securing-azure-with-microsoft-defender

name	securing-azure-with-microsoft-defender
description	This skill instructs security practitioners on deploying Microsoft Defender for Cloud as a cloud-native application protection platform for Azure, multi-cloud, and hybrid environments. It covers enabling Defender plans for servers, containers, storage, and databases, configuring security recommendations, managing Secure Score, and integrating with the unified Defender portal for centralized threat management.
domain	cybersecurity
subdomain	cloud-security
tags	["microsoft-defender","azure-security","cnapp","secure-score","cloud-workload-protection"]
version	1.0.0
author	mahipal
license	Apache-2.0

Securing Azure with Microsoft Defender

When to Use

• When deploying cloud workload protection across Azure subscriptions and resource groups
• When establishing a Secure Score baseline and prioritizing security recommendations
• When extending threat protection to multi-cloud environments including AWS and GCP
• When enabling container security for AKS clusters and Azure Container Registry
• When integrating AI workload security with the Data and AI security dashboard

Do not use for AWS-only environments (see implementing-aws-security-hub), for identity provider configuration (see managing-cloud-identity-with-okta), or for network-level firewall rule management (see implementing-cloud-waf-rules).

Prerequisites

• Azure subscription with Security Admin or Contributor role
• Azure Policy initiative for Defender for Cloud enabled at the management group level
• Log Analytics workspace provisioned for security data collection
• Microsoft Defender for Cloud plans licensed (P1 or P2 for server protection)

Workflow

Step 1: Enable Defender for Cloud Plans

Activate Defender plans for each workload type: Servers, Containers, App Service, Storage, Databases, Key Vault, Resource Manager, and DNS. Each plan provides specialized threat detection and vulnerability assessment.

# Enable Defender for Servers Plan 2
az security pricing create --name VirtualMachines --tier Standard --subplan P2

# Enable Defender for Containers
az security pricing create --name Containers --tier Standard

# Enable Defender for Storage with malware scanning
az security pricing create --name StorageAccounts --tier Standard \
  --extensions '[{"name":"OnUploadMalwareScanning","isEnabled":"True",
  "additionalExtensionProperties":{"CapGBPerMonthPerStorageAccount":"5000"}}]'

# Enable Defender for Databases
az security pricing create --name SqlServers --tier Standard
az security pricing create --name CosmosDbs --tier Standard

# Enable Defender for Key Vault
az security pricing create --name KeyVaults --tier Standard

# Verify all enabled plans
az security pricing list --query "[?pricingTier=='Standard'].{Plan:name, Tier:pricingTier, SubPlan:subPlan}" -o table

Step 2: Configure Environment Connectors for Multi-Cloud

Connect AWS accounts and GCP projects to Defender for Cloud for unified security posture management across cloud providers.

# Create AWS connector for CSPM
az security security-connector create \
  --name aws-production-connector \
  --resource-group security-rg \
  --environment-name AWS \
  --hierarchy-identifier "123456789012" \
  --offerings '[{
    "offeringType": "CspmMonitorAws",
    "nativeCloudConnection": {"cloudRoleArn": "arn:aws:iam::123456789012:role/DefenderForCloudRole"}
  }]'

# Create GCP connector
az security security-connector create \
  --name gcp-production-connector \
  --resource-group security-rg \
  --environment-name GCP \
  --hierarchy-identifier "my-gcp-project-id" \
  --offerings '[{"offeringType": "CspmMonitorGcp"}]'