high-priority items immediately. 

10. Plan for the worst: Azure disaster recovery best practices

Security incidents will probably happen at some point. Your response determines whether they become minor inconveniences or major disasters. 

Build security into your disaster recovery planning. Test recovery procedures regularly, including security configurations. Ensure backups are encrypted, stored separately from production systems, and protected against ransomware. 

Document your incident response procedures. Who gets called? What systems get isolated? How do you preserve evidence? Clear procedures stop people panicking during actual incidents. You can learn more about protecting your disaster recovery platform against cyber attacks. 

Development environments have their own unique security challenges. Code moves rapidly, while multiple teams collaborate on shared repositories. And automated pipelines have broad permissions to deploy changes across your infrastructure. A single compromised pipeline or leaked credential can expose your entire production environment, making DevOps security crucial for your overall Azure security posture. 

Your CI/CD pipeline can be a security weak point or a security enabler. Azure DevOps security best practices start with securing your code repositories. Enable branch policies that require code reviews before merging. Use pull requests to catch security issues early. 

Store secrets in Azure Key Vault or pipeline variables, never in code. Run security scans on every build: static analysis for code vulnerabilities, dependency scanning for known vulnerabilities in libraries, and container scanning for image security. 

You’ll also want to bring in pipeline security controls. Limit who can modify pipelines, require approval for production deployments, and audit all pipeline changes. Treat your pipeline configuration as code: version control it, review changes, and test modifications in non-production environments first. 

Remember to be mindful of the security implications during M&A transitions, when development pipelines often get overlooked while teams focus on immediate integration challenges. 

These practices work best when they’re combined. Defence in depth means multiple security layers, so breaching one doesn’t compromise everything. 

Start with identity and access management as your foundation. Layer network security on top, then add data protection. Monitor everything, enforce your policies consistently, and prepare for incidents before they happen. 

Azure’s security services integrate really well with each other. Defender for Cloud watches your Security Center recommendations. Azure Policy enforces your security standards. Key Vault manages secrets across all services. This integration makes management relatively simple while keeping security strong. 

Regular reviews keep your security current. Threats evolve, your environment changes, and new Azure features emerge. Schedule quarterly security reviews to assess your posture, update configurations, and implement new best practices. For a comprehensive approach to resilience, see our guide on building a resilient Azure environment. 

These ten practices provide a solid foundation for keeping your Azure infrastructure safe, but your specific needs might need some additional measures. 

And when it comes to people, try to make security everyone’s responsibility. Train your teams, document your procedures, and try to foster a security-conscious culture. The best technical controls won’t really work if users bypass them or don’t understand their importance. 

Strengthening your Azure security posture starts with an assessment of your current environment against these best practices. Identify gaps, prioritise fixes based on risk, and create an implementation roadmap. The integrity of your whole business can depend on getting this right. 

Need expert guidance on securing your Azure environment? Get in touch with our team to find out how we can help protect your cloud infrastructure.