Become a Microsoft Defender for Cloud Ninja
[Last update: 09/30/2025] All content has been reviewed and updated for September 2025. This blog post has a curation of many Microsoft Defender for Cloud (formerly known as Azure Security Center and Azure Defender) resources, organized in a format that can help you to go from absolutely no knowledge in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, to design and implement different scenarios. You can use this blog post as a training roadmap to learn more about Microsoft Defender for Cloud. On November 2nd, at Microsoft Ignite 2021, Microsoft announced the rebrand of Azure Security Center and Azure Defender for Microsoft Defender for Cloud. To learn more about this change, read this article. Every month we are adding new updates to this article, and you can track it by checking the red date besides the topic. If you already study all the modules and you are ready for the knowledge check, follow the procedures below: To obtain the Defender for Cloud Ninja Certificate 1. Take this knowledge check here, where you will find questions about different areas and plans available in Defender for Cloud. 2. If you score 80% or more in the knowledge check, request your participation certificate here. If you achieved less than 80%, please review the questions that you got it wrong, study more and take the assessment again. Note: it can take up to 24 hours for you to receive your certificate via email. To obtain the Defender for Servers Ninja Certificate (Introduced in 08/2023) 1. Take this knowledge check here, where you will find only questions related to Defender for Servers. 2. If you score 80% or more in the knowledge check, request your participation certificate here. If you achieved less than 80%, please review the questions that you got it wrong, study more and take the assessment again. Note: it can take up to 24 hours for you to receive your certificate via email. Modules To become an Microsoft Defender for Cloud Ninja, you will need to complete each module. The content of each module will vary, refer to the legend to understand the type of content before clicking in the topic’s hyperlink. The table below summarizes the content of each module: Module Description 0 - CNAPP In this module you will familiarize yourself with the concepts of CNAPP and how to plan Defender for Cloud deployment as a CNAPP solution. 1 – Introducing Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Defender Cloud plans In this module you will familiarize yourself with Microsoft Defender for Cloud and understand the use case scenarios. You will also learn about Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Defender Cloud plans pricing and overall architecture data flow. 2 – Planning Microsoft Defender for Cloud In this module you will learn the main considerations to correctly plan Microsoft Defender for Cloud deployment. From supported platforms to best practices implementation. 3 – Enhance your Cloud Security Posture In this module you will learn how to leverage Cloud Security Posture management capabilities, such as Secure Score and Attack Path to continuous improvement of your cloud security posture. This module includes automation samples that can be used to facilitate secure score adoption and operations. 4 – Cloud Security Posture Management Capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Cloud In this module you will learn how to use the cloud security posture management capabilities available in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, which includes vulnerability assessment, inventory, workflow automation and custom dashboards with workbooks. 5 – Regulatory Compliance Capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Cloud In this module you will learn about the regulatory compliance dashboard in Microsoft Defender for Cloud and give you insights on how to include additional standards. In this module you will also familiarize yourself with Azure Blueprints for regulatory standards. 6 – Cloud Workload Protection Platform Capabilities in Azure Defender In this module you will learn how the advanced cloud capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Cloud work, which includes JIT, File Integrity Monitoring and Adaptive Application Control. This module also covers how threat protection works in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, the different categories of detections, and how to simulate alerts. 7 – Streaming Alerts and Recommendations to a SIEM Solution In this module you will learn how to use native Microsoft Defender for Cloud capabilities to stream recommendations and alerts to different platforms. You will also learn more about Azure Sentinel native connectivity with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Lastly, you will learn how to leverage Graph Security API to stream alerts from Microsoft Defender for Cloud to Splunk. 8 – Integrations and APIs In this module you will learn about the different integration capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Cloud, how to connect Tenable to Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and how other supported solutions can be integrated with Microsoft Defender for Cloud. 9 - DevOps Security In this module you will learn more about DevOps Security capabilities in Defender for Cloud. You will be able to follow the interactive guide to understand the core capabilities and how to navigate through the product. 10 - Defender for APIs In this module you will learn more about the new plan announced at RSA 2023. You will be able to follow the steps to onboard the plan and validate the threat detection capability. 11 - AI Posture Management and Workload Protection In this module you will learn more about the risks of Gen AI and how Defender for Cloud can help improve your AI posture management and detect threats against your Gen AI apps. Module 0 - Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) Improving Your Multi-Cloud Security with a CNAPP - a vendor agnostic approach Microsoft CNAPP Solution Planning and Operationalizing Microsoft CNAPP Understanding Cloud Native Application Protection Platforms (CNAPP) Cloud Native Applications Protection Platform (CNAPP) Microsoft CNAPP eBook Understanding CNAPP Why Microsoft Leads the IDC CNAPP MarketScape: Key Insights for Security Decision-Makers Module 1 - Introducing Microsoft Defender for Cloud What is Microsoft Defender for Cloud? A New Approach to Get Your Cloud Risks Under Control Getting Started with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Implementing a CNAPP Strategy to Embed Security From Code to Cloud Boost multicloud security with a comprehensive code to cloud strategy A new name for multi-cloud security: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Common questions about Defender for Cloud MDC Cost Calculator Microsoft Defender for Cloud expands U.S. Gov Cloud support for CSPM and server security Module 2 – Planning Microsoft Defender for Cloud Features for IaaS workloads Features for PaaS workloads Built-in RBAC Roles in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Enterprise Onboarding Guide Design Considerations for Log Analytics Workspace Onboarding on-premises machines using Windows Admin Center Understanding Security Policies in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Creating Custom Policies Centralized Policy Management in Microsoft Defender for Cloud using Management Groups Planning Data Collection for IaaS VMs Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Series – Microsoft Defender for Resource