Azure Database Security Newsletter - January 2026
Happy New Year and welcome to our first newsletter of 2026! This year, we’re doubling down on something that matters to every one of us: keeping data safe without slowing innovation. Security isn’t just a checkbox—it’s the backbone of everything we build. That’s why our database security strategy is rooted in the Zero Trust model, a simple but powerful idea: never assume, always verify. Here’s what that means in practice: Identity first: Every user and workload proves who they are, every time. Devices matter: Only trusted endpoints get through the door. Networks stay clean: Segmentation and encryption keep traffic locked down. Apps and workloads: Least privilege isn’t optional—it’s standard. Data protected everywhere: Protected at rest, in transit, and under constant watch. Driving all of this is our Security First Initiative (SFI)—a mindset that makes security part of the design, not an afterthought. It’s how we ensure that trust isn’t just a promise; it’s a practice. 2026 is about scaling this vision and making security seamless for everyone. Feature highlights of 2025 Dynamic Data Masking in Cosmos DB Now in public preview, Dynamic Data Masking is a server-side, policy-based security feature that automatically masks sensitive fields at query time for non-privileged users, while leaving the underlying data unchanged. Masking policies are enforced based on user roles and Entra ID identity, supporting privacy and compliance scenarios (PII/PHI) and reducing the need for custom app logic. This enables granular, real-time protection, secure data sharing, and safe testing with anonymized production data. Auditing in Fabric SQL Database Auditing is now in public preview for Fabric SQL Database. This feature allows organizations to track and log database activities—answering critical questions like who accessed what data, when, and how. It supports compliance requirements (HIPAA, SOX), enables robust threat detection, and provides a foundation for forensic investigations. Audit logs are stored in One Lake for easy access, and configuration is governed by both Fabric workspace roles and SQL-level permissions. Customer-Managed Keys in Fabric SQL Database Now in public preview, Customer-Managed Keys (CMK) let you use your own Azure Key Vault keys to encrypt data in Microsoft Fabric workspaces, including all SQL Database data. This provides greater flexibility and control over key rotation, access, and auditing, helping organizations meet data governance and encryption standards. SQL Server 2025 SQL Server 2025 raises the bar for enterprise data protection with a suite of powerful, built-in security enhancements. From eliminating client secrets through managed identity authentication to adopting stronger encryption standards and enforcing stricter connection protocols, this release is designed to help organizations stay ahead of evolving threats. With these updates, SQL Server 2025 simplifies compliance and strengthens data security—right out of the box. Best Practices Corner Don’t use passwords—use Entra instead Modern identity security for Azure SQL means eliminating SQL authentication wherever possible and adopting Microsoft Entra ID–based passwordless authentication. This strengthens security, simplifies identity governance, and aligns with Zero Trust and Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative principles. Failover Ready? Don’t Forget Your TDE Keys For successful geo-replication setup and failover, all necessary encryption keys for Transparent Data Encryption must be created and available on both primary and secondary servers. It is possible and, in certain cases, required to configure different TDE protectors on replicas, as long as the key material is available on each server. It’s time for TLS 1.2 Legacy TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are no longer secure and are being retired across Azure services. To avoid connection failures and strengthen your security posture, make sure all applications, drivers, and clients connect using TLS 1.2 or higher. Blogs and Video Spotlight Geo-Replication and Transparent Data Encryption Key Management in Azure SQL Database | Microsoft Community Hub Everything you need to know about TDE key management for database restore | Microsoft Community Hub Secure by default: What’s new in SQL Server 2025 security | Microsoft Community Hub Secure by Design: Upcoming CMK and Auditing Features in Fabric SQL Database | Data Exposed Latest progress update on Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative | Microsoft Security Blog Community & Events The data platform security team will be on-site at several upcoming events. Come and say hi! SQL Konferenz SQLCON - Microsoft SQL Community Conference Call to Action Last year brought some seriously powerful updates—Dynamic Data Masking in Cosmos DB, Auditing in Fabric SQL Database, and Customer Managed Keys that give you full control over your security strategy. These features are built to help you move faster, stay compliant, and protect data without friction. Try them out and see the impact firsthand. If this got you fired up, share it with your team and drop a comment to keep the momentum going. And don’t wait—download SQL Server 2025 today and experience the newest security capabilities in action. Let’s push data security forward together.
