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Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) is a system that provides fine-grained access management of resources in Azure. This allows administrators to grant only the amount of access that users need to perform their jobs.

Overview

In Azure RBAC, you can assign roles to user accounts, groups, service principals, and managed identities at different scopes. The scope could be a management group, subscription, resource group, or a single resource.

Here are some key terms you should know:

• Role: A collection of permissions. For example, the "Virtual Machine Contributor" role allows the user to create and manage virtual machines.
• Scope: The set of resources that the access applies to.
• Assignment: The act of granting a role to a security principal at a particular scope.

Built-in Roles

Azure provides several built-in roles that you can assign to users, groups, service principals, and managed identities. Here are a few examples:

• Owner: Has full access to all resources including the right to delegate access to others.
• Contributor: Can create and manage all types of Azure resources but can’t grant access to others.
• Reader: Can view existing Azure resources.

{
  "Name": "Contributor",
  "Id": "b24988ac-6180-42a0-ab88-20f7382dd24c",
  "IsCustom": false,
  "Description": "Lets you manage everything except access to resources.",
  "Actions": [
    "*"
  ],
  "NotActions": [
    "Microsoft.Authorization/*/Delete",
    "Microsoft.Authorization/*/Write",
    "Microsoft.Authorization/elevateAccess/Action"
  ],
  "DataActions": [],
  "NotDataActions": [],
  "AssignableScopes": [
    "/"
  ]
}

Custom Roles

If the built-in roles don't meet your specific needs, you can create your own custom roles. Just like built-in roles, you can assign permissions to custom roles and then assign those roles to users.

{
  "Name": "Custom Role",
  "Id": "00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000",
  "IsCustom": true,
  "Description": "Custom role description",
  "Actions": [
    "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/start/action",
    "Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/restart/action"
  ],
  "NotActions": [],
  "DataActions": [],
  "NotDataActions": [],
  "AssignableScopes": [
    "/subscriptions/{subscriptionId}"
  ]
}

• Name: The name of the custom role.
• Id: A unique identifier for the custom role.
• IsCustom: Indicates whether the role is custom or built-in.
• Description: A description of the custom role.
• Actions: The list of actions that the role can perform.
• NotActions: The list of actions that the role cannot perform.
• DataActions: The list of data actions that the role can perform.
• NotDataActions: The list of data actions that the role cannot perform.
• AssignableScopes: The list of scopes where the role can be assigned.

You can check how to create a custom role here and not forget to check limitations here.

Recommendations

Here are some best practices for managing access with Azure RBAC:

• Use the principle of least privilege: Only grant the permissions that users need to do their jobs.
• Use built-in roles when possible: Built-in roles are already defined and tested by Microsoft. Only create custom roles when necessary.
• Regularly review role assignments: Make sure that users have the appropriate level of access for their job. Remove any unnecessary role assignments.

Conclusion

Azure RBAC is a powerful tool for managing access to your Azure resources. By understanding its core concepts and how to apply them, you can ensure that users have the appropriate level of access for their job.

Kusto Query Language (KQL) for Azure Resource Graph

Azure Graph is a powerful tool provided by Microsoft to query data across all your Azure resources. It uses the Kusto Query Language (KQL), a read-only language similar to SQL, designed to query vast amounts of data in Azure services.

What is KQL?

KQL stands for Kusto Query Language. It's a request to process data and return results. The syntax is easy to read and author, making it ideal for data exploration and ad-hoc data mining tasks.

Using KQL with Azure Graph

Azure Graph allows you to use KQL to create complex queries that fetch information from your Azure resources. You can filter, sort, aggregate, and join data from different resources using KQL.

Here's an example of how you might use KQL to query Azure Graph:

Resources
| where type =~ 'microsoft.web/sites'
| project name, location, resourceGroup

This query retrieves all Azure Web Apps (websites) and projects their name, location, and resourceGroup.

Key Characteristics of KQL

1. Case Sensitivity: Unlike SQL, KQL is case-sensitive. So 'Name' and 'name' would be considered different identifiers.
2. Schema-Free: Kusto (Azure Data Explorer) doesn't require a fixed schema, allowing storage of diverse types of data.
3. Extensibility: While KQL has a wide array of functions, you can also create custom functions as per your needs.

Common Operators in KQL

• | : This operator creates a pipeline where the output of one command becomes the input of another.
• where : Filters rows based on specified conditions.
• summarize : Groups rows and calculates aggregate expressions.
• join : Combines rows from two tables based on a common column.
• project : Selects specific columns from the input.
• extend : Adds new columns to the input.
• order by : Sorts rows based on specified columns.