Manager Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Series – Microsoft Defender for Storage How to Effectively Perform an Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Series – Microsoft Defender for App Service Considerations for Multi-Tenant Scenario Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Series – Microsoft Defender CSPM Microsoft Defender for DevOps GitHub Connector - Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Series Grant tenant-wide permissions to yourself Simplifying Onboarding to Microsoft Defender for Cloud with Terraform Module 3 – Enhance your Cloud Security Posture How Secure Score affects your governance Enhance your Secure Score in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Security recommendations Active User (Public Preview) Resource exemption Customizing Endpoint Protection Recommendation in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Deliver a Security Score weekly briefing Send Microsoft Defender for Cloud Recommendations to Azure Resource Stakeholders Secure Score Reduction Alert Average Time taken to remediate resources Improved experience for managing the default Azure security policies Security Policy Enhancements in Defender for Cloud Create custom recommendations and security standards Secure Score Overtime Workbook Automation Artifacts for Secure Score Recommendations Connecting Defender for Cloud with Jira Remediation Scripts Module 4 – Cloud Security Posture Management Capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Cloud CSPM in Defender for Cloud Take a Proactive Risk-Based Approach to Securing your Cloud Native Applications Predict future security incidents! Cloud Security Posture Management with Microsoft Defender Software inventory filters added to asset inventory Drive your organization to security actions using Governance experience Managing Asset Inventory in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Vulnerability Assessment Workbook Template Vulnerability Assessment for Containers Implementing Workflow Automation Workflow Automation Artifacts Creating Custom Dashboard for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Using Microsoft Defender for Cloud API for Workflow Automation What you need to know when deleting and re-creating the security connector(s) in Defender for Cloud Connect AWS Account with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Video Demo - Connecting AWS accounts Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Series - Multi-cloud with AWS Onboarding your AWS/GCP environment to Microsoft Defender for Cloud with Terraform How to better manage cost of API calls that Defender for Cloud makes to AWS Connect GCP Account with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Protecting Containers in GCP with Defender for Containers Video Demo - Connecting GCP Accounts Microsoft Defender for Cloud PoC Series - Multicloud with GCP All You Need to Know About Microsoft Defender for Cloud Multicloud Protection Custom recommendations for AWS and GCP 31 new and enhanced multicloud regulatory standards coverage Azure Monitor Workbooks integrated into Microsoft Defender for Cloud and three templates provided How to Generate a Microsoft Defender for Cloud exemption and disable policy report Cloud security posture and contextualization across cloud boundaries from a single dashboard Best Practices to Manage and Mitigate Security Recommendations Defender CSPM Defender CSPM Plan Options Go Beyond Checkboxes: Proactive Cloud Security with Microsoft Defender CSPM Cloud Security Explorer Identify and remediate attack paths Agentless scanning for machines Cloud security explorer and Attack path analysis Governance Rules at Scale Governance Improvements Data Security Aware Posture Management Unlocking API visibility: Defender for Cloud Expands API security to Function Apps and Logic Apps A Proactive Approach to Cloud Security Posture Management with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Prioritize Risk remediation with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Attack Path Analysis Understanding data aware security posture capability Agentless Container Posture Agentless Container Posture Management Refining Attack Paths: Prioritizing Real-World, Exploitable Threats (09/30/2025) Microsoft Defender for Cloud - Automate Notifications when new Attack Paths are created Proactively secure your Google Cloud Resources with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Demystifying Defender CSPM Discover and Protect Sensitive Data with Defender for Cloud Defender for cloud's Agentless secret scanning for virtual machines is now generally available! Defender CSPM Support for GCP Data Security Dashboard Agentless Container Posture Management in Multicloud Agentless malware scanning for servers Recommendation Prioritization Unified insights from Microsoft Entra Permissions Management Defender CSPM Internet Exposure Analysis Future-Proofing Cloud Security with Defender CSPM ServiceNow's integration now includes Configuration Compliance module Agentless code scanning for GitHub and Azure DevOps (preview) 🚀 Suggested Labs: Improving your Secure Posture Connecting a GCP project Connecting an AWS project Defender CSPM Agentless container posture through Defender CSPM Contextual Security capabilities for AWS using Defender CSPM Module 5 – Regulatory Compliance Capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Understanding Regulatory Compliance Capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Adding new regulatory compliance standards Regulatory Compliance workbook Regulatory compliance dashboard now includes Azure Audit reports Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Azure compute benchmark is now aligned with CIS! Updated naming format of Center for Internet Security (CIS) standards in regulatory compliance CIS Azure Foundations Benchmark v2.0.0 in regulatory compliance dashboard Spanish National Security Framework (Esquema Nacional de Seguridad (ENS)) added to regulatory compliance dashboard for Azure Microsoft Defender for Cloud Adds Four New Regulatory Frameworks | Microsoft Community Hub 🚀 Suggested Lab: Regulatory Compliance Module 6 – Cloud Workload Protection Platform Capabilities in Microsoft Defender for Clouds Understanding Just-in-Time VM Access Implementing JIT VM Access File Integrity Monitoring in Microsoft Defender Understanding Threat Protection in Microsoft Defender Performing Advanced Risk Hunting in Defender for Cloud Microsoft Defender for Servers Demystifying Defender for Servers Onboarding directly (without Azure Arc) to Defender for Servers Agentless secret scanning for virtual machines in Defender for servers P2 & DCSPM Vulnerability Management in Defender for Cloud File Integrity Monitoring using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Microsoft Defender for Containers Basics of Defender for Containers Secure your Containers from Build to Runtime AWS ECR Coverage in Defender for Containers Upgrade to Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management End to end container security with unified SOC experience Binary drift detection episode Binary drift detection Cloud Detection Response experience Exploring the Latest Container Security Updates from Microsoft Ignite 2024 Unveiling Kubernetes lateral movement and attack paths with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Onboarding Docker Hub and JFrog Artifactory Improvements in Container’s Posture Management New AKS Security Dashboard in Defender for Cloud The Risk of Default Configuration: How Out-of-the-Box Helm Charts Can Breach Your Cluster Your cluster, your rules: Helm support for container security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Microsoft Defender for Storage Protect your storage resources against blob-hunting Malware Scanning in Defender for Storage What's New in Defender for Storage Automated Remediation for Malware Detection - Defender for Storage (09/30/2025) Defender for Storage: Malware Automated Remediation - From Security to Protection (09/30/2025) 🎉Malware scanning add-on is now generally available in Azure Gov Secret and Top-Secret clouds Defender for Storage: Malware Scan Error Message Update Protecting Cloud Storage in the Age of AI Microsoft Defender for SQL New Defender for SQL VA Defender for SQL on Machines Enhanced Agent Update Microsoft Defender for SQL Anywhere New autoprovisioning process for SQL Server on machines plan Enhancements for protecting hosted SQL servers across clouds and hybrid environments Defender for Open-Source Relational Databases Multicloud Microsoft Defender for KeyVault Microsoft Defender for AppService Microsoft Defender for Resource Manager Understanding Security Incident Security Alert Correlation Alert Reference Guide 'Copy alert JSON' button added to security alert details pane Alert Suppression Simulating Alerts in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Alert validation Simulating alerts for Windows Simulating alerts for Linux Simulating alerts for Containers Simulating alerts for Storage Simulating alerts for Microsoft Key Vault Simulating alerts for Microsoft Defender for Resource Manager Integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Auto-provisioning of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint unified solution Resolve security threats with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Protect your servers and VMs from brute-force and malware attacks with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Filter security alerts by IP address Alerts by resource group Defender for Servers Security Alerts Improvements From visibility to action: The power of cloud detection and response 🚀 Suggested Labs: Workload Protections Agentless container vulnerability assessment scanning Microsoft Defender for Cloud database protection Protecting On-Prem Servers in Defender for Cloud Defender for Storage Module 7 – Streaming Alerts and Recommendations to a SIEM Solution Continuous Export capability in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Deploying Continuous Export using Azure Policy Connecting Microsoft Sentinel with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Closing an Incident in Azure Sentinel and Dismissing an Alert in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Microsoft Sentinel bi-directional alert synchronization 🚀 Suggested Lab: Exporting Microsoft Defender for Cloud information to a SIEM Module 8 – Integrations and APIs Integration with Tenable Integrate security solutions in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Defender for Cloud integration with Defender EASM Defender for Cloud integration with Defender TI REST APIs for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Obtaining Secure Score via REST API Using Graph Security API to Query Alerts in Microsoft Defender for Cloud Automate(d) Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Logic Apps Automating Cloud Security Posture and Cloud Workload Protection Responses Module 9 – DevOps Security Overview of Microsoft Defender for Cloud DevOps Security DevOps Security Interactive Guide Configure the Microsoft Security DevOps Azure DevOps extension Configure the Microsoft Security DevOps GitHub action Automate SecOps to Developer Communication with Defender for DevOps Compliance for Exposed Secrets Discovered by DevOps Security Automate DevOps Security Recommendation Remediation DevOps Security Workbook Remediating Security Issues in Code with Pull Request Annotations Code to Cloud Security using Microsoft Defender for DevOps GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps alerts in Defender for Cloud Securing your GitLab Environment with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Bridging the Gap Between Code and Cloud with Defender for Cloud Integrate Defender for Cloud CLI with CI/CD pipelines Code Reachability Analysis 🚀 Suggested Labs: Onboarding Azure DevOps to Defender for Cloud Onboarding GitHub to Defender for Cloud Module 10 – Defender for APIs What is Microsoft Defender for APIs? Onboard Defender for APIs Validating Microsoft Defender for APIs Alerts API Security with Defender for APIs Microsoft Defender for API Security Dashboard Exempt functionality now available for Defender for APIs recommendations Create sample alerts for Defender for APIs detections Defender for APIs reach GA Increasing API Security Testing Visibility Boost Security with API Security Posture Management 🚀 Suggested Lab: Defender for APIs Module 11 – AI Posture Management and Workload Protection Secure your AI applications from code to runtime with Microsoft Defender for Cloud AI security posture management AI threat protection Secure your AI applications from code to runtime Data and AI security dashboard Protecting Azure AI Workloads using Threat Protection for AI in Defender for Cloud Plug, Play, and Prey: The security risks of the Model Context Protocol Secure AI by Design Series: Embedding Security and Governance Across the AI Lifecycle (09/30/2025) Exposing hidden threats across the AI development lifecycle in the cloud Learn Live: Enable advanced threat protection for AI workloads with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Microsoft AI Security Story: Protection Across the Platform 🚀 Suggested Lab: Security for AI workloads Are you ready to take your knowledge check? If so, click here. If you score 80% or more in the knowledge check, request your participation certificate here. If you achieved less than 80%, please review the questions that you got it wrong, study more and take the assessment again. Note: it can take up to 24 hours for you to receive your certificate via email. Other Resources Microsoft Defender for Cloud Labs Become an Microsoft Sentinel Ninja Become an MDE Ninja Cross-product lab (Defend the Flag) Release notes (updated every month) Important upcoming changes Have a great time ramping up in Microsoft Defender for Cloud and becoming a Microsoft Defender for Cloud Ninja!! Reviewer: Tom Janetscheck, Senior PM
Defender for Storage: Malware Automated Remediation - From Security to Protection
