Organizations are increasingly relying on cloud technologies to improve efficiency and streamline operations in today's fast-paced business environment. As cloud adoption grows, so does the demand for strong security measures to protect sensitive data and applications. The Microsoft Azure Security Technologies (AZ-500) certification is intended to provide professionals with the skills and knowledge required to secure Azure infrastructure, services, and data.
The Zero Trust Security approach, which assumes that all users, devices, and networks are untrusted and require constant verification, is one of the most critical security methodologies in the industry today. As businesses adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, new security concerns emerge, making it crucial for organizations to stay up to date on the latest security practices.
This study guide provides an overview of the exam objectives for the AZ-500 exam, which include security controls, identity and access management, platform protection, data and application protection, and governance and compliance features in Azure. Learners can demonstrate their expertise in securing Azure infrastructure and contribute to their organization's cybersecurity efforts by studying this guide and passing the AZ-500 exam.
What to Expect on the Exam
The AZ-500 Exam measures the learner’s knowledge of implementing, managing, and monitoring security for resources in Azure, multi-cloud, and hybrid environments. This includes recommendation of security components and configurations to protect identity and access, data, applications, and networks.
The exam consists of 40-60 questions and lasts for 180 minutes. You may encounter multiple-choice questions, as well as drag-and-drop and hot area active screen questions. The topics covered in the exam include:
- Manage identity and access (25–30%): To effectively manage identity and access, learners should be able to design and implement secure access solutions, such as multi-factor authentication and conditional access policies. They should also have a good understanding of Azure Active Directory and be able to manage user accounts, groups, and roles.
- Secure networking (20–25%): Students should be able to design and implement secure network solutions such as virtual private networks (VPNs), Azure ExpressRoute, and Azure Firewall when it comes to networking security. They should also understand network security groups (NSGs) and Azure DDoS protection.
- Secure compute, storage, and databases (20–25%): Learners should be familiar with Azure security features such as Azure Security Center and Azure Key Vault in order to secure compute, storage, and databases. In addition, they should be able to design and implement secure storage solutions such as Azure Storage encryption and Azure Backup. They should also be able to use database security features like Azure SQL Database Auditing and Transparent Data Encryption (TDE).
- Manage security operations (25–30%): Finally, students should be able to manage security operations effectively. This includes monitoring security logs and alerts, responding to security incidents, and implementing security policies and procedures. They should also have a good understanding of compliance requirements, such as GDPR and HIPAA.
Study Resources
To help students prepare for the AZ-500 exam, Microsoft provides a number of resources, including:
- Microsoft Learn self-pace curriculum:
- Managing Identity and Access: Examine how identity serves as the foundation for all security within your organization. Learn how to use Azure Active Directory to authenticate and authorize users and apps.
- Implement platform protection: Security must be implemented at all levels. Learn how to secure the infrastructure and network resources in your Azure environment.
- Securing your data and applications: Applications that access your sensitive data in Azure must be restricted. Discover how to protect your applications, storage, databases, and key vaults.
- Managing security operation: Learn to monitor, operate, and continuously improve the security of your solutions after you've deployed and secured your Azure environment.
- Managing Identity and Access: Examine how identity serves as the foundation for all security within your organization. Learn how to use Azure Active Directory to authenticate and authorize users and apps.
- Instructor Led Course:
- Course AZ-500T00: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies: This course gives students the knowledge and skills they need to implement security controls, maintain an organization's security posture, and identify and fix security vulnerabilities. This course covers identity and access security, platform protection, data and application security, and security operations.
- Course AZ-500T00: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies: This course gives students the knowledge and skills they need to implement security controls, maintain an organization's security posture, and identify and fix security vulnerabilities. This course covers identity and access security, platform protection, data and application security, and security operations.
- Microsoft Documentation related to the AZ-500 exam:
- Azure Active Directory documentation: Manage user identities and control access to your apps, data, and resources with Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), a component of Microsoft Entra.
- Azure Firewall documentation: Learn how to install and configure Azure Firewall, a cloud-based network security service.
- Azure Firewall Manager documentation: Discover how to set up Azure Firewall Manager, a global security management service.
- Azure Application Gateway documentation: Discover how to build application gateways. This documentation will help you in planning, deploying, and managing web traffic to your Azure resources.
- Azure Front Door and CDN Documentation: Azure Front Door is a scalable and secure entry point for delivering global web applications quickly.
- Web Application Firewall documentation: The Web Application Firewall (WAF) protects your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities. WAF can be deployed on Azure Application Gateway or Azure Front Door Service.
