Cybersecurity hasn’t ever shifted from the top spot of primary business concerns – and, given that cyber criminals have followed us en masse into our new Cloud workplace, it’s become an increasingly dire need.
A lot of talk has thus turned to Zero Trust security. An approach rather than a technology, Zero Trust is a security standard that assumes anything untested, unknown or uninvited is a threat, and doesn’t enter or leave your systems without explicit approval.
Naturally, it’s much easier to provide all-encompassing security with an all-encompassing Cloud platform, which is where Microsoft Azure comes in. We’ve long since touted the benefits of Azure – many of which will make an appearance here – but as an endlessly capable Cloud platform, it’s the perfect, multi-faceted addition to your Zero Trust setup.
So, what makes up your Azure Zero Trust environment, and why is it such an effective approach?
Azure Active Directory
Azure Active Directory is the silent superstar of Azure’s cybersecurity, verifying your employees and powering their logins to Microsoft 365, the Azure portal and many other SaaS applications. Perhaps most pertinently, your users are already AAD tenants if they’re subscribed to Microsoft 365, Azure or Dynamics CRM Online.
Azure Active Directory is the most obvious and available verification system for your Azure Zero Trust and provides IT admins full control over individual users and authentication requirements. It’s also your first layer of threat detection, stringently verifying user credentials the moment they attempt to access Microsoft 365 and thousands of other supported SaaS solutions.
Azure Security
Zero Trust isn’t a replacement for your current cybersecurity solutions – far from it, in fact. It’s a supplementary approach to everything you have in place: your firewalls, your Antivirus and all other network security provisions.
As you may have already guessed, Azure’s own solutions are more than capable of virtualising these solutions. Microsoft Cloud App Security is an essential addition, as it monitors all logins to your SaaS applications and allows you to set out tight access credentials. Microsoft Defender E5 and Azure Active Threat Detection are two more, working in tandem to spot malware infections, monitor device health and remediate issues in real time.
These are just a selection of Azure’s security fixtures; there are many more including those crucial Antivirus and firewall solutions. Zero Trust is designed to scrutinise every possible entrance and endpoint, and Azure’s security provisions go a long way to defending them.
Azure Sentinel
We’ve spoken of Azure Sentinel only recently, but its inclusion here is no coincidence. Microsoft’s answer to Security Information and Events Management, Sentinel is your digital eye on everything. Flexible, integrable with all Microsoft Cloud software and able to identify any anomalies that you specify, Azure Sentinel arguably binds the entirety of your Azure Zero Trust solution.
Sentinel ties your security solutions together, watches them and your network traffic constantly, and activates the appropriate responses the moment an anomaly is recognised. Because it compiles literal decades of Microsoft’s own security threat reports, Sentinel is already well-equipped to notice anomalies long before they come knocking at your door; and with AI constantly evolving that knowledge, it’s some of the best surveillance a Cloud-enabled Zero Trust solution could ask for.
In Conclusion…
There are plenty of ways to secure a Zero Trust environment, but for those Cloud-enabled businesses already leveraging Microsoft services, an Azure Zero Trust environment is among the most evolved and available. If you’re still exploring a secure Cloud migration, check out our recent blog, Azure Migration Security Risks and How to Overcome Them.
Of course, developing your own Zero Trust solution isn’t entirely simple, and Azure is a broad, powerful platform all of its own. Don’t let that dissuade you: let a highly accredited MSP take care of the hard stuff for you.
At Vital, we’re accredited to Microsoft’s Gold standard in Azure, Cloud Productivity, Cloud Platform, and Small & Midmarket Cloud Solutions. With accreditations in ISO ISO9001, ISO27001 and Cyber Essentials, we also recognise the strictest standards of cyber security.
If you’ve any questions at all about Azure Zero Trust, Cyber Security, or any other business IT needs, let’s talk – we’d be happy to assist at a time that’s right for you.
