Infrastructure Landing Zone - Implementation Decision-Making:
đ Struggling to choose the right Infrastructure Landing Zone for your Azure deployment? This guide breaks down each optionâspeed, flexibility, security, and automationâso you can make the smartest decision for your cloud journey. Donât risk costly mistakesâread now and build with confidence! đĽMicrosoft Azure Cloud HSM is now generally available
Microsoft Azure Cloud HSM is now generally available. Azure Cloud HSM is a highly available, FIPS 140-3 Level 3 validated single-tenant hardware security module (HSM) service designed to meet the highest security and compliance standards. With full administrative control over their HSM, customers can securely manage cryptographic keys and perform cryptographic operations within their own dedicated Cloud HSM cluster. In todayâs digital landscape, organizations face an unprecedented volume of cyber threats, data breaches, and regulatory pressures. At the heart of securing sensitive information lies a robust key management and encryption strategy, which ensures that data remains confidential, tamper-proof, and accessible only to authorized users. However, encryption alone is not enough. How cryptographic keys are managed determines the true strength of security. Every interaction in the digital world from processing financial transactions, securing applications like PKI, database encryption, document signing to securing cloud workloads and authenticating users relies on cryptographic keys. A poorly managed key is a security risk waiting to happen. Without a clear key management strategy, organizations face challenges such as data exposure, regulatory non-compliance and operational complexity. An HSM is a cornerstone of a strong key management strategy, providing physical and logical security to safeguard cryptographic keys. HSMs are purpose-built devices designed to generate, store, and manage encryption keys in a tamper-resistant environment, ensuring that even in the event of a data breach, protected data remains unreadable. As cyber threats evolve, organizations must take a proactive approach to securing data with enterprise-grade encryption and key management solutions. Microsoft Azure Cloud HSM empowers businesses to meet these challenges head-on, ensuring that security, compliance, and trust remain non-negotiable priorities in the digital age. Key Features of Azure Cloud HSM Azure Cloud HSM ensures high availability and redundancy by automatically clustering multiple HSMs and synchronizing cryptographic data across three instances, eliminating the need for complex configurations. It optimizes performance through load balancing of cryptographic operations, reducing latency. Periodic backups enhance security by safeguarding cryptographic assets and enabling seamless recovery. Designed to meet FIPS 140-3 Level 3, it provides robust security for enterprise applications. Ideal use cases for Azure Cloud HSM Azure Cloud HSM is ideal for organizations migrating security-sensitive applications from on-premises to Azure Virtual Machines or transitioning from Azure Dedicated HSM or AWS Cloud HSM to a fully managed Azure-native solution. It supports applications requiring PKCS#11, OpenSSL, and JCE for seamless cryptographic integration and enables running shrink-wrapped software like Apache/Nginx SSL Offload, Microsoft SQL Server/Oracle TDE, and ADCS on Azure VMs. Additionally, it supports tools and applications that require document and code signing. Get started with Azure Cloud HSM Ready to deploy Azure Cloud HSM? Learn more and start building today: Get Started Deploying Azure Cloud HSM Customers can download the Azure Cloud HSM SDK and Client Tools from GitHub: Microsoft Azure Cloud HSM SDK Stay tuned for further updates as we continue to enhance Microsoft Azure Cloud HSM to support your most demanding security and compliance needs.Building Azure Right: A Practical Checklist for Infrastructure Landing Zones
When the Gaps Start Showing A few months ago, we walked into a high-priority Azure environment review for a customer dealing with inconsistent deployments and rising costs. After a few discovery sessions, the root cause became clear: while they had resources running, there was no consistent foundation behind them. No standard tagging. No security baseline. No network segmentation strategy. In shortâno structured Landing Zone. That situation isn't uncommon. Many organizations sprint into Azure workloads without first planning the right groundwork. Thatâs why having a clear, structured implementation checklist for your Landing Zone is so essential. What This Checklist Will Help You Do This implementation checklist isnât just a formality. Itâs meant to help teams: Align cloud implementation with business goals Avoid compliance and security oversights Improve visibility, governance, and operational readiness Build a scalable and secure foundation for workloads Letâs break it down, step by step. đŻ Define Business Priorities Before Touching the Portal Before provisioning anything, work with stakeholders to understand: What outcomes matter most â Scalability? Faster go-to-market? Cost optimization? What constraints exist â Regulatory standards, data sovereignty, security controls What must not break â Legacy integrations, authentication flows, SLAs This helps prioritize cloud decisions based on value rather than assumption. đ Get a Clear Picture of the Current Environment Your approach will differ depending on whether itâs a: Greenfield setup (fresh, no legacy baggage) Brownfield deployment (existing workloads to assess and uplift) For brownfield, audit gaps in areas like scalability, identity, and compliance before any new provisioning. đ Lock Down Governance Early Set standards from day one: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Granular, least-privilege access Resource Tagging: Consistent metadata for tracking, automation, and cost management Security Baselines: Predefined policies aligned with your compliance model (NIST, CIS, etc.) This ensures everything downstream is both discoverable and manageable. đ§ Design a Network That Supports Security and Scale Network configuration should not be an afterthought: Define NSG Rules and enforce segmentation Use Routing Rules to control flow between tiers Consider Private Endpoints to keep services off the public internet This stage sets your network up to scale securely and avoid rework later. 