News to Know - Volume 2, Edition 4, April 2025
We are moving at full speed here at Viva Glint! This April 2025 newsletter is full of information about enhancements, slick new resources, exciting upcoming events, and great stuff to learn from our Microsoft People Science research teams. Access the current newsletter and past editions on the Viva Glint blog. Follow along with what features are ahead on the Viva Glint product roadmap. Customer Town Hall Join us for our May town halls! We will share the latest product updates, customer stories, and research that will help you make the most of your Viva Glint experience. Register: Option 1: May 6 at 3pm BST Option 2: May 6 at 1pm EDT Option 3: May 8 at 1pm SGT The April Viva Glint Customer Satisfaction Survey is live We are excited to announce that Viva Glint's Customer Satisfaction Survey is now available. Your input is essential to our ability to provide a world-class experience for our customers. Your feedback helps us improve our product, our services, and our Viva Glint resources. We appreciate you taking a few minutes to share your thoughts. Use this link. The survey closes on May 2, 2025. New Viva Glint resources The Microsoft Viva Glint deployment guide is now available! Use this easy-to-follow guide to complete one-time setup tasks and launch your first Glint survey. Download the Viva Glint deployment guide. Customize our email templates to introduce Viva Glint surveys to your organization. Then follow up with emails focused on training, interpreting survey results, and acting on feedback. Pre-launch survey email templates can be found here. Results and action taking email templates can be found here. New in your Viva Glint platform Available languages are aligning to Microsoft standards and best practices. In April 2025, some supported languages for Viva Glint changed. Some languages are deprecated, and some have potential replacements. To keep your custom translations, export translated content before the end of August 2025. Read more and see the changes. Streamline your app and tenant management. The Viva Glint Tenant Administrator is now a built-in Microsoft Entra role. Layer this role with Viva Glint Administrator users so that admins can manage Microsoft 365 admin center settings and support requests, as well as the Viva Glint app. Viva Glint Tenant Administrators can: Assign Viva Glint Service Administrators; they receive an email notification when assigned to their role. View message center information in the Microsoft 365 admin center File Azure and Microsoft 365 support tickets View service health information and Usage Reports Learn more about key Viva Glint roles. Our customers who are using Copilot in Viva Glint are all in! We're five months in and the feedback is positive and helping us know where to continue to build. Read this update on Copilot in Viva Glint. Use the Microsoft Teams integration to enhance survey notification and Nudge capabilities. Until now, Viva Glint survey notifications and Nudges relied on email as a delivery method. Use the Viva Glint and Teams integration to empower users to take action in the flow of work, enabling real-time action taking and engagement. Read more. Track activity with enhanced audit logging. Microsoft 365 Global Admins can now gain visibility into a variety of Viva Glint activities through a new expansion in the Microsoft Purview Audit log. Learn more about the Viva Glint schema and activities that are now available. Customize dashboard and survey experiences for your organization. Use Viva Glint’s new in-app custom branding feature to customize the reporting and surveys views for your users. Modify logos, color options, and navigation bars to update survey email and platform experiences from General Settings. Learn more. Choose how to see your feedback calculations. Viva Glint reports survey Average scores (transformed to a 100-point scale) and Favorability scores for four metrics for each survey item. Learn more here and then make your choice in General Settings. Enhanced Help menu experience. We have streamlined and updated the Help menu. Through the new menu you can contact support, share feedback, review product guidance, review privacy information, and visit the Viva Community. New thought leadership and research We interviewed a few of our top-performing Microsoft managers to ask them how they are using Copilot in their daily work rhythms. | They have keen insights on simple yet effective ways to leverage Microsoft 365 Copilot and shared how it impacts their ability to succeed at work. Read about what they are doing and see the prompts they are using to do it. Research Drop: Investing in Training Opportunities to Close the AI Skills Gap | 39% of workers’ existing skillsets will become transformed or outdated over the next five years, making it imperative for organizations to keep up with the demands of this revolutionary workforce change. Read the details in this blog. Think Like a People Scientist: Bridging HR & IT for AI Success | Microsoft experts Dr. Julie Morris, People Science Program Manager, Dr. Megan Benzing, Senior People Scientist, and Craig Foster, Director of HR Digital Transformation, spoke at a recent webinar about HR and IT collaboration in driving successful AI transformation. Read the takeaways. Microsoft People Science is buzzing about all they learned at the 2025 Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) annual conference | Our People Science team members led sessions and participated in panels about AI agents at work, the future of nudge interventions, and manager action taking. Read their learnings here. Upcoming Events Customer cohorts Connect quarterly with peers to discuss trends and key challenges. Sessions are recorded for customers in these private user groups. To join a group, read this blog. Viva Technology Industry Cohort Session | April 22 | This is a new customer cohort! Join your industry peers! Register here. Psychological safety webinars for managers Psychological safety is a key component of healthy team dynamics. Learn applicable tips and tricks from the research during these live sessions. Building Psychological Safety Amidst Change | April 22 | Employees who feel a low level of psychological safety at work are 4x as likely to indicate a desire to quite their jobs. 31% indicate they're not motivated to do their best work. Psychological safety is a key component of healthy team dynamics. Register. Learning Circles Whether you're a seasoned Viva Glint user or are just starting your journey, Learning Circles provides an opportunity to make connections with fellow customers who share similar interests. Quarterly Learning Circles | April 30 | This session is for all Viva Glint customers. While registering, tell us what topics you'd like to discuss. Our facilitators will bring the topics that are most frequently mentioned to this live discussion. Read more and register here. Product Council Provide feedback and influence the direction of Viva Glint’s products by sharing your experience as a user. Read more. People Analytics Experience Agents | May 7 | We are opening up our Viva Glint product council to more roles! Our teams are eager to hear from those in People Analytics roles, L&D specialists, and HR Generalists. Please invite your colleagues to enroll in VCCP and join our product council Think Like a People Scientist webinar series Join us for deep-dive insights from our Viva People Science research teams. Find all upcoming and previous 'Think Like a People Scientist' events and recaps on this site. Driving AI Change with EmpIoyee Sentiment | May 8 | Learn how HR can use Viva Glint to support leaders during AI transformation, the importance of measuring and using employee sentiment throughout this journey, and about the need for HR and IT collaboration in the era of AI. We'll be joined by Ryan Lebow, Microsoft Principal People Scientist. Register. Ask the Experts Interact with Viva Glint experts and other customers on common issues related to implementing an employee listening strategy. For past recordings and future registration links, visit the Ask the Experts site. Advanced Configuration in Viva Glint | May 13 | Advanced Configuration options allow users to view and modify platform settings and perform complex data updates. Our experts can help you make use of these valuable features. Register Confidentiality Thresholds and Suppression | May 20 | During this session, we will define Viva Glint’s confidentiality thresholds and suppression, as well as review our recommendations for thresholds. Register.News to Know - Volume 2, Edition 3, March 2025
There is lots going on at Viva Glint! This March 2025 newsletter is full of need-to-knows which coincide with platform deployments and enhancements to help you get the most out of the Viva Glint product. Access the current newsletter and past editions on the Viva Glint blog. Follow along with what features are ahead on the Viva Glint product roadmap. New on your Viva Glint platform Use the Microsoft Teams integration to enhance survey notification and Nudge capabilities. Until now, Viva Glint survey notifications and Nudges relied on email as a delivery method. Use the Viva Glint and Teams integration to empower users to take action in the flow of work, enabling real-time action taking and engagement. Read more. The Microsoft Viva Glint deployment guide is now available! Use this easy-to-follow deployment guide to complete one-time setup tasks and launch your first Glint survey. Download the Viva Glint deployment guide from Viva Glint Learn. Coming soon to Viva Glint Viva Pulse & Viva Glint Integration to support engagement survey follow-up | Preview With this integration, managers can follow up on Viva Glint survey results to check in on team progress and address key focus areas to maintain momentum toward improving engagement. With the lightweight Pulse survey tool, managers have access to a template that pulls top opportunities and strengths from their Viva Glint results. Contact us to become part of this preview or provide feedback. Platform languages are aligning to Microsoft standards and best practices. In April 2025, some supported languages for Viva Glint will change. Some languages will be deprecated, and some will have potential replacements. To keep your custom translations, export translated content before the end of August 2025. Read more and see the changes. Upcoming events and learning opportunities Think Like a People Scientist webinar series Join us for deep-dive insights from our Viva People Science research teams. Find all upcoming and previous 'Think Like a People Scientist' events and recaps on this site. Understanding employee reactions to AI | March 19 Discover