In our previous Defender for Cloud Storage Security blog, we likened cloud storage to a high-tech museum - housing your organization’s most valuable artifacts, from sensitive data to AI training sets. That metaphor resonated with many readers, highlighting the need for strong defenses and constant vigilance. But as every museum curator knows, security is never static. New threats emerge, and the tools we use to protect our treasures must evolve. Today, we are excited to share the next chapter in our journey: the introduction of malware automated remediation as part of our Defender for Cloud Storage Security solution (Microsoft Defender for Storage). This feature marks a pivotal shift - from simply detecting threats to actively preventing their spread, ensuring your “museum” remains not just secure, but truly protected. The Shift: From Storage Security to Storage Protection Cloud storage has become the engine room of digital transformation. It powers collaboration, fuels AI innovation, and stores the lifeblood of modern business. But with this centrality comes risk: attackers are increasingly targeting storage accounts, often using file uploads as their entry point. Historically, our storage security strategy focused on detection - surfacing risks and alerting security teams to suspicious activity. This was like installing state-of-the-art cameras and alarms in our museum, but still relying on human guards to respond to every incident. With the launch of malware automated remediation, we’re taking the next step: empowering Defender for Storage to act instantly, blocking malicious files before they can move through your environment. We are elevating our storage security solution from detection-only to a detection and response solution, which includes both malware detection and distribution prevention. Why Automated Remediation Matters Detection alone is no longer enough. Security teams are overwhelmed by alerts, and manual/custom developed response pipelines are slow and error-prone. In today’s threat landscape, speed is everything - a single malicious file can propagate rapidly, causing widespread damage before anyone has a chance to react. Automated remediation bridges this gap. When a file is uploaded to your storage account, or if on-demand scanning is initiated, Defender for Storage now not only detects malicious files and alerts security teams, but it can automatically (soft) delete the file (allowing file recovery) or trigger automated workflows for further investigation. This built-in automation closes the gap between detection and mitigation, reducing manual effort and helping organizations meet compliance and hygiene requirements. How It Works: From Detection to Protection The new automated remediation feature is designed for simplicity and effectiveness: Enablement: Customers can enable automated remediation at the storage account or subscription level, either through the Azure Portal or via API. Soft Delete: When a malicious blob is detected, Defender for Storage checks if the soft delete property is enabled. If not, it enables it with a default retention of 7 days (adjustable between 1 and 365 days). Action: The malicious file is soft-deleted, and a security alert is generated. If deletion fails (e.g., due to permissions or configuration), the alert specifies the reason, so you can quickly remediate. Restoration: If a file was deleted in error, it can be restored from soft delete The feature is opt-in, giving you control over your remediation strategy. And because it’s built into Defender for Storage, there’s no need for complex custom pipelines or third-party integrations. For added flexibility, soft delete works seamlessly with your existing retention policies, ensuring compliance with your organization’s data governance requirements. Additionally, all malware remediation alerts are fully integrated into the Defender XDR portal, so your security teams can investigate and respond using the same unified experience as the rest of your Microsoft security stack. Use Case: Preventing Malware from Spreading Through File Uploads Let’s revisit a scenario that’s become all too common: a customer-facing portal allows users to upload files and documents. Without robust protection, a single weaponized file can enter your environment and propagate - moving from storage to backend services, and potentially across your network. With Defender for Storage’s malware automated remediation: Malware is detected at the point of upload - before it can be accessed or processed Soft delete remediation action is triggered instantly, stopping the threat from spreading Security teams are notified and can review or restore files as needed This not only simplifies and protects your data pipeline but also strengthens compliance and trust. In industries like healthcare, finance, and customer service - where file uploads are common and data hygiene is critical - this feature is a game changer. Customer Impact and Feedback Early adopters have praised the simplicity and effectiveness of automated remediation. One customer shared that the feature “really simplified their future pipelines,” eliminating the need for custom quarantine workflows and reducing operational overhead. By moving from detection to protection, Defender for Storage helps organizations: Reduce the risk of malware spread and lateral movement Increase trust with customers and stakeholders Simplify solution management and improve user experience Meet compliance and data hygiene requirements with less manual effort Looking Ahead: The Future of Storage Protection Malware automated remediation is just the beginning. As we continue to evolve our storage security solution, our goal is to deliver holistic, built-in protection that keeps pace with the changing threat landscape. Whether you’re storing business-critical data or fueling innovation with AI, you can trust Defender for Cloud to help you start secure, stay secure, and keep your cloud storage truly safe. Ready to move from security to protection? Enable automated remediation in Defender for Storage today and experience the next generation of cloud storage defense. Learn more about Defender for Cloud storage security: Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Security Start a free Azure trial. Read more about Microsoft Defender for Cloud Storage Security here.Automated Remediation for Malware Detection - Defender for Storage
Today, Defender for Storage released, in public preview for Commercial Cloud, the feature Automated Remediation for Malware Detection. This is for both On-upload and On-demand malware scanning. The full documentation can be found in this link. What does it do? Anytime that a blob is found malicious (malicious content was found in the blob), the Automated Remediation feature will kick in and soft-delete the blob. What do you mean by soft-delete? As soon as you enable Automated Remediation for Malware Detection, at the subscription level or storage account level, under “Data Management”, two settings will get automatically configured: Enable soft delete for blobs Keep deleted blobs for (in days): 7 days (if this was not configured. If you had a different retention period, we will not modify it) Enable soft delete for containers Keep deleted containers for (in days): 7 days (if this was not configured. If you had a different retention period, we will not modify it) This configuration will let you “undelete” or “recover” the deleted blobs. How do I enable it? There are two ways: sub-level and resource-level. Besides the User Interface options described in this blog, we have other sub-level and resource-level enablement options like REST API which are documented in this link. Subscription level Go to Microsoft Defender for Cloud Environment Settings Select the subscription Enable Defender for Storage (if not enabled already) Click Settings In Malware Scanning configuration, check the box Soft delete malicious blobs (preview) Save it Note: by default, enabling malware scanning will not automatically enable Automated Remediation for Malware Detection. Storage account level Select the storage account Under Security + networking, click on Microsoft Defender for Cloud If Defender for Storage is already enabled, click on Settings Under the On-upload malware scanning settings, mark the checkbox Soft delete malicious blobs (preview) Save it How does it look like? Note: If you turn on Versioning for Blobs on your storage account, see Manage and restore soft delete for blobs to learn how to restore a soft deleted blob. Try it out and let us know your feedback! 😊General Availability of on-demand scanning in Defender for Storage