𧰠Choose a Deployment Approach That Fits Your Team You donât need to reinvent the wheel. Choose from: Predefined ARM/Bicep templates Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using tools like Terraform Custom Provisioning for unique enterprise requirements Standardizing this step makes every future deployment faster, safer, and reviewable. đ Set Up Identity and Access Controls the Right Way No shared accounts. No âOwnerâ access to everyone. Use: Azure Active Directory (AAD) for identity management RBAC to ensure users only have access to what they need, where they need it This is a critical security layerâset it up with intent. đ Bake in Monitoring and Diagnostics from Day One Cloud environments must be observable. Implement: Log Analytics Workspace (LAW) to centralize logs Diagnostic Settings to capture platform-level signals Application Insights to monitor app health and performance These tools reduce time to resolution and help enforce SLAs. đĄď¸ Review and Close on Security Posture Before allowing workloads to go live, conduct a security baseline check: Enable data encryption at rest and in transit Review and apply Azure Security Center recommendations Ensure ACC (Azure Confidential Computing) compliance if applicable Security is not a phase. Itâs baked in throughoutâbut reviewed intentionally before go-live. đŚ Validate Before You Launch Never skip a readiness review: Deploy in a test environment to validate templates and policies Get sign-off from architecture, security, and compliance stakeholders Track checklist completion before promoting anything to production This keeps surprises out of your production pipeline. In Closing: Itâs Not Just a Checklist, Itâs Your Blueprint When implemented well, this checklist becomes much more than a to-do list. Itâs a blueprint for scalable, secure, and standardized cloud adoption. It helps teams stay on the same page, reduces firefighting, and accelerates real business value from Azure. Whether you're managing a new enterprise rollout or stabilizing an existing environment, this checklist keeps your foundation strong. Tags - Infrastructure Landing Zone Governance and Security Best Practices for Azure Infrastructure Landing Zones Automating Azure Landing Zone Setup with IaC Templates Checklist to Validate Azure Readiness Before Production Rollout Monitoring, Access Control, and Network Planning in Azure Landing Zones Azure Readiness Checklist for ProductionDesigning Reusable Bicep Modules: A Databricks Example
In this blog, Iâll walk you through how to design a reusable Bicep module for deploying Azure Databricks, a popular analytics and machine learning platform. We'll focus on creating a parameterized and composable pattern using Bicep and Azure Verified Modules (AVM), enabling your team to replicate this setup across environments with minimal changes. Why Reusability in Bicep Matters: As your Azure environment scales, manually copying and modifying Bicep files for every service or environment becomes error-prone and unmanageable. Reusable Bicep modules help: Eliminate redundant code Enforce naming, tagging, and networking standards Accelerate onboarding of new services or teams Enable self-service infrastructure in CI/CD pipelines Here, weâll create a reusable module to deploy an Azure Databricks Workspace with: Consistent naming conventions Virtual network injection (VNet) Private endpoint integration (UI, Blob, DFS) Optional DNS zone configuration Role assignments AVM module integration Module Inputs (Parameters) Your Bicep pattern uses several key parameters: Parameterizing the Pattern These parameters allow the module to be flexible yet consistent across multiple environments. Naming conventions: The nameObject structure is used to build consistent names for all resources: var adbworkspaceName = toLower('${nameObject.client}-${nameObject.workloadIdentifier}-${nameObject.environment}-${nameObject.region}-adb-${nameObject.suffix}') Configuring Private Endpoints and DNS The module allows defining private endpoint configurations for both Databricks and storage: This logic ensures: Private access to the Databricks UI Optional DNS zone integration for custom resolution You can extend this to include Blob and DFS storage private endpoints, which are essential for secure data lake integrations. Plugging in the AVM Module: The actual deployment leverages an Azure Verified Module (AVM) stored in an Azure Container Registry (ACR): Example usage: Using the module in your main Bicep deployment: Conclusion This Bicep-based or any reusable modules or patterns enable consistent, secure, and scalable deployments across your Azure environments. Whether you're deploying a single workspace or rolling out 50 across environments, this pattern helps ensure governance and simplicity. Resources Azure Bicep Documentation Azure Verified Modules Azure Databricks Docs
Creating an Application Landing Zone on Azure Using Bicep
𧊠What Is an Application Landing Zone? An Application Landing Zone is a pre-configured Azure environment designed to host applications in a secure, scalable, and governed manner. It is a foundational component of the Azure Landing Zones framework, which supports enterprise-scale cloud adoption by providing a consistent and governed environment for deploying workloads. đ Key Characteristics Security and Compliance Built-in policies and controls ensure that applications meet organizational and regulatory requirements. Pre-configured Infrastructure Includes networking, identity, security, monitoring, and governance components that are ready to support application workloads Scalability and Flexibility Designed to scale with application demand, supporting both monolithic and microservices-based architectures. Governance and Management Integrated with Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Azure Security Center to enforce governance and provide operational insights. Developer Enablement Provides a consistent environment that accelerates development and deployment cycles. đď¸ Core Components An Application Landing Zone typically includes: Networking with Virtual Networks (VNets) with subnets and NSGs Azure Active Directory (AAD) integration Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) Azure Key Vault/Managed HSM for secrets management Monitoring and Logging via Azure Monitor and Log Analytics Application Gateway or Azure Front Door for traffic management CI/CD Pipelines integrated with Azure DevOps