how past experiences with change relates to AI adoption in the workplace. Then learn to craft an AI transformation strategy. There is still time to register! Bridging HR and IT for AI Success | April 9 Hear about the critical need for HR and IT collaboration to achieve true business transformation in the era of AI. We will be joined by speakers from Microsoft HR. Register. Ask the Experts Interact with Viva Glint experts and other customers on common issues related to implementing an employee listening strategy. For past recordings and future registration links, visit the Ask the Experts site. Using additional languages in Viva Glint | April 8 Learn about common topics and best practices when using additional languages in Viva Glint. Register. Survey communications in Viva Glint | April 15 Join this session to learn about best practices related to survey communications. Register. Customer cohorts Connect quarterly with peers to discuss trends and key challenges. Sessions are recorded for customers in these private user groups.To become part of a group, read this blog. Viva Retail Cohort Session | March 19 Join us for our quarterly retail meeting. Yes! You can still register! Based on your feedback, we are launching our first topic-based cohort, the people-centric AI transformation cohort | April 16 This is open to all customers who are interested in employee experience and AI transformation. You can register here. In addition, based on your feedback, we are excited to announce our fourth industry-based cohort: technology | April 22 We hope to see our technology customers join us for our first tech cohort meeting. Register here. Psychological safety webinars for managers Psychological safety is a key component of healthy team dynamics. Learn applicable tips and tricks from the research during these live sessions. Psychological Safety for Managers | April 10 Learn how to identify psychological safety and what you can do to help move your team in the right direction. Register. Building Psychological Safety Amidst Change | April 22 Whether you are navigating re-orgs, layoffs, new policies or introducing AI, your employees need additional support and different strategies to help them move through the change successfully. Register. Learning Circles Whether you're a seasoned Viva Glint user or are just starting your journey, Learning Circles provides an opportunity to make connections with fellow customers who share similar interests. Quarterly Learning Circles | April 30 This session is for all Viva Glint customers. While registering, you get to tell us what topics you'd most like to discuss. Our facilitators will bring the topics that are most frequently mentioned to the live discussion. Read more and register here.Join Viva Glint People Science at SIOP 2025 Join Viva Glint People Science at SIOP 2025 Our People Science team is hosting a customer reception and strategy discussion on April 2 at 5pm during the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (SIOP) annual conference in Denver. Join us for appetizers and drinks while we discuss AI-powered strategies to transform people analytics and employee listening for better people and business outcomes. In addition to our People Science team, Microsoft’s HR Business Insights team will share how the team uses data to navigate Copilot transformation from a people-centric perspective. Spots are limited, RSVP by March 26. We hope to see you in Denver! New thought leadership Research Drop: Investing in HR and IT Collaboration to Drive Successful AI | People Scientist Megan Benzing, PhD shares strategies to ensure that IT brings the tech, HR brings the people, and these key teams work together to bring transformation to your organization. Transforming Healthcare with AI: Healthcare Cohort Recap | Led by People Scientist Ryan Lebow, customers shared how they use AI in HR and across their organization to drive better business and people outcomes.News to Know - Volume 2, Edition 2, February 2025
Viva Glint checking in with exciting updates! This February 2025 newsletter is full of need-to-knows which coincide with platform deployments and enhancements to help you get the most out of the Viva Glint product. Access the current newsletter and past editions on the Viva Glint blog. Follow along with what features are ahead on the Viva Glint product roadmap. New on your Viva Glint platform Zero downtime during monthly platform deployments! We are pleased to inform you that there will be no downtime associated with deployments at Viva Glint. Previously, as we deployed new product features and enhancements, an in-platform banner alerted you that the platform would shut down for several hours and your employees wouldn’t have access to their Glint surveys. There is no longer a need to schedule survey windows around our deployments or mention downtime to survey takers. Preview email notifications for surveys. You let us know that previewing only the survey start email - and having to send a test survey to see it - wasn’t a great experience. We heard you! Now admins can easily preview and edit any email notification from an Approved or Live survey cycle. Enhanced comment writing experience for survey takers. At your suggestion, survey item comment boxes stay onscreen until the survey taker manually moves forward. This enhancement gives survey takers an opportunity