- Azure Key Vault documentation: Learn how to use Key Vault to generate and manage keys that allow you to access and encrypt cloud resources, apps, and solutions. Tutorials, API references, and more are available.
- Azure virtual network service endpoint policies: Virtual Network (VNet) service endpoint policies filter egress virtual network traffic to Azure Storage accounts over service endpoint and allow data exfiltration to specific accounts. Service endpoint connections to Azure Storage allow granular access control for virtual network traffic.
- Manage Azure Private Endpoints - Azure Private Link: Configuring and deploying Azure Private Endpoints is adaptable. Private Link queries reveal GroupId and MemberName. The GroupID and MemberName values are needed to configure a static IP address for a private endpoint during creation. Static IP address and network interface name are private endpoint properties. Create the private endpoint with these properties. A service provider and consumer must approve a Private Link Service connection.
- Create a Private Link service by using the Azure portal: Begin by developing a Private Link service that refers to your service. Allow Private Link access to your Azure Standard Load Balancer-protected service or resource. Your service's users have private access from their virtual network.
- Azure DDoS Protection Standard documentation: Learn how Azure DDoS Protection, when combined with best practices in application design, provides defense against DDoS attacks.
- Endpoint Protection on a Windows VM in Azure: Learn how to install and configure the Symantec Endpoint Protection client on an existing Windows Server virtual machine (VM). This full client includes virus and spyware protection, a firewall, and intrusion prevention. Using the VM Agent, the client is installed as a security extension.
- Secure and use policies - Azure Virtual Machines: It is critical to keep your virtual machine (VM) secure in order to run applications. Securing your VMs can include one or more Azure services and features that cover secure VM access and data storage. This article will teach you how to secure your virtual machine and applications.
- Security - Azure App Service: Discover how Azure App Service can help you secure your web app, mobile app backend, API app, and function app. It also demonstrates how to further secure your app using the built-in App Service features. App Service platform components, such as Azure virtual machines, storage, network connections, web frameworks, management, and integration features, are actively secured and hardened.
- Azure Policy documentation: With policy definitions that enforce rules and effects for your resources, Azure Policy assists you in managing and preventing IT issues.
- Overview of Microsoft Defender for Servers: Microsoft Defender for Servers protects your Windows and Linux servers running in Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and on-premises. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) and other threat protection features are provided by integrating Defender for Servers with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Discover how to design and plan a successful Defender for Servers deployment.
- Microsoft Defender for Cloud documentation: Microsoft Defender for Cloud protects hybrid cloud workloads with unified security management and advanced threat protection.
- Microsoft Threat Modeling Tool overview: The Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle relies on the Threat Modeling Tool (SDL). It enables software architects to identify and mitigate potential security issues early on, when they are relatively simple and inexpensive to fix. It significantly lowers development costs. We designed the tool for non-security experts to simplify threat modeling for all developers by providing clear guidance on creating and analyzing threat models.
- Azure Monitor documentation: Monitoring services in Azure and on-premises. Metrics, logs, and traces can be grouped and analyzed. Send alerts and notifications, or use automated solutions.
- Microsoft Sentinel documentation: Learn how to get started with Microsoft Sentinel through use cases. With SIEM reinvented for the modern world, you can see and stop threats before they cause harm. Microsoft Sentinel provides a bird's-eye view of the enterprise.
- Azure Storage documentation: Azure Storage provides storage for objects, files, disks, queues, and tables. There are also services for hybrid storage solutions, as well as services for data transfer, sharing, and backup.
- Azure Files documentation: Enterprise-grade cloud file shares that are simple, secure, and serverless.
- Azure SQL documentation: Find documentation for the Azure SQL database engine products in the cloud, including Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and SQL Server on Azure VM.
- Azure Active Directory documentation: Manage user identities and control access to your apps, data, and resources with Microsoft Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), a component of Microsoft Entra.
- Free practice assessment: Microsoft offers free, multilingual Practice Assessments for the AZ-500 exam. These Practice Assessments will give you an idea of the exam's style, language, and complexity. The exam's duration and difficulty are not reflected in these questions (e.g., you may see additional question types, multiple case studies, and labs) however they do provide examples to help you prepare for the exam.
The AZ-500 certification exam is an essential certification to those who want to demonstrate their expertise in securing Microsoft Azure. You can gain a competitive edge in the job market by passing the AZ-500 certification exam and becoming a valuable asset to any organization that uses Azure. We hope this guide has been helpful in preparing for the AZ-500 certification exam, and we wish you the best of luck on your certification journey.
