The document outlines a session on securing Azure applications, presenting an overview of Azure security controls, a crash course on the Secure DevOps Kit for Azure (AZSK), and various security practices. It discusses authentication, encryption, compliance, and specific vulnerabilities, emphasizing the importance of vulnerability scanning and continuous assurance. Additionally, it highlights the features and installation of AZSK and stresses that while AZSK aids in administrative security, comprehensive security must also involve threat modeling and addressing user access.

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Secure your Azure
applications like a pro
Karl Ots

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Karl Ots
Managing Consultant
karl.ots@zure.com
• Cloud & cybersecurity expert
• User group and conference organizer, podcast hosts
• Patented inventor
• Working on Azure since 2011
• Helped to secure 100+ Azure applications, from startups to
Fortune 500 enterprises
• linkedin.com/in/karlots

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What to expect in this session
• Primer on Azure security controls
• Crash course on Secure DevOps Kit for Azure
• What is it
• Why and how to use it
• Resources to help you secure your Azure environment, regardless of your
current level of security expertise

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Security

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Absolutely secure computer
CC-BY-SA Santeri Viinamäki

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The CIA security triad
Availability

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Security controls for applications
• Authentication and authorization
• Encryption
• Monitoring
• Backup, Resiliency and Disaster Recovery
• Host hardening (pre-PaaS)

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Security controls for Azure applications
Subscriptions
and Resource
Groups
AAD and RBAC
ARM Templates,
Policies and
Locks
Logging,
Alerting &
Auditing
Data Encryption
Backups &
Disaster
Recovery
Privacy &
Compliance
Network
security

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Cloud security: reality check

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Secure DevOps Kit for Azure - AzSK
• Set of tools for assessing the security posture of your Azure environment
• Does not replace or compete with Azure Security Center
• Built by Microsoft Core Services Engineering, not any Azure PG
• Used to secure 1000+ Azure subscriptions at Microsoft
• Easy to get started with non-intrusive vulnerability scans
• Expands end-to-end tooling from developer machine to CI/CD to continuous
assurance

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AzSK features
• Subscription scanning – “unit testing of security”
• Subscription health scan
• SVT scan
• Secure Intellisense plugin for Visual Studio
• ARM template checker
• Azure DevOps plugin

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AzSK Subscription health scan
• Authentication and authorization
• Permanent access should not be granted for
privileged subscription level roles
• Do not grant permissions to external accounts (i.e.,
accounts outside the native directory for the
subscription)
• There should not be more than 2 classic
administrators
• Do not use custom-defined RBAC roles
• Governance
• Critical application resources should be protected
using a resource lock
• ARM policies should be used to audit or deny
certain activities that can impact security
• Awareness
• Pending Azure Security Center (ASC) alerts must be
resolved
• Justify all identities that are granted with
admin/owner access on your subscription.
• Verify the list of public IP addresses on your
subscription
• ARM
• There should not be more than 2 classic
administrators
• Do not use any classic resources on a subscription
• Do not use any classic virtual machines on your
subscription.

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AzSK SVT scan coverage
API
Management
App Service Automation Batch Bot Service CDN
Cloud
Service
ACI ACR CosmosDB DataBricks Data Factory Data Lake ExpressRoute
Event Hub HDInsight KeyVault AKS
Load
Balancer
Logic Apps
Notification
Hub
Redis Cache Search Service Bus
Service
Fabric
SQL
Database
Storage
Stream
Analytics
Traffic
Manager
Virtual
Machine
VNET

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SVT highlights on Key vault
• Applications must not share a Key Vault unless they trust each other and
they need access to the same secrets at runtime
• Diagnostics logs must be enabled with a retention period of at least 365
days
• Keys/secrets must be rotated periodically

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Installing AzSK
• Install-Module azsk -AllowClobber -Force
• Requires AzureRM modules (doh)

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DEMO

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Most Commonly failing AzSK tests
• Authentication & authorization
• Too wide RBAC access for users
• Or Service Principals
• Or SAS authentication
• No monitoring
• Key vault
• Azure Security Center
• Azure SQL Threat Detection
• Web Application Firewall
• Unsecured storage accounts

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Getting started with AzSK
• Start with vulnerability scans
• Single line of PowerShell
• Non-intrusive: RBAC Reader access is enough
• After the first scan, you’ll be busy for a while ☺
• When AzSK vulnerability scans are already a habit in your organization
• Set up continuous assurance to Azure Logs
• Set up CI/CD support with Azure DevOps plugins
• Educate you teams with the most common failed security controls
• Built new environments secure from the start with AzSK ARM template checker and
sample ARM template library

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Discussion
• AzSK is not your silver bullet to “tick the security box”
• AzSK mostly covers “administrative access” in traditional threat models, some
“application access” as well
• You still have to worry about users, external threats and more
• Threat modeling and Defense in Depth approach are your friends!
• Carefully analyze the results in the scope of your application – are the
recommended controls right for your app?

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Materials
• My slides: zure.ly/karl-slides
• Secure DevOps Kit for Azure:
• azsk.azurewebsites.net
• Microsoft Ignite 2018 session THR2104 Assess your Microsoft Azure security like a pro
• STRIDE Threat Modeling Lessons from Star Wars:
• youtube.com/watch?v=Y3VQpg04vXo
• Azure Security and Compliance Blueprint (not Azure Blueprint):
• docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/blueprints/gdpr-paaswa-overview
• Azure Virtual Datacenter:
• docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/vdc/

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