to reflect and leave thoughtful comments. Enable the "Auto-expand comments input" functionality. Added benchmark availability for custom questions. Viva Glint admins can now associate custom questions with Viva Glint benchmark suites (where items are similar enough) so that users maintain a point of comparison in reporting. More enhancements for changing items in a live survey. We improved in-platform images and guidance for ease in changing live survey items or their mapping to a benchmark. See these changes. Coming soon to Viva Glint Viva Pulse & Viva Glint Integration to support engagement survey follow-up | Preview With this integration, managers can follow up on Viva Glint survey results to check in on team progress and address key focus areas to maintain momentum toward improving engagement. With the lightweight Pulse survey tool, managers have access to a template that pulls top opportunities and strengths from their Viva Glint results. Contact us to become part of this preview or provide feedback. Language code updates are aligning to Microsoft standards and best practices. Beginning on April 10, 2025, some supported languages and codes will change. A new column in the Language Codes tab of the Employee Attribute Template file shows the changes effective April 10, 2025. Learn more here. Control which users access Microsoft 365 Copilot in Viva Glint Available gradually for all tenants, Microsoft 365 global admins can control Copilot in Viva Glint availability for their organization, groups, or users in the Microsoft 365 admin center. If enabled in the admin center, Viva Glint admins can manage Copilot for Viva Glint at the role level in the Viva Glint app. Learn more about Viva feature access management. Upcoming events and learning opportunities (so many!) Driving Workforce and Business Transformation in the Era of AI | February 26 Join this APAC webinar to learn about the transformative role of AI in HR, emphasizing the importance of HR leadership. Younho Lee, ASEAN HR Director at Microsoft, and Stacie Engler, Head of Glint Growth at Microsoft, will showcase AI's potential to revolutionize HR operations, leadership, and innovation, drawing from Microsoft's HR experiences. Register. Microsoft & Josh Bersin Webinar: The Employee Experience Platform Evolves in the Era of AI | February 27 Join Microsoft - along with HR tech leader Josh Bersin - for an exclusive webinar delving into impactful AI insights from the latest report from the Josh Bersin Company. We’ll uncover key insights and highlight AI's transformative impact on the Employee Experience Platform (EXP) and how AI is revolutionizing employee engagement, productivity, and business impact. Register. Building Psychological Safety Amidst Change | March 3 A majority of organizational change efforts fail, even while much attention is given to best practices, frameworks, and methods for rolling out organizational change. What do people need when facing change? How can managers best facilitate this process? Register for this manager webinar. Ask the Experts | March 11 and March 18 Interact with Viva Glint experts sessions and Viva Glint customers on common challenges and topics related to implementing an employee listening strategy. Register: March 11: 360 feedback programs March 18: Getting started with Viva Glint Cohort Sessions | March 13 and March 19 Join us for online cohort sessions featuring perspectives from Viva People Science and Customer Experience teams to discuss current industry trends and key challenges. March 13: Manufacturing: Manufacturing-specific use cases tied to Viva Insights, Viva Pulse and Microsoft Copilot. March 19: Retail: Learn how other retail leaders are introducing AI into their daily work and hear stories of their challenges and successes. Think like a People Scientist | March 19 Join us for a deep-dive webinar into the findings from our latest research on how employees react to AI in the workplace. Discover how employees’ engagement levels, their past experiences with change, and their enthusiasm about AI is related to its adoption in the workplace. Learn how to craft an AI transformation strategy that meets the unique needs of each of your employees. Register. New thought leadership Research Drop: Understanding and Encouraging Effective Manager Behaviors Read the blog to learn about manager behaviors which support team members, differences in managerial priorities by manager level, and how organizations can support managers to be their best. 5 Insights from the Josh Bersin x Microsoft Report: Employee Experience Platforms in the Era of AI Delve into the evolution and transformative impact of AI on the Employee Experience Platform (EXP). Uncover key insights on how AI is revolutionizing employee engagement, productivity, and business impact. If you have any feedback on this newsletter, please reply to this email. Also, if there are people on your team that should be receiving this newsletter, please have them sign up using this link. *Viva Glint is committed to consistently improving the customer experience. The cloud-based platform maintains an agile production cycle with fixes, enhancements, and new features. Planned program release dates are provided with the best intentions of releasing on these dates, but dates may change due to unforeseen circumstances. Schedule updates will be provided as appropriate.