or GitHub Actions đ ď¸ Prerequisites Before deploying the Application Landing Zone, please ensure the following: â Access & Identity Azure Subscription Access: You must have access to an active Azure subscription where the landing zone will be provisioned. This subscription should be part of a broader management group hierarchy if you're following enterprise scale landing zone patterns. A Service Principal (SPN): A Service Principal is required for automating deployments via CI/CD pipelines or Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools. It should have an atleast Contributor role at the subscription level to create and manage resources. Explicit access to the following is required: - Resource Groups (for deploying application components) - Azure Policy (to assign and manage governance rules) - Azure Key Vault (to retrieve secrets, certificates, or credentials) Azure Active Directory (AAD) Ensure that AAD is properly configured for: - Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) - Group-based access assignments - Conditional Access policies (if applicable) Tip: Use Managed Identities where possible to reduce the need for credential management. â Tooling Azure CLI - Required for scripting and executing deployment commands. - Ensure you're authenticated using az login or a service principal. - Recommended version: 2.55.0 or later for compatibility with Bicep latest Azure features Azure PowerShell - Installed and authenticated (Connect-AzAccount) - Recommended module: Az module version 11.0.0 or later Visual Studio Code Preferred IDE for working with Bicep and ARM templates. - Install the following extensions: - Bicep: for authoring and validating infrastructure templates. - Azure Account: for managing Azure sessions and subscriptions. Source Control & CI/CD Integration Access to GitHub or Azure DevOps is required for: - Storing IaC templates - Automating deployments via pipelines - Managing version control and collaboration ďż˝ Tip: Use GitHub Actions or Azure Pipelines to automate validation, testing, and deployment of your landing zone templates. â Environment Setup Resource Naming Conventions Define a naming standard that reflects resource type, environment, region, and application. Example: rg-app1-prod-weu for a production resource group in West Europe. Tagging Strategy Predefine tags for: - Cost Management (e.g., CostCenter, Project) - Ownership (e.g., Owner, Team) - Environment (e.g., Dev, Test, Prod) Networking Baseline Ensure that required VNets, subnets, and DNS settings are in place. Plan for hybrid connectivity if integrating with on-premises networks (e.g., via VPN or ExpressRoute). Security Baseline Define and apply: - RBAC roles for least-privilege access - Azure built-in as well as custom Policies for compliance enforcement - NSGs and ASGs for network security 𧹠Application Landing Zone Architecture Using Bicep Bicep is a domain-specific language (DSL) for deploying Azure resources declaratively. It simplifies the authoring experience compared to traditional ARM templates and supports modular, reusable, and maintainable infrastructure-as-code (IaC) practices. The Application Landing Zone (App LZ) architecture leverages Bicep to define and deploy a secure, scalable, and governed environment for hosting applications. This architecture is structured into phases, each representing a logical grouping of resources. These phases align with enterprise cloud adoption frameworks and enable teams to deploy infrastructure incrementally and consistently. 𧹠Architectural Phases The App LZ is typically divided into the following phases, each implemented using modular Bicep templates: 1. Foundation Phase Establishes the core infrastructure and governance baseline: Resource groups Virtual networks and subnets Network security groups (NSGs) Diagnostic settings Azure Policy assignments 2. Identity & Access Phase Implements secure access and identity controls: Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) Azure Active Directory (AAD) integration Managed identities Key Vault access policies 3. Security & Monitoring Phase Ensures observability and compliance: Azure Monitor and Log Analytics Security Center configuration Alerts and action groups Defender for Cloud settings 4. Application Infrastructure Phase Deploys application-specific resources: App Services, AKS, or Function Apps Application Gateway or Azure Front Door Storage accounts, databases, and messaging services Private endpoints and service integrations 5. CI/CD Integration Phase Automates deployment and lifecycle management: GitHub Actions or Azure Pipelines Deployment scripts and parameter files Secrets management via Key Vault Environment-specific configurations đ Modular Bicep Templates Each phase is implemented using modular Bicep templates, which offer: Reusability: Templates can be reused across environments (Dev, Test, Prod). Flexibility: Parameters allow customization without modifying core logic. Incremental Deployment: Phases can be deployed independently or chained together. Testability: Each module can be validated against test cases before full deployment. đĄ Example: A network.bicep module can be reused across multiple landing zones with different subnet configurations. To ensure a smooth and automated deployment experience, hereâs the complete flow from setup: â Benefits of This Approach Consistency & Compliance: Enforces Azure best practices and governance policies Modularity: Reusable Bicep modules simplify maintenance and scaling Automation: CI/CD pipelines reduce manual effort and errors Security: Aligns with Microsoftâs security baselines and CAF Scalability: Easily extendable to support new workloads or environments Native Azure Integration: Supports all Azure resources and features. Tooling Support: Integrated with Visual Studio Code, Azure CLI, and GitHub. đ Why Choose Bicep Over Terraform? First-Party Integration: Bicep is a first-party solution maintained by Microsoft, ensuring day-one support for new Azure services and API changes. This means customers can immediately leverage the latest features and updates without waiting for third-party providers to catch up. Azure-Specific Optimization: Bicep is deeply integrated with Azure services, offering a tailored experience for Azure resource management. This integration ensures that deployments are optimized for Azure, providing better performance and reliability. Simplified Syntax: Bicep uses a domain-specific