Microsoft Azure continues to be a key player in cloud computing, offering a vast array of services that organizations rely on for their operations. With this complexity comes the challenge of incident response—how do security teams efficiently detect, investigate, and remediate threats in Azure?
We’ve updated our Ultimate Guide to Incident Response in Azure to reflect the latest best practices, tools, and strategies. This updated guide provides security professionals with actionable insights to improve their incident response capabilities, covering key log sources, automation techniques, forensic methodologies, and common challenges.
Key Azure Log Sources – More Granular Visibility
The new guide provides more details on Azure’s logging capabilities, refining the best practices for collecting, analyzing, and correlating security-relevant logs. Notable improvements include:
- Azure Resource Logs: The guide now provides additional detail on enabling Resource Logs across a broader range of Azure services and integrating them into Microsoft Sentinel.
- Azure Active Directory (Entra ID) Logs: It emphasizes improved strategies for monitoring authentication events, risky sign-ins, and administrative changes.
- Azure Firewall Logs & NSG Flow Logs: The updated guide places more focus on using network security group (NSG) flow logs and firewall logs for detecting lateral movement and data exfiltration attempts.
Enhanced Service-Specific Incident Response Strategies
Security teams investigating incidents in specific Azure services now have more detailed steps tailored to common attack scenarios:
- Azure Virtual Machines (VMs): The guide walks through snapshotting compromised VMs, collecting forensic evidence, and isolating infected instances using Just-In-Time (JIT) access control.
- Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS): Given the rising threat to Kubernetes environments, the guide provides refined approaches to collecting Kubernetes audit logs, detecting container breakouts, and mitigating attacks.
- Azure Storage: More in-depth recommendations are provided for securing Azure Blob Storage, detecting unauthorized access, and leveraging immutable storage for evidence retention.
Automating Incident Response – The Latest in Azure Security Automation
Automation remains a critical theme in incident response. The updated guide covers:
- Using Logic Apps and Sentinel Playbooks: Automating response workflows, such as blocking malicious IPs or isolating compromised resources, has been expanded with more real-world use cases.
- Automated Memory Dump Collection: The latest guidance includes best practices for using Azure Runbooks to collect memory dumps of compromised VMs.
- Microsoft Sentinel KQL Queries: Additional examples of Kusto Query Language (KQL) scripts help analysts detect threats more effectively.
Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them
The guide identifies and provides solutions for challenges such as data volatility, multi-account environments, and compliance requirements. It also introduces strategies for forensic readiness, including long-term log retention and automated evidence collection.
With cloud threats evolving, staying ahead requires continuous refinement of incident response strategies. The latest updates to the Ultimate Guide to Incident Response in Azure provide security teams with better tools, automation options, and insights into forensic investigations. Download the full guide to enhance your Azure security posture.
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