Azure Security

Azure Security Skill

This skill provides expert guidance for Azure Security. Covers best practices, decision making, security, configuration, integrations & coding patterns, and deployment. It combines local quick-reference content with remote documentation fetching capabilities.

How to Use This Skill

> IMPORTANT for Agent: Use the Category Index below to locate relevant sections. For categories with line ranges (e.g., L35-L120), use read_file with the specified lines. For categories with file links (e.g., security.md), use read_file on the linked reference file

> IMPORTANT for Agent: If metadata.generated_at is more than 3 months old, suggest the user pull the latest version from the repository. If mcp_microsoftdocs tools are not available, suggest the user install it: Installation Guide

This skill requires network access to fetch documentation content:

• Preferred: Use mcp_microsoftdocs:microsoft_docs_fetch with query string from=learn-agent-skill. Returns Markdown.
• Fallback: Use fetch_webpage with query string from=learn-agent-skill&accept=text/markdown. Returns Markdown.

Category Index

| Category | Lines | Description |

|----------|-------|-------------|

| Best Practices | L34-L58 | End-to-end Azure security guidance: hardening IaaS/PaaS, identity and access, network and operational security, backups and ransomware resilience, secrets management, and service-specific checklists. |

| Decision Making | L59-L64 | Guidance on choosing Azure security options, including comparing security features in US Gov clouds and selecting appropriate key management (Key Vault, managed keys, BYOK). |

| Security | L65-L97 | Security best practices for Azure: platform integrity, hardware/firmware, network and data access controls, AKS image validation, Threat Modeling mitigations, CMKs, logging, and secure boot/attestation. |

| Configuration | L98-L108 | Configuring Azure security features: antimalware, container scanning (Dependabot/Copacetic), firewall rules, CMK encryption, logging/auditing, TLS changes, ransomware protections, and Customer Lockbox alerts. |

| Integrations & Coding Patterns | L109-L114 | Guides for generating signed SBOMs for container images and scripting Microsoft Antimalware configuration in Azure using PowerShell. |

| Deployment | L115-L120 | Guides for signing and verifying container images with Notation in Azure Pipelines/GitHub Actions, plus comparing security feature availability in Azure vs Azure Government. |

Best Practices

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Harden Azure Marketplace images before publishing | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/azure-marketplace-images |

| Design Azure backup and restore plans against ransomware | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/backup-plan-to-protect-against-ransomware |

| Implement Azure security best practices and patterns | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/best-practices-and-patterns |

| Apply Azure data security and encryption best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/data-encryption-best-practices |

| Use Azure SQL database security checklist | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/database-security-checklist |

| Secure Azure IaaS workloads and virtual machines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/iaas |

| Apply Azure identity and access control best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/identity-management-best-practices |

| Implement incident response processes for Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/incident-response-overview |

| Apply Azure network security best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/network-best-practices |

| Apply Azure operational security best practices | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/operational-best-practices |

| Secure Azure App Service PaaS applications | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/paas-applications-using-app-services |

| Secure PaaS databases with Azure SQL and Synapse | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/paas-applications-using-sql |

| Secure PaaS applications using Azure Storage | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/paas-applications-using-storage |

| Design and operate secure Azure PaaS deployments | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/paas-deployments |

| Detect and respond to ransomware in Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/ransomware-detect-respond |

| Prepare Azure environments for ransomware resilience | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/ransomware-prepare |

| Harden Azure Firewall Premium for ransomware defense | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/ransomware-protection-with-azure-firewall |

| Protect and manage secrets in Azure workloads | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/secrets-best-practices |

| Harden Azure Service Fabric clusters and security | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/service-fabric-best-practices |

| Implement Microsoft Entra identity security checklist | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/steps-secure-identity |

| Prevent Azure subdomain takeover via DNS hygiene | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/subdomain-takeover |

Decision Making

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Compare security feature availability in US Government clouds | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/feature-availability |

| Choose the right Azure key management solution | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/key-management-choose |

Security

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Enforce AKS image signature validation with Ratify and Azure Policy | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/container-secure-supply-chain/articles/validating-image-signatures-using-ratify-aks |

| Implement auditing and logging mitigations with Threat Modeling Tool | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-auditing-and-logging |

| Implement authentication mitigations with Threat Modeling Tool | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-authentication |

| Mitigate authorization threats in Threat Modeling Tool | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-authorization |

| Secure communications based on Threat Modeling Tool findings | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-communication-security |

| Harden configuration management using Threat Modeling Tool mitigations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-configuration-management |

| Implement cryptography mitigations from Threat Modeling Tool | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-cryptography |

| Secure exception management using Threat Modeling Tool guidance | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-exception-management |

| Apply secure input validation mitigations from Threat Modeling Tool | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-input-validation |

| Protect sensitive data using Threat Modeling Tool mitigations | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-sensitive-data |

| Implement secure session management from Threat Modeling Tool | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/develop/threat-modeling-tool-session-management |

| Apply Azure-specific security best practices for AI workloads | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/ai-security-best-practices |

| Use Azure Certificate Authority roots and requirements | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/azure-certificate-authority-details |

| Enforce platform code integrity in Azure production | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/code-integrity |

| Understand and configure Azure Customer Lockbox access | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/customer-lockbox-faq |

| Control Microsoft engineer data access with Customer Lockbox | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/customer-lockbox-overview |

| Identify Azure services supporting customer-managed keys | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/encryption-customer-managed-keys-support |

| Secure Azure hardware, firmware, and supply chain | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/firmware |

| Maintain Azure infrastructure integrity and security controls | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/infrastructure-integrity |

| Monitor Azure infrastructure for security and vulnerabilities | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/infrastructure-monitoring |

| Manage and operate the Azure production network securely | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/infrastructure-operations |

| Understand Azure SQL Database security capabilities | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/infrastructure-sql |

| Apply firmware measured boot and host attestation in Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/measured-boot-host-attestation |

| Apply Azure operational security checklist controls | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/operational-checklist |

| Follow Azure penetration testing rules and scope | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/pen-testing |

| Verify Azure platform integrity and secure host lifecycle | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/platform |

| Secure access to the Azure production network | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/production-network |

| Control and audit access to customer data in Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/protection-customer-data |

| Use Secure Boot to protect Azure virtual machines | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/secure-boot |

Configuration

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Configure Dependabot and Copacetic for container security | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/container-secure-supply-chain/articles/container-secure-supply-chain-implementation/cssc-depenadabot-quickstart |

| Configure Microsoft Antimalware for Azure workloads | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/antimalware |

| Plan firewall rules using Azure domain patterns | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/azure-domains |

| Configure alternate email notifications for Customer Lockbox | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/customer-lockbox-alternative-email |

| Configure Azure security logging and auditing | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/log-audit |

| Adapt to Azure managed TLS feature changes | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/managed-tls-changes |

| Configure Azure-native features for ransomware protection | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/ransomware-features-resources |

Integrations & Coding Patterns

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Create and attach signed SBOMs to container images | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/container-secure-supply-chain/articles/attach-sbom |

| Use PowerShell to configure Microsoft Antimalware in Azure | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/antimalware-code-samples |

Deployment

| Topic | URL |

|-------|-----|

| Sign and verify container images in Azure Pipelines with Notation | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/container-secure-supply-chain/articles/notation-ado-task-sign |

| Sign container images with Notation in GitHub Actions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/container-secure-supply-chain/articles/notation-sign-gha |

| Verify container image signatures with Notation in GitHub Actions | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/container-secure-supply-chain/articles/verify-gha |