language (DSL) that is more concise and easier to read compared to Terraform's HCL (HashiCorp Configuration Language). This simplicity reduces the learning curve and makes it easier for teams to write and maintain infrastructure code. Incremental Deployment: Unlike Terraform, Bicep does not store state. Instead, it relies on incremental deployment, which simplifies the deployment process and reduces the complexity associated with state management. This approach ensures that resources are deployed consistently without the need for managing state files. Azure Policy Integration: Bicep integrates seamlessly with Azure Policy, allowing for preflight validation to ensure compliance with policies before deployment. This integration helps in maintaining governance and compliance across deployments What-If Analysis: Bicep offers a "what-if" operation that predicts the changes before deploying a Bicep file. This feature allows customers to preview the impact of their changes without making any modifications to the existing infrastructure. đ Conclusion Creating an Application Landing Zone using Bicep provides a robust, scalable, and secure foundation for deploying applications in Azure. By following a phased, modular approach and leveraging automation, organizations can accelerate their cloud adoption journey while maintaining governance and operational excellence.Strengthening Azure infrastructure and platform security - 5 new updates
In the face of AI-driven digital growth and a threat landscape that never sleeps, Azure continues to raise the bar on Zero Trust-ready, âsecure-by-defaultâ networking. Today weâre excited to announce five innovations that make it even easier to protect your cloud workloads while keeping developers productive: Innovation What it is Why it matters Next generation of Azure IntelÂŽ TDX Confidential VMs (Private Preview) âŻAzureâs next generation of Confidential Virtual Machines now powered by the 5thâŻGen IntelÂŽ XeonÂŽ processors (code-named Emerald Rapids) withâŻIntelÂŽ Trust Domain ExtensionsâŻ(IntelÂŽ TDX).⯠Enables organizations to bring confidential workloads to the cloud without code changes to applications. The supported VMs include the general-purpose families DCesv6-series and the memory optimized families ECesv6-series. CAPTCHA support for Azure WAF (Public Preview) A new WAF action that presents a visual / audio CAPTCHA when traffic matches custom or Bot Manager rules. Stops sophisticated, human-mimicking bots while letting legitimate users through with minimal friction. Microsoft Learn Azure Bastion Developer (New Regions, simplified secure-by-default UX) A free, lightweight Bastion offering surfaced directly in the VM Connect blade. One-click, private RDP/SSH to a single VMâno subnet planning, no public IP. Gives dev/test teams instant, hardened access without extra cost, jump servers, or NSGs. Azure Azure Virtual Network TAP (Public Preview) Native agentless packet mirroring available for all VM SKUs with zero impact to VM performance and network throughput. Deep visibility for threat-hunting, performance, and complianceânow cloud-native. Microsoft Learn Azure Firewall integration in Security Copilot (GA) A generative AI-powered solution that helps secure networks with the speed and scale of AI. Threat hunt across Firewalls using natural language questions instead of manually scouring through logs and threat databases. Microsoft Learn 1. Next generation of Azure IntelÂŽ TDX Confidential VMs (Private Preview) We are excited to announce the preview of Azureâs next generation of Confidential Virtual Machines powered by the 5thâŻGen IntelÂŽ XeonÂŽ processors (code-named Emerald Rapids) withâŻIntelÂŽ Trust Domain ExtensionsâŻ(IntelÂŽ TDX). âŻThis will help to enable organizations to bring confidential workloads to the cloud without code changes to applications. The supported VMs include the general-purpose families DCesv6-series and the memory optimized families ECesv6-series. Azureâs next generation of confidential VMs will bring improvements and new features compared to our previous generation. These VMs are our first offering to utilize our open-source paravisor,âŻOpenHCL. This innovation allows us to enhance transparency with our customers, reinforcing our commitment to the "trust but verify" model. Additionally, our new confidential VMs support Azure Boost, enabling up to 205k IOPS and 4 GB/s throughput of remote storage along with 54 GBps VM network bandwidth. We are expanding the capabilities of our IntelÂŽ TDX powered confidential VMs by incorporating features from our general purpose and other confidential VMs. These enhancements includeâŻGuest Attestation support, and support ofâŻIntelÂŽ Tiber⢠Trust AuthorityâŻfor enterprises seeking operator independent attestation. The DCesv6-series and ECesv6-series preview is available now in the East US, West US, West US 3, and West Europe regions. Supported OS images include Windows Server 2025, Windows Server 2022, Ubuntu 22.04, and Ubuntu 24.04. Please sign up atâŻaka.ms/acc/v6previewâŻand we will reach out to you. 2. Smarter Bot Defense with WAF + CAPTCHA Modern web applications face an ever-growing array of automated threats, including bots, web scrapers, and brute-force attacks. Many of these attacks evade common security measures such as IP blocking, geo-restrictions, and rate limiting, which struggle to differentiate between legitimate users and automated traffic. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, businesses require stronger, more adaptive security solutions.⯠Azure Front Doorâs Web Application Firewall (WAF) now introduces CAPTCHA in public previewâan interactive mechanism designed to verify human users and block malicious automated traffic in real time. By requiring suspicious traffic to successfully complete a CAPTCHA challenge, WAF ensures that only legitimate users can access applications while keeping bots at bay. This capability is particularly valuable for common login and sign-up workflows, mitigating the risk of account takeovers, credential stuffing attacks, and brute-force intrusions that threaten sensitive user data.⯠Key Benefits of CAPTCHA on Azure Front Door WAF⯠Prevent Automated Attacks â Blocks bots from accessing login pages, forms, and other critical website elements.⯠Secure User Accounts â Mitigates credential stuffing and brute-force attempts to protect sensitive user information.⯠Reduce Spam & Fraud â Ensures only real users can submit comments, register accounts, or complete transactions.⯠Easy Deployment and Management â Requires minimal configuration, reducing operational overhead while maintaining a robust security posture.⯠How CAPTCHA Works⯠When a client request matches a WAF rule configured for CAPTCHA enforcement, the user is presented with an interactive CAPTCHA challenge to confirm they are human. Upon successful completion, Azure WAF validates the request and allows access to the application. Requests that fail the challenge are blocked, preventing bots from proceeding further.⯠Getting Started⯠CAPTCHA is now available in public preview for Azure WAF. Administrators can configure this feature within their WAF policy settings to strengthen bot mitigation strategies and improve security posture effortlessly. To learn more and start protecting your applications today, visit our Azure WAF documentation.⯠3. Azure Bastion DeveloperâSecure VM Access at Zero Cost Azure Bastion Developer is a lightweight, free offering of the Azure Bastion service designed for Dev/Test users who need secure connections to their Virtual Machines (VMs) without requiring additional features or scalability. It simplifies secure access to VMs, addressing common issues related to usability and cost. To get started, users can sign in to the Azure portal and follow the setup instructions for connecting to their VMs. This service is particularly beneficial for developers looking for a cost-effective solution for secure connectivity. ⯠It's now available in 36 regions with a new portal secure by default user experience. Key takeaways Instant enablement from the VM Connect tab. One concurrent session, ideal for dev/test and PoC environments. No public IPs, agents, or client software required. 4. Deep Packet Visibility with Virtual Network TAP Azure virtual network terminal access point enables customers to mirror virtual machine traffic to packet collectors or analytics tools without having to deploy agents or impact virtual machine network throughput, allowing you to mirror 100% of your production traffic. By configuring virtual network TAP on a virtual machineâs network interface, organizations can stream inbound and outbound traffic to destinations within the same or peered virtual network for real-time monitoring for various uses cases, including: Enhanced security and threat detection: Security teams can inspect full packet data in real-time to detect and respond to potential threats. Performance monitoring and troubleshooting: Operations teams can analyze live traffic patterns to identify bottlenecks, troubleshoot latency issues, and optimize application performance. Regulatory compliance: Organizations subject to compliance frameworks such as Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) can use virtual network TAP to capture network activity for auditing and forensic investigations. Virtual network TAP supports all Azure VM SKU and integrates seamlessly with validated partner solutions, offering extended visibility and security capabilities. For a list of partner solutions that are validated to work with virtual network TAP, seeâŻpartner solutions. 5. Protect networks at machine speed with Generative AI Azure Firewall intercepts and blocks malicious traffic using the intrusion detection and prevention system (IDPS) today. It processes huge volumes of packets, analyzes signals from numerous network resources, and generates vast amounts of logs. To reason over all this data and cut through the noise to analyze threats, analysts spend several hours if not days performing manual tasks. The Azure Firewall integration in Security Copilot helps analysts perform these investigations with the speed and scale of AI. An example of a security analyst processing the threats their Firewall stopped can be seen below: Analysts spend hours writing custom queries or navigating several manual steps to retrieve threat information and gather additional contextual information such as geographical location of IPs, threat rating of a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), details of common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) associated with an IDPS signature, and more. Copilot pulls information from the relevant sources to enrich your threat data in a fraction of the time and can do this not just for a single threat/Firewall but for all threats across your entire Firewall fleet. It can also correlate information with other security products to understand how attackers are targeting your entire infrastructure. To learn more about the user journey and value that Copilot can deliver, see the Azure blog from our preview announcement at RSA last year. To see these capabilities in action, take a look at this Tech Community blog, and to get started, see the documentation. Looking Forward Azure is committed to delivering secure, reliable, and high-performance connectivity so you can focus on building whatâs next. Our team is dedicated to creating innovative, resilient, and secure solutions that empower businesses to leverage AI and the cloud to their fullest potential. Our approach of providing layered defense in depth via our security solutions like Confidential Compute, Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Firewall, Azure WAF, Azure virtual network TAP, network security perimeter will continue with more enhancements and features upcoming. We canât wait to see how youâll use these new security capabilities and will be keen to hear your feedback.Introducing XFF header for Azure Firewall: Gain crucial insights to help stay secure
The X-Forwarded-For (XFF) HTTP headerâŻprovides crucial insight into the origin of web requests. The header works as a mechanism for conveying the original source IP addresses of clients, and not just across one hop, but through chains of multiple intermediaries. Information embedded in XFF headers is vital to network security to help with both enforcement and auditing. Thus, itâs important for proxies like Azure Firewall to preserve this information when packets flow through the networks. This blog shares Azure Firewall handling XFF headers. How does Azure Firewall handle XFF headers? Proxies can perform several actions on the XFF headers received. This includes preserving the XFF contents received before forwarding to the next hop, augmenting client IP to the XFF header and enforcing policies based on XFF contents. Azure Firewall preserves and augments XFF header based on how the traffic is received and processed. Behavior is detailed below. Traffic/Payload Rule Processed Preserves original content in the XFF header Augment Client IP to the XFF header HTTP payload Application Rules Preserved YES HTTPs payload Application Rules Preserved NO (XFF header is encrypted) HTTPs with TLS termination Application Rules Preserved YES HTTP or HTTPs payload DNAT/Network rules Preserved â Azure Firewall doesnât impact HTTP headers as traffic is processed at layer 4 Validating Azure Firewall behavior: For this blog, I set up a local environment with NGINX to validate Firewall behavior. This includes a local client running in Azure, Internet client and a NGINX webserver to process http/s traffic. I used a private DNS zone to redirect traffic of a popular domain (example.com) to my NGINX server behind the firewall. HTTP/s client traffic and response: The client sends a http payload to example.com after adding 192.0.2.100 to XFF header. Azure Firewall output: The Azure Firewall receives both HTTP and HTTPs requests as the NGINX server redirects the client HTTP traffic to HTTPs listener. Server XFF header output: For HTTP requests, XFF output displays both the client IP and the appended IP in the curl request. For HTTPs requests, XFF output displays only the IP added by the client. DNAT traffic to the server: Internet clients send https traffic to the NGINX server via Azure Firewall Public IP. Azure Firewall receives the traffic as a DNAT rule and redirects the traffic to the translated destination server. Server XFF header output: Traffic is received with XFF header inserted by the client. Azure Firewall doesnât impact this header as it receives the traffic on the network. Conclusion: In conclusion, the X-Forwarded-For (XFF) HTTP header plays a crucial role in providing insight into the origin of web requests. It helps convey the original source IP addresses of clients through multiple intermediaries, which is vital for network security, enforcement, and auditing.⯠Azure Firewall's handling of XFF headers ensures that this information is preserved and augmented based on how the traffic is received and processed. By maintaining the integrity of XFF headers, Azure Firewall enhances security measures and provides a reliable mechanism for tracking the source of web traffic.So, you want to have a public IP Address for your application?
In Microsoft Azure, a public IP address is a fundamental component for enabling internet-facing services, such as hosting a web application, facilitating remote access, or exposing an API endpoint. While this connectivity drives functionality, it also exposes resources to the unpredictable and often hostile expanse of the internet. This blog dives deep into the security implications of a public IP in Azure, using a detailed scenario to illustrate potential threats and demonstrating how Azureâs robust toolkitâNetwork Security Groups (NSGs), Azure DDoS Protection, Azure Firewall, Web Application Firewall (WAF), Private Link, and Azure Bastionâcan safeguard against them. Scenario: The exposed e-commerce platform Imagine a small e-commerce business launching its online store on Azure. The infrastructure includes an application gateway hosting a web server with a public IP (e.g., 20.55.123.45), an Azure SQL Database for inventory and customer data, and a load balancer distributing traffic. Initially, the setup works flawlessly, customers browse products, place orders, and the business grows. But one day, the IT team notices unusual activity: failed login attempts spike, site performance dips, and a customer reports a suspicious pop-up on the checkout page. The public IP left with minimal protection has become a target. The threats of public IP exposure A public IP is like an open address in a bustling digital city. Itâs visible to anyone with the means to look, and without proper safeguards, it invites a variety of threats: Brute Force Attacks: Exposed endpoints, such as a VM with Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) or SSH enabled, become prime targets for attackers attempting to guess credentials. With enough attempts, weak passwords can crumble, granting unauthorized access to sensitive systems. Exploitation of Vulnerabilities: Unpatched software or misconfigured services behind a public IP can be exploited. Attackers regularly scan for known vulnerabilitiesâlike outdated web servers or databasesâusing automated tools to infiltrate systems and extract data or plant malware. Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attacks: A public IP can attract floods of malicious traffic designed to overwhelm resources, rendering services unavailable. For businesses relying on uptime, this can lead to lost revenue and damaged trust. Application-Layer Attacks: Web applications exposed via a public IP are susceptible to threats like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), or other exploits that manipulate poorly secured code, potentially compromising data integrity or user privacy. Left unprotected, a public IP becomes a liability, amplifying the attack surface and inviting persistent threats from the internetâs darker corners. Azureâs Security Arsenal Azure provides a layered approach to securing resources with public IPs. By leveraging its built-in services, organizations can transform that open gateway into a fortified checkpoint. Hereâs how these tools work together to mitigate risks: Azure DDoS Protection Azure DDoS Protection protects from overwhelming public IPs with malicious traffic. Azure DDoS Protection, available for infrastructure protection and as Network & IP Protection SKUs, monitors and mitigates these threats. The Network and IP Protection SKUs uses machine learning to profile normal traffic patterns, automatically detecting and scrubbing malicious floodsâsuch as SYN floods or UDP amplification attacksâbefore they impact application availability. Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) When a public IP fronts a web application (e.g., via Azure Application Gateway), the WAF adds application-layer protection. It inspects HTTP/HTTPS traffic, thwarting attacks like SQL injection or XSS by applying OWASP core rule sets. This is critical for workloads where the public IP serves as the entry point to customer-facing services. Network Security Groups (NSGs) NSGs act as a virtual firewall at the subnet or network interface level, filtering traffic based on predefined rules. For the specific scenario above, an NSG should be used to restrict inbound traffic to an Application Gatewayâs public IP, allowing only specific ports (e.g., HTTPS on port 443) from trusted sources while blocking unsolicited RDP or SSH attempts. This reduces the attack surface by ensuring only necessary traffic reaches the resource. Azure Private Link Sometimes, the best defense is to avoid public exposure entirely. Azure Private Link allows resourcesâlike Azure SQL Database or Storageâto be accessed over a private endpoint within a virtual network, bypassing the public internet. By pairing a public IP with Private Link for internal services, organizations can limit external exposure while maintaining secure, private connectivity. Azure Bastion For administrative access to backend VMs, exposing RDP or SSH ports via a public IP is a common risk. Azure Bastion eliminates this need by providing a fully managed, browser-based jump box. Admins connect securely through the Azure portal over TLS, reducing the chance of brute force attacks on open ports. Building a Secure Foundation A public IP in Azure doesnât have to be a vulnerability, it can be a controlled entryway when paired with the right defenses. Start by applying the principle of least privilege with NSGs, restricting traffic to only whatâs necessary. Layer on DDoS Protection and Azure Firewall for network-level resilience and add WAF for web-specific threats. Where possible, shift sensitive services to Private Link, and use Bastion for secure management. Together, these services create a multi-tiered shield, turning a potential weakness into a strength. In todayâs threat landscape, a public IP is inevitable for many workloads. But leveraging Azureâs built in security tools, your organization can embrace the cloudâs connectivity while keeping threats at bay, allowing you to embrace the cloud without compromising security.Enhancing VM security: Azure's approach to safer connectivity for all users
When it comes to cloud security, one of the most critical aspects is managing connectivity to your virtual machines (VMs) without exposing them to unnecessary risks. To help you with this, Azure provides secure and seamless remote access to your Azure VMs over TLS â at no added cost - through Azure Bastion Developer, a fully managed, platform-native service. Enabling secure connectivity goes beyond just securing remote access to VMs; it plays an integral role in a broader security strategy for Azure customers under the âSecure-By-Defaultâ initiative. By eliminating the need for public IPs on your VMs and the complexities associated with traditional remote access methods, Bastion Developer fundamentally changes how Azure customers approach security. In this blog, we will discuss how secure connectivity via Bastion Developer enhances security for all Azure customers. Reduced attack surface Public IPs and open ports are significant vulnerabilities in traditional remote access methods. They can be exploited by attackers to gain unauthorized access to your VMs, leading to data breaches, malware infections, and other security incidents. Open ports can also be scanned and targeted by malicious actors, increasing the likelihood of successful attacks. By eliminating the need for public IPs, Bastion Developer minimizes these risks and enhances the overall security of your Azure environment. This secure-by-default approach ensures that your VMs are only accessible through a secure connection to a private IP, safeguarding your sensitive data and resources from external threats. Simplified security management Bastion Developer simplifies security by removing the need for complex VPN configurations, public IPs, and agent-based installation. Itâs a centralized, managed solution that integrates directly into your Azure environment, making security management much more straightforward. Additionally, Bastion Developer offers a one-click connection feature, allowing users to securely access their virtual machines without the need for any deployment. This feature enables developers and IT teams to connect to their VMs in just seconds, streamlining the process and enhancing productivity. With no additional infrastructure required, users can enter their VM credentials, click âConnect,â and gain secure access almost instantly in the Azure portal. Bastion Developer also offers CLI-based connectivity for SSH connections. Reduced risk of misconfigurations Bastion Developer's automated and streamlined approach eliminates the risks of human error and configuration mistakes, which can be common source of security vulnerabilities. By eliminating the need for manual configuration or deployment, Azure Bastion Developer eliminates the risks of human error and configuration mistakes that could otherwise lead to insecure access points, making it an accessible option for all Azure customers, regardless of their level of networking expertise. No added cost The best part? Azure Bastion Developer is 100% free with every Azure subscription. This lightweight connectivity offering was made free under Microsoftâs âSecure-by-Defaultâ initiative to ensure that security is accessible and affordable for all Azure users. Unlike traditional public IP methods, which can cost more than $4 per IP address per month, Bastion Developer offers secure connections to one VM at a time at zero additional cost. This affordability removes barriers to robust security by making it more economically viable for developers and IT teams. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness of this service encourages widespread adoption, ensuring that even smaller organizations with limited budgets can benefit from enhanced security measures. This seamless and cost-effective approach ensures that all Azure customers can easily enhance their security posture without incurring extra expenses. Conclusion In Azure, our goal is to offer the most secure platform for our customers as the default. Cyberattacks are becoming more and more common, and exposing VM ports with public IPs increases their vulnerability. Our approach with Bastion Developer is to enable secure connectivity by default without exposing public endpoints -- at no additional cost. We received this feedback from our users, especially developers who need to make brief and limited persistent connections to VMs regularly. With its ability to reduce your attack surface, simplify security management, and integrate seamlessly with the Azure ecosystem, Bastion Developer is a must-have tool for any developer looking to improve their cloud security. Start using Azure Bastion Developer today to secure your Azure VMs and improve your overall security posture at no extra cost.Securing the digital future: Advanced firewall protection for all Azure customers