KQL Query Examples

1. List all Azure resources in a subscription

Resources

2. List all Azure resources in a resource group

Resources
| where resourceGroup == 'myResourceGroup'

3. List all Azure resources of a specific type

Resources
| where type =~ 'Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines'

Pagination in KQL

KQL supports pagination using the limit and offset operators. You can use these operators to control the number of rows returned and skip a certain number of rows.

Resources
| limit 10
| offset 5

If you exceed payload limits, you can paginate Azure Resource Graph query results with powershell:

$kqlQuery = "policyResources | where type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicySetDefinitions' or type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicyDefinitions' | project definitionId = tolower(id), category = tostring(properties.metadata.category), definitionType = iff(type =~ 'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicysetDefinitions', 'initiative', 'policy'),PolicyDefinition=properties"

$batchSize = 5
$skipResult = 0

[System.Collections.Generic.List[string]]$kqlResult

while ($true) {

  if ($skipResult -gt 0) {
    $graphResult = Search-AzGraph -Query $kqlQuery -First $batchSize -SkipToken $graphResult.SkipToken
  }
  else {
    $graphResult = Search-AzGraph -Query $kqlQuery -First $batchSize
  }

  $kqlResult += $graphResult.data

  if ($graphResult.data.Count -lt $batchSize) {
    break;
  }
  $skipResult += $skipResult + $batchSize
}

Best Practices for Writing KQL Queries

1. Use project to Select Columns: Only select the columns you need to reduce the amount of data returned.
2. Use where to Filter Rows: Apply filters to reduce the number of rows processed.
3. Use summarize to Aggregate Data: Aggregate data to reduce the number of rows returned.
4. Use join to Combine Data: Combine data from different tables using the join operator.
5. Use order by to Sort Data: Sort data based on specific columns to make it easier to read.

Limitations of KQL

1. No DDL Operations: KQL doesn't support Data Definition Language (DDL) operations like creating tables or indexes.
2. No DML Operations: KQL doesn't support Data Manipulation Language (DML) operations like inserting, updating, or deleting data.
3. Limited Data Types: KQL has a limited set of data types compared to SQL.
4. No Transactions: KQL doesn't support transactions, so you can't group multiple operations into a single transaction.

Conclusion

KQL is a potent tool for querying large datasets in Azure. Its SQL-like syntax makes it accessible for anyone familiar with SQL, and its rich set of features makes it a flexible solution for a variety of data processing needs. Practice writing KQL queries to uncover valuable insights from your Azure resources!

References

• SQL to Kusto Query Language cheat sheet
• Demo for play

Azure role assignment conditions

First of all, let's understand what is ABAc (Attribute-Based Access Control) and how it can be used in Azure.

What is ABAC?

Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC) is an access control model that uses attributes to determine access rights. In ABAC, access decisions are based on the attributes of the user, the resource, and the environment. This allows for fine-grained access control based on a wide range of attributes, such as user roles, resource types, and time of day.

ABAC is a flexible and scalable access control model that can be used to enforce complex access policies. It allows organizations to define access control rules based on a wide range of attributes and to adapt those rules as their needs change.

ABAC is build on Azure RBAC.

What is Azure role assignment conditions?

Azure role assignment conditions allow you to define conditions that must be met for a role assignment to be effective.

How to configure Azure role assignment conditions?

To configure Azure role assignment conditions, configure the role assignment as usual, and then click on the "Conditions" tab. Here you can define the conditions that must be met for the role assignment to be effective.

Options for configuring Conditions:

• Allow user to only assign selected roles to selected principals (fewer privileges)
• Allow user to assign all roles except privileged administrator roles Owner, UAA, RBAC (Recommended)
• Allow user to assign all roles (highly privileged)

The first one is the most restrictive, for example, allowing the user to only assign selected roles to selected principals. This is useful when you want to limit the privileges of a user to only a subset of roles and principals.

These are the options available for "Allow user to only assign selected roles to selected principals (fewer privileges)":

• Constrain roles:
  • Allow user to only assign roles you select
• Constrain roles and principal types:
  • Allow user to only assign roles you select
  • Allow user to only assign these roles to principal types you select (users, groups, or service principals)
• Constrain roles and principals
  • Allow user to only assign roles you select
  • Allow user to only assign these roles to principals you select
  • Allow all except specific roles
  • Allow user to assign all roles except the roles you select

Conclusion

Azure role assignment conditions provide a flexible and powerful way to control access to Azure resources. By defining conditions that must be met for a role assignment to be effective, you can enforce fine-grained access control policies that meet the specific needs of your organization. This allows you to limit the privileges of users, assign roles to specific principals, and control access to sensitive resources. Azure role assignment conditions are a valuable tool for organizations that need to enforce strict access control policies and protect their critical resources.