When malware protection was initially introduced in Microsoft Defender for Storage, security administrators gained the ability to safeguard their storage accounts against malicious attacks during blob uploads. This means that any time a blob is uploaded—whether from a web application, server, or user—into an Azure Blob storage account, malware scanning powered by Microsoft Defender Antivirus examines the content for any malicious elements within the blob, including images, documents, zip files and more. 🎉In addition to on-upload malware protection, on-demand malware protection is now generally available in Defender for Storage. This article will focus on the recent general availability release of on-demand scanning, its benefits, and how security administrators can begin utilizing this feature today. 🐞What is on-demand scanning? Unlike on-upload scanning, which is a security feature that automatically scan blobs for malware when they are uploaded or modified in cloud storage environments, on-demand scanning enables security administrators to manually initiate scans of entire storage accounts for malware. This scanning method is particularly beneficial for targeted security inspections, incident response, creating security baselines for specific storage accounts and compliance with regulatory requirements. Scanning all existing blobs in a storage account can be performed via the API and Azure portal user interface. Let's explore some use case scenarios and reasons why an organization might need on-demand scanning. Contoso IT Department has received a budget to enhance the security of their organization following the acquisition of Company Z. Company Z possesses numerous storage accounts containing dormant data that have not undergone malware scanning. To integrate these data blobs into the parent organization, it is essential that they first be scanned for malware. Contoso Health Department is mandated by state law to conduct a scheduled quarterly audit of the storage accounts. This audit ensures data integrity and provides documented assurance of security controls for compliance. It involves verifying that important cloud-hosted documents are secure and free from malware. Contoso Legal Corporation experienced a recent breach where the attacker accessed several storage accounts. Post-breach, Contoso Legal Corporation must assure their stakeholders that the storage accounts are free of malware. 💪Benefits of on-demand scanning On-demand scanning offers numerous advantages that security administrators can leverage to safeguard their cloud storage. This section details some of the primary benefits associated with on-demand scanning. Native scan experience: Malware scanning within Defender for Storage is an agentless solution that requires no additional infrastructure. Security administrators can enable malware protection easily and observe its benefits immediately. Respond to security events: Immediately scan storage accounts when security alerts or suspicious activities are detected. Security audits and maintenance: Performing on-demand scans is crucial during security audits or routine system maintenance to ensure that all potential issues are identified and addressed. Latest malware signatures: On-demand scanning ensures that the most recent malware signatures are utilized. Blobs that may have previously evaded detection by previous malware scans can be identified during a manual scan. 🫰On-demand scanning cost estimation Organizations frequently possess extensive amounts of data and require scanning for malware due to various security considerations. A lack of understanding regarding the precise cost of this operation can hinder security leaders from effectively safeguarding their organization. To address this issue, Defender for Storage offers an integrated cost estimation tool within the Azure portal user interface for on-demand scanning. This new UI will display the size of the blob storage and provide estimated costs for scans based on the volume of data. Access to this crucial information facilitates budgeting processes. 🤔On-upload or on-demand scanning In the current configuration of malware protection within Defender for Storage, it is required to have on-upload malware scanning enabled to use the on-demand functionality. On-demand scanning is offered as an additional option. On-upload scanning ensures that incoming blobs are free from malware, while on-demand scanning provides malware baselines and verifies blob health using the latest malware signatures. On-upload and on-demand scanning have distinct triggers. On-upload scanning is automatically performed when new blobs are uploaded to a blob-based storage account, whereas on-demand scanning is manually triggered by a user or an API call. On-demand scanning can also be initiated by workflow automation, such as using a logic app within Azure for scheduled scans. 👟Start scanning your blobs with on-demand scanning Prerequisites Malware protection in Defender for Storage is exclusively available in the per-storage account plan. If your organization is still using the classic Defender for Storage plan, we highly recommend upgrading to take advantage of the full range of security benefits and the latest features. To get started with this agentless solution, please look at the prerequisites in our public documentation here. Test on-demand Malware Scanning Within the Microsoft Defender for Cloud Ninja Training available on GitHub, security administrators can utilize Exercise 12: Test On-demand Malware Scanning in Module 19. The exercise includes detailed instructions and screenshots for testing on-demand malware scanning. This test can be performed using the Azure Portal User Interface or API. Best Practices To maximize the effectiveness of on-demand malware scanning in Microsoft Defender for Storage, please take a look at the best practices that are outlined in our public documentation here. 📖 Conclusion In this article we have explored the newly available on-demand scanning feature in Defender for Storage, which complements existing on-upload scanning capabilities by allowing security administrators to manually initiate malware scans for storage accounts. This feature is particularly useful for targeted security checks, incident response, creating security baseline for storage accounts and compliance audits. Additionally, Defender for Storage includes a built-in cost estimation tool to help organizations budget for on-demand scanning based on their data volume. ⚙️Additional Resources Defender for Storage Malware Protection Overview On-demand malware protection in Defender for Storage On-upload malware protection in Defender for Storage We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to fill out this survey to provide direct feedback to the Defender for Storage engineering team.Microsoft Defender for Storage – Price Estimation Dashboard
Blog post updated on April 17th, 2024. Blog post updated in September 2025 Estimate the cost of Microsoft Defender for Storage Microsoft Defender for Storage is an Azure-native layer of security intelligence that detects potential threats to your storage accounts. It helps prevent the three major impacts on your data and workload: malicious file uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. This blog post explains how to use a new workbook that helps you estimate the cost of Microsoft Defender for Storage and add-ons, like Malware Scanning, based on your current storage usage. Prerequisites To use the cost estimation workbook, you need the following: At least one Azure subscription with Storage Accounts (Defender for Storage is not required) Access to the Azure portal Subscription or resource-level reader permission At least Workbook Contributor permissions on the targeted resource group to save the workbook Access the cost estimation workbook The workbook is available in the Microsoft Defender for Cloud’s GitHub repository. You can access it directly from this link. Deploy it Go to the Workbook’s location Microsoft-Defender-for-Cloud/Workbooks/Microsoft Defender for Storage Price Estimation at main · Azure/Microsoft-Defender-for-Cloud (github.com) In the ReadMe.md file, click the button “Deploy to Azure” This will take you to the Azure portal and the template settings will display for you to fill them. The subscription, resource group and region are required for you to Review + Create. After clicking on “Review + Create” the workbook will show in your resource group. Click on it and then on “Open Workbook”. How it looks like The workbook will display the following information in the tab “Defender for Storage coverage”: Column name Description Subscription Subscription name in the scope. In trial True/False value if the subscription has a free trial. Is enabled Enabled/Disabled value if there’s a Defender for Storage plan enabled. DF-Storage plan The Defender for Storage plan enabled at the subscription-level or if it’s disabled. Malware scanning enabled True/False value if the Defender for Storage add-on Malware Scanning enabled at the subscription-level. For Classic plans, it will show in blank since this feature is not available there. Malware scanning cap The cap setting value at the subscription level. Sensitive data discovery enabled True/False value if the Defender for Storage add-on Sensitive Data Discovery is enabled at the subscription-level. For Classic plans, it will show in blank since this feature is not available there. The tab “Cost estimation” will display the following information: Column name Description Subscription Subscription name in the scope. Storage account Storage account name in the scope. Estimated monthly transactions Transactions (Azure Files and Azure Blobs) taken from a 7-day usage-sample and then used for a 30-day result. Overage transactions Total transactions (Azure Files and Azure Blobs) that are more or equal to 73M. Storage account cost Cost without considering overage. This is $10 USD. Estimated overage charge Overage transactions cost. Estimated monthly cost (activity monitoring) “Storage account cost” + “Estimated overage charge” Estimated monthly uploaded GBs 7-day ingress bytes taken from microsoft.storage/storageaccounts/blobservices-Transaction-Ingress; then this is extrapolated to estimate the monthly total based on a standard 30-day month, and finally, it converts this monthly total from bytes to gigabytes using the factor 1073741824 (bytes per gigabyte). Only Azure Blobs are pulled because Malware Scanning scans Blobs. The APIs in the filter are: AppendFile, CopyBlob, CreatePathFile, FlushFile, PutBlob, PutBlock, PutBlockFromURL, PutBlockList. Estimated malware scanning cost Cost considering “Estimated monthly uploaded GBs”. Malware Scanning cost is currently $0.15 USD per GB scanned. Note: You can filter the results by subscription and storage account. Workbook estimation limitations This tool estimates malware scanning costs based on the total volume of blobs uploaded, as indicated by Blob Ingress metrics. Please consider the following: Multiple scans: Specific upload methods, such as PutBlockList operations, may trigger multiple scans for a single blob (e.g., when writing logs to the same blob). This tool does not accurately capture the additional costs from multiple scans triggered by such operations. Index Tag costs: Costs associated with blob index tags, which store scan times and results on supported blobs, are not included in these estimates. Learn more on index tags costs in the Azure Storage Blobs Pricing page. Blob size: The estimation accounts for all uploaded blobs; however, only blobs smaller than 2GB are actually scanned. Good to know Note: Resources protected before March 28, 2023, are protected by Defender for Storage (classic) plan. Customers who protected storage accounts prior to this (under the per-transaction or per-storage account plans) are encouraged to migrate to the new plan to enjoy enhanced capabilities. Please note that after March 28, 2023, all new subscriptions created through the Azure portal will enable the new Defender for Storage (per-storage account plan) by default. Learn about migrating to the new plan. The cost of Defender for Storage is based on the number of storage accounts within a subscription. Storage accounts that have less than 73 million monthly transactions, are billed at $10 USD each. Storage accounts with higher transaction volume (above 73M monthly transactions) will experience an overage charge of $0.1492 per additional 1 million transactions. This PowerShell script helps you enumerate all storage accounts in your environment and get the transaction metrics for the last week. Calculating across several large subscriptions or a tenant To pull Blob and File Transactions from each Storage Account in larger subscriptions or across a tenant use this PowerShell script. The Price Estimation used in the script is calculated differently from the workbook described in this blog post. Note that the PowerShell script does not currently estimate the add-on Malware Scanning. This will come in the next couple of weeks. Known Issues Azure Monitor Metrics data backends have limits and probably the number of requests to fetch data across Storage Accounts might time out. To solve this, you will need to narrow the scope (reduce the selected Storage Accounts). Errors might reflect by showing 0 transactions in Files and Blobs. To verify this error, go to Edit Mode and the "Timed out" message will be displayed in the query. If you don’t have permissions to read on the storage accounts, there might be an error like this: Contributors: Eitan Shteinberg, Fernanda Vela, Rogério Barros, Hasan Abo-Shally, Dick Lake, Shay Amar, Daniela Villareal, Reviewer: Yuri Diogenes References: Microsoft-Defender-for-Cloud/Workbooks/Microsoft Defender for Storage Price Estimation at main · Azure/Microsoft-Defender-for-Cloud (github.com) Pricing—Microsoft Defender for Cloud | Microsoft Azure Pricing Calculator | Microsoft Azure Microsoft Defender for Storage - the benefits and features | Microsoft Docs Azure-Security-Center/Powershell scripts/Read Azure Storage Transaction Metrics at main · Azure/Azur... Microsoft-Defender-for-Cloud/Powershell scripts/Storage Price Estimation Script at main · Azure/Micr...🎉Malware scanning add-on is now generally available in Azure Gov Secret and Top-Secret clouds
Microsoft Defender for Storage now includes malware scanning for Azure Government Secret and Top Clouds. This update aligns cloud storage protection features across both commercial and government cloud services. This feature is available exclusively in the Defender for Storage plan (per storage account). Azure Government customers using the classic Defender for Storage plan (per-transaction) are encouraged to upgrade to the latest version to take advantage of comprehensive sensitive data discovery, and malware scanning and to benefit from ongoing and future enhancements to Defender for Storage. 👩🏽💻Use case scenarios for Azure Government Secret and Top-Secret cloud: Government cloud customers may require malware scanning for their cloud storage accounts due to factors such as the management of sensitive documents, compliance with regulatory standards, and security considerations specific to public sector organizations. Use case scenarios for malware scanning: Ensure classified documents are not comprised by infected uploads Prevent lateral movement or staging attacks between departments or third-party contractors Adhere to strict compliance standards such as FedRamp, CJIS, and FISMA for continuous monitoring Continuously scanning storage with up-to-date threat intelligence Adhere to Zero Trust principles 🐞Malware scanning triggers Defender for Storage is an agentless solution that does not require additional infrastructure. It enables detection and prevention of malicious content from entering storage accounts and spreading throughout organization’s environments. Malware scanning includes two triggers that can be used to begin protecting the environment immediately. 🔼On-upload Automatically scans blobs when they're uploaded or modified, providing near real-time detection of malicious content. 🔁On-demand Conduct manual scans or configure automated scans of stored data to address changing security requirements, compliance obligations, or in response to security incidents, ensuring continuous protection of your data. Note: In the current configuration of malware protection within Defender for Storage, it is required to have on-upload malware scanning enabled to use the on-demand functionality 👟Enable malware scanning in Defender for Storage Defender for Storage provides customers with multiple configuration options for enabling malware scanning: Azure Built- In Policy (recommended) Azure Portal Infrastructure as Code REST API PowerShell 🦾Malware Advanced Configurations Malware scanning provides advanced configurations that allow organizations such as high-security customers like government cloud users to customize, harden, and optimize their environments to meet specific security, performance, and compliance needs. The service provides the following: Logging for malware scan results Event Grid custom topic Log Analytic workspace Override Defender for Storage subscription-level Enable/Disable malware scanning at the resource level Set limit of GB scanned per month ⚙️Additional Resources Defender for Storage Malware Protection Overview On-demand malware protection in Defender for Storage On-upload malware protection in Defender for Storage Advanced configurations for malware scanning We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to fill out this survey to provide direct feedback to the Defender for Storage engineering team.Defender for Storage: Malware Scan Error Message Update
Starting August 2025, Defender for Storage will update the format of error messages returned by malware scanning. The new messages will retain the SAM2592XX: codes, but use clearer, standardized wording and will no longer appear in quotes. If your automation relies on the previous message text, please review and update your workflows accordingly. Message Format Change Previously After SAM259201: "Scan failed - internal service error." SAM259201: Scan failed - internal service error. SAM259203: "Scan failed - couldn't access the requested blob." SAM259203: Not scanned - could not access the blob. SAM259204: "Scan failed - the requested blob wasn't found." Removed SAM259205: "Scan failed due to ETag mismatch - blob was possibly overwritten." Removed SAM259206: "Scan aborted - the requested blob exceeded the maximum allowed size of 50 GB." SAM259206: Not scanned - blob exceeded the maximum allowed size of 50GB. SAM259207: "Scan timed out - the requested scan exceeded time limitation." SAM259207: Scan failed - scan exceeded time limitation. SAM259208: "Scan failed - archive access tier isn't supported." SAM259208: Not scanned - archive access tier is not supported. SAM259209: "Scan failed - blobs encrypted with customer provided keys aren't supported." SAM259209: Not scanned - blobs encrypted with customer provided keys cannot be analyzed. SAM259210: "Scan aborted - the requested blob is protected by password." SAM259210: Scan failed - the requested blob is protected by password. SAM259211: "Scan aborted - maximum archive nesting depth exceeded." SAM259211: Scan failed - maximum archive nesting depth exceeded. SAM259212: "Scan aborted - the requested blob data is corrupt." SAM259212: Scan failed - blob data is corrupt. SAM259213: “Scan was throttled by the service." SAM259213: Not scanned - throttled by the service. SAM259215: Not scanned - delayed by the service. SAM259220: Not scanned - immutability policy conflicted with another storage policy preventing blob access. SAM259221: Not scanned - the storage account is busy or not responsive. The updated error message format for Defender for Storage malware scans will begin with high-level states such as Scan failed or Not scanned. These states are then followed by a dash and a concise explanation of the issue. For example: Scan failed - internal service error. Scan failed - scan exceeded time limitation. Not scanned - throttled by the service. For a full list of all the potential Error Messages, check our documentation. Example: Automation Impact Suppose you have an automation that is designed to send an email notification to xyz@contoso.com whenever the exact error message SAM259201: "Scan failed – internal service error." is received. def handle_error(error_message): if error_message == 'SAM259213: "Scan was throttled by the service."': send_email("xyz@contoso.com", error_message) To ensure your automation continues to function correctly, you should update your logic accordingly: if error_message == 'SAM259213: Not scanned - throttled by the service.': send_email("xyz@contoso.com", error_message)New feature in Defender for Storage: Optional Index Tags
If you’re using Microsoft Defender for Storage to protect your blobs from malware, you probably know that scan results are automatically written to blob index tags. These tags are helpful for querying scan status efficiently and seeing results in near-real time in the blob itself, but for high-frequency scans, those extra writes can add up in cost. Now, with our latest update, you have a choice. 🆕 What’s New? Starting June 25 th , Defender for Storage introduces optional index tags. This means you can disable writing scan results as index tags, while keeping malware scanning fully active and effective. What stays the same Malware scanning continues to work as configured (on-upload or on-demand), and verdicts (when a blob is found malicious) are still available via Defender for Cloud security alerts and when you configure sending the results to an Event Grid or Log Analytics Workspace. What’s optional You can now choose not to write scan results to blob index tags. 💡 This feature is ideal if you, Scan a lot of blobs per month and want to reduce index tag operations associated costs Only want to look at malicious verdicts Need to optimize cost ⚙️ How to Configure It You can manage index tagging settings at the Storage Account level or Subscription level, either through the Azure Portal or API. ❗Important Notes This feature does not apply to ADLS Gen2, which does not support index tags. You’ll still receive malware alerts and scan results through other channels (if configured) like Event Grid and Log Analytics Workspace, even with index tags disabled. The feature is now live and configurable via the Azure portal and REST API.Microsoft Defender for Cloud Customer Newsletter
What’s new in Defender for Cloud? Defender for SQL on machines plan has an enhanced agent solution aimed to provide an optimized onboarding experience and improved protection coverage across SQL servers installed in Azure, on premise and GCP/AWS. More information on the enhanced agent solution can be found here. General Availability for Customizable on-upload malware scanning filters in Defender for Storage On-upload malware scanning now supports customizable filters. Users can set exclusion rules for on-upload malware scans based on blob path prefixes, suffixes as well as by blob size. By excluding specific blob paths and types, such as logs or temporary files, you can avoid unnecessary scans and reduce costs. For more details, please refer to our documentation. Blog(s) of the month In May, our team published the following blog posts we would like to share: The Risk of Default Configuration: How Out-of-the-Box Helm Charts Can Breach Your Cluster From visibility to action: The power of cloud detection and response Plug, Play, and Prey: The security risks of the Model Context Protocol Connecting Defender for Cloud with Jira Enhancements for protecting hosted SQL servers across clouds and hybrid environments GitHub Community You can now use our new Defender for AI Services pricing estimation script to calculate the projected costs of securing your AI workloads! Microsoft Defender for AI – Price Estimation Scripts Visit our GitHub page Defender for Cloud in the field Watch the latest Defender for Cloud in the Field YouTube episode here: Kubernetes gated deployment in Defender for Cloud Visit our new YouTube page Customer journey Discover how other organizations successfully use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to protect their cloud workloads. This month we are featuring Make-A-Wish. Make-A-Wish transitioned to the Azure cloud, where it has unified its data and rebuilt vital applications. To make children’s wishes come true, Make-A-Wish stewards families’ data, including sensitive information such as medical diagnoses. The nonprofit is dedicated to protecting children’s privacy through industry-leading technology safeguards. Microsoft security products and services shield Make-A-Wish's operations across the board. Microsoft Defender for Cloud uses advanced threat protection, detection, and response for the nonprofit’s cloud applications, storage, devices, identities, and more. Show me more stories Security community webinars Join our experts in the upcoming webinars to learn what we are doing to secure your workloads running in Azure and other clouds. Check out our upcoming webinars this month! I would like to register Watch past webinars We offer several customer connection programs within our private communities. By signing up, you can help us shape our products through activities such as reviewing product roadmaps, participating in co-design, previewing features, and staying up-to-date with announcements. Sign up at aka.ms/JoinCCP. We greatly value your input on the types of content that enhance your understanding of our security products. Your insights are crucial in guiding the development of our future public content. We aim to deliver material that not only educates but also resonates with your daily security challenges. Whether it’s through in-depth live webinars, real-world case studies, comprehensive best practice guides through blogs, or the latest product updates, we want to ensure our content meets your needs. Please submit your feedback on which of these formats do you find most beneficial and are there any specific topics you’re interested in https://aka.ms/PublicContentFeedback. Note: If you want to stay current with Defender for Cloud and receive updates in your inbox, please consider subscribing to our monthly newsletter: https://aka.ms/MDCNewsSubscribeProtect what matters to your organization using filtering in Defender for Storage
Microsoft Defender for Storage is a cloud-native, agentless security solution within Microsoft Defender for Cloud, part of Microsoft’s CNAPP offering. With seamless onboarding, it helps safeguard your organization’s most valuable data by detecting and preventing malicious uploads, sensitive data exfiltration, and data corruption. Powered by Microsoft Threat Intelligence, it delivers advanced threat detection to enhance your storage security. Are all crown jewels made equally? Defender for Storage provides exclusive, agentless malware protection for Azure Blob Storage, helping detect and mitigate malware threats against your organization’s data. Powered by Microsoft Defender Antivirus, this solution ensures data compliance and offers flexible scanning options, including on-upload and on-demand protection. While maintaining visibility across all organizational data is crucial, some data requires higher scrutiny than others. Here are key use case scenarios: Contoso Financial Corporation prioritizes scanning high-risk files, such as external uploads, downloads, and files from untrusted sources. Contoso IT Department needs to filter out known internal files that typically generate false positives, reducing unnecessary security alerts and minimizing distractions from real malware threats. Contoso Health Department uses a trusted application that generates files and would like to optimize malware scanning for other, potentially riskier files. 🎉Introducing customizable on-upload scanning filters (Public Preview) Defender for Storage provides security administrators with granular controls, offering flexibility to tailor security and deployment settings to their organization’s needs. These include configuring malware scanning caps, setting exclusions at the resource level, and more. A recently introduced feature now allows customization of on-upload malware scanning filters, delivering key benefits such as reducing unnecessary scans and lowering costs—without compromising security. This new feature supports customizable filter such as: Exclude specific blob with prefix Exclude blobs with suffix Exclude blobs large (x) bytes Start filtering your files today Malware protection in Defender for Storage is exclusively available in the latest plan. If your organization is still using the classic Defender for Storage plan, we highly recommend upgrading to take advantage of the full range of security benefits and the latest features. Upgrading ensures access to enhanced threat detection, improved security controls, and ongoing feature updates that help protect your organization’s data more effectively. To begin your malware protection journey, review our documentation for detailed information on prerequisites and deployment guidelines. This will help you seamlessly integrate malware protection into your existing security strategy and maximize the value of Defender for Storage here. Once Defender for Storage is enabled, follow the instructions below to use the filtering configurations: Navigate to your storage account that you want to filter on-upload scans Under “Security + networking”, select Microsoft Defender for Cloud Select settings under Microsoft Defender for Storage Under “On-upload malware scanning”, select which filters to apply. Example: Conclusion The introduction of customizable on-upload scanning filters provides granular control for security administrators, allowing for more flexibility and efficiency in malware protection. This feature helps reduce unnecessary scans and costs without compromising security. For customers using the classic Defender for Storage plan, upgrading to the latest plan is highly recommended to fully benefit from these advanced features. For more information about Defender for Storage please visit our public document aka.ms/defenderforstorage Additional Resources We want to hear from you! Please take a moment to fill out this survey to provide direct feedback to the Defender for Storage engineering team.