Introduction In today's digital landscape, rapid innovationâespecially in areas like AIâis reshaping how we work and interact. With this progress comes a growing array of cyber threats and gaps that impact every organization. Notably, the convergence of AI, data security, and digital assets has become particularly enticing for bad actors, who leverage these advanced tools and valuable information to orchestrate sophisticated attacks. Security is far from an optional add-on; it is the strategic backbone of modern business operations and resiliency. The evolving threat landscape Cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated and persistent. A single breach can result in costly downtime, loss of sensitive data, and damage to customer trust. Organizations must not only detect incidents but also proactively prevent them âall while complying with regulatory standards like GDPR and HIPAA. Security requires staying ahead of threats and ensuring that every critical component of your digital environment is protected. Azure Firewall: Strengthening security for all users Azure Firewall is engineered and innovated to benefit all users by serving as a robust, multifaceted line of defense. Below are five key scenarios that illustrate how Azure Firewall provides security across various use cases: First, Azure Firewall acts as a gateway that separates the external world from your internal network. By establishing clearly defined boundaries, it ensures that only authorized traffic can flow between different parts of your infrastructure. This segmentation is critical in limiting the spread of an attack, should one occur, effectively containing potential threats to a smaller segment of the network. Second, the key role of the Azure Firewall is to filter traffic between clients, applications, and servers. This filtering capability prevents unauthorized access, ensuring that hackers cannot easily infiltrate private systems to steal sensitive data. For instance, whether protecting personal financial information or health data, the firewall inspects and controls traffic to maintain data integrity and confidentiality. Third, beyond protecting internal Azure or on-premises resources, Azure Firewall can also regulate outbound traffic to the Internet. By filtering user traffic from Azure to the Internet, organizations can prevent employees from accessing potentially harmful websites or inadvertently downloading malicious content. This is supported through FQDN or URL filtering, as well as web category controls, where administrators can filter traffic to domain names or categories such as social media, gambling, hacking, and more. In addition, security today means staying ahead of threats, not just controlling access. It requires proactively detecting and blocking malicious traffic before it even reaches the organizationâs environment. Azure Firewall is integrated with Microsoftâs Threat Intelligence feed, which supplies millions of known malicious IP addresses and domains in real time. This integration enables the firewall to dynamically detect and block threats as soon as they are identified. In addition, Azure Firewall IDPS (Intrusion Detection and Prevention System) extends this proactive defense by offering advanced capabilities to identify and block suspicious activity by: Monitoring malicious activity: Azure Firewall IDPS rapidly detects attacks by identifying specific patterns associated with malware command and control, phishing, trojans, botnets, exploits, and more. Proactive blocking: Once a potential threat is detected, Azure Firewall IDPS can automatically block the offending traffic and alert security teams, reducing the window of exposure and minimizing the risk of a breach. Together, these integrated capabilities ensure that your network is continuously protected by a dynamic, multi-layered defense system that not only detects threats in real time but also helps prevent them from ever reaching your critical assets. Image: Trend illustrating the number of IDPS alerts Azure Firewall generated from September 2024 to March 2025 Finally, Azure Firewallâs cloud-native architecture delivers robust security while streamlining management. An agile management experience not only improves operational efficiency but also frees security teams to focus on proactive threat detection and strategic security initiatives by providing: High availability and resiliency: As a fully managed service, Azure Firewall is built on the power of the cloud, ensuring high availability and built-in resiliency to keep your security always active. Autoscaling for easy maintenance: Azure Firewall automatically scales to meet your networkâs demands. This autoscaling capability means that as your traffic grows or fluctuates, the firewall adjusts in real timeâeliminating the need for manual intervention and reducing operational overhead. Centralized management with Azure Firewall Manager: Azure Firewall Manager provides centralized management experience for configuring, deploying, and monitoring multiple Azure Firewall instances across regions and subscriptions. You can create and manage firewall policies across your entire organization, ensuring uniform rule enforcement and simplifying updates. This helps reduce administrative overhead while enhancing visibility and control over your network security posture. Seamless integration with Azure Services: Azure Firewallâs strong integration with other Azure services, such as Microsoft Sentinel, Microsoft Defender, and Azure Monitor, creates a unified security ecosystem. This integration not only enhances visibility and threat detection across your environment but also streamlines management and incident response. Conclusion Azure Firewall's combination of robust network segmentation, advanced IDPS and threat intelligence capabilities, and cloud-native scalability makes it an essential component of modern security architecturesâempowering organizations to confidently defend against todayâs ever-evolving cyber threats while seamlessly integrating with the broader Azure security ecosystem.