References

• What is Azure attribute-based access control (Azure ABAC)?
• Azure role assignment condition format and syntax
• Examples to delegate Azure role assignment management with conditions

Using Enterprise Azure Policy as Code (EPAC)

In this blog post, we will show how to use Enterprise Azure Policy as Code (EPAC) to manage your Azure environment.

Use case

• Determine desired state strategy.
• We have some existing Azure Policies that we want to manage as code.
• For simplicity, we will suppose that we have a unique Centralized Team that manages the policies.
• We will use a Git repository to store the policies and the CI/CD process to deploy them.
• We doesn't have any exclude resources in the environment.
• How to handle Defender for Cloud Policy Assignments:
• We will use Defender for Cloud to manage the Policy Assignments for Defender Plans when a plan is enabled.
• EPAC will manage Defender for Cloud Security Policy Assignments at the management group level. This is the default behavior.
• Design your CI/CD process:
• We will use Release Flow

Management Groups for Enterprise Scale Landing Zone

This is the common structure for the Management Groups in the Enterprise Scale Landing Zone, now Accelerator Landing Zone:

    graph TD
        A[Root Management Group] --> B[Intermediary-Management-Group]
        B --> C[Decommissioned]
        B --> D[Landing Zones]
        B --> E[Platform]
        B --> F[Sandboxes]
        D --> G[Corp]
        D --> H[Online]
        E --> I[Connectivity]
        E --> J[Identity]
        E --> K[Management]

For this use case, we will use the Landing Zones Management Group for duplicate and old Management Group hierarchy (manage-azure-policy):

  graph TD
      A[Root Management Group] --> B[epac-dev]
      B --> C[dev-decommissioned]
      B --> D[dev-landingzones]
      B --> E[dev-platform]
      B --> F[dev-sandbox]
      D --> G[dev-corp]
      D --> H[dev-online]
      E --> I[dev-connectivity]
      E --> J[dev-identity]
      E --> K[dev-management]
      A[Root Management Group] --> L[epac-prod]
      L --> M[prod-decommissioned]
      L --> N[prod-landingzones]
      L --> O[prod-platform]
      L --> P[prod-sandbox]
      N --> Q[prod-corp]
      N --> R[prod-online]
      O --> S[prod-connectivity]
      O --> T[prod-identity]
      O --> U[prod-management]
      A[Root Management Group] --> V[manage-azure-policy]

      classDef dev fill:#f90,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px;
      classDef prod fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px;
      class dev A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K;
      class prod L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U;   

You can create this Management Groups hierarcly using the Azure CLI with the following commands:

az account management-group create --name "MyManagementGroup"
az account management-group move --name "ChildGroup" --new-parent "NewParentGroup"

For the use case, we will use the following commands:

az account management-group create --name "epac-dev"
az account management-group create --name "dev-decommissioned" --parent "epac-dev"
az account management-group create --name "dev-landingzones" --parent "epac-dev"
az account management-group create --name "dev-platform" --parent "epac-dev"
az account management-group create --name "dev-sandbox" --parent "dev-landingzones"
az account management-group create --name "dev-corp" --parent "dev-landingzones"
az account management-group create --name "dev-online" --parent "dev-landingzones"
az account management-group create --name "dev-connectivity" --parent "dev-platform"
az account management-group create --name "dev-identity" --parent "dev-platform"
az account management-group create --name "dev-management" --parent "dev-platform"
az account management-group create --name "epac-prod"
az account management-group create --name "prod-decommissioned" --parent "epac-prod"
az account management-group create --name "prod-landingzones" --parent "epac-prod"
az account management-group create --name "prod-platform" --parent "epac-prod"
az account management-group create --name "prod-sandbox" --parent "prod-landingzones"
az account management-group create --name "prod-corp" --parent "prod-landingzones"
az account management-group create --name "prod-online" --parent "prod-landingzones"
az account management-group create --name "prod-connectivity" --parent "prod-platform"
az account management-group create --name "prod-identity" --parent "prod-platform"
az account management-group create --name "prod-management" --parent "prod-platform"

Installation

To install EPAC, follow these steps:

    Install-Module Az -Scope CurrentUser
    Install-Module EnterprisePolicyAsCode -Scope CurrentUser

Create an empty repository in github and clone it

Create a repository in github and clone it

    git clone https://github.com/user/demo-EPAC.git

Create a branch for the feature/firstcommit

    git checkout -b feature/firstcommit

Create Definitions

New-EPACDefinitionFolder -DefinitionsRootFolder Definitions

This command creates a folder structure for the definitions. The Definitions folder Structure is as follows:

• Define the Azure environment(s) in file global-settings.jsonc
• Create custom Policies (optional) in folder policyDefinitions
• Create custom Policy Sets (optional) in folder policySetDefinitions
• efine the Policy Assignments in folder policyAssignments
• Define the Policy Exemptions (optional) in folder policyExemptions
• Define Documentation in folder policyDocumentations]

Configure global-settings.jsonc

global-settings.jsonc is the file where you define the Azure environment(s) that you want to manage with EPAC. The file should be located in the Definitions folder. Here is an example of the content of the file:

{
    "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/enterprise-azure-policy-as-code/main/Schemas/global-settings-schema.json",
    "pacOwnerId": "ff2ce5e1-da8a-4cfb-883b-aee9fbfb85d6",
    "pacEnvironments": [
        {
            "pacSelector": "epac-dev",
            "cloud": "AzureCloud",
            "tenantId": "e18e4e7e-d0cc-40af-9907-84923ca55499",
            "deploymentRootScope": "/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/epac-dev",
            "desiredState": {
                "strategy": "full",
                "keepDfcSecurityAssignments": false
            },
            "managedIdentityLocation": "france"
        },
        {
            "pacSelector": "tenant",
            "cloud": "AzureCloud",
            "tenantId": "e18e4e7e-d0cc-40af-9907-84923ca55499",
            "deploymentRootScope": "/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/epac-prod",
            "desiredState": {
                "strategy": "full",
                "keepDfcSecurityAssignments": false
            },
            "managedIdentityLocation": "france",
            "globalNotScopes": [
                "/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/mg-Epac-Dev",
                "/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/manage-azure-policy"
            ]
        },
        {
            "pacSelector": "manage-azure-policy",
            "cloud": "AzureCloud",
            "tenantId": "e18e4e7e-d0cc-40af-9907-84923ca55499",
            "deploymentRootScope": "/providers/Microsoft.Management/managementGroups/manage-azure-policy",
            "desiredState": {
                "strategy": "full",
                "keepDfcSecurityAssignments": false
            },
            "managedIdentityLocation": "france"
        }
    ]

}

Extracting existing Policy Resources

Export-AzPolicyResources

This command extracts all existing Policy Resources in the Azure environment(s) defined in the global-settings.jsonc file. The extracted resources are saved in the Output/Definitions folder.

You needs review the extracted resources and move them to the correct folder in the Definitions folder.

Syncing ALZ Definitions

Sync-ALZPolicies -DefinitionsRootFolder .\Definitions -CloudEnvironment AzureCloud # Also accepts AzureUSGovernment or AzureChinaCloud

You can sync the ALZ Definitions manually or use a GitHub action creating .github\workflows\alz-sync.yaml in your repository with the following content:

name: Sync ALZ Policy Objects

env:
  REVIEWER: anwather # Change this to your GitHub username
  DefinitionsRootFolder: Definitions # Change this to the folder where your policy definitions are stored

on:
  workflow_dispatch

jobs:
    sync:
        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
        steps:
        - name: Checkout
          uses: actions/checkout@v4
        - shell: pwsh
          name: Install Required Modules
          run: |
            Install-Module EnterprisePolicyAsCode -Force
            Sync-ALZPolicies -DefinitionsRootFolder $env:DefinitionsRootFolder
            $branchName = "caf-sync-$(Get-Date -Format yyyy-MM-dd-HH-mm)"
            git config user.name "GitHub Actions Bot"
            git config user.email "<>"
            git checkout -b $branchName
            git add .
            git commit -m "Updated ALZ policy objects"
            git push --set-upstream origin $branchName
            gh pr create -B main -H $branchName --title "Verify Synced Policies - $branchName" -b "Checkout this PR branch and validate changes before merging." --reviewer $env:REVIEWER
        env:
            GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}

CI/CD with Github Flow

We will use the Github Flow to manage the CI/CD process. We will create a Github Actions to deploy the policies to the Azure environment(s) defined in the global-settings.jsonc file.

We can open a second terminal and execute the following command to create the Github Actions in one upper level folder of our repository. This command will create the Github Actions in the .github\workflows folder of the repository. :

git clone https://github.com/Azure/enterprise-azure-policy-as-code
cd enterprise-azure-policy-as-code
New-PipelinesFromStarterKit -StarterKitFolder .\StarterKit -PipelinesFolder ..\global-azure-2024-demo-EPAC\.github\workflows -PipelineType GitHubActions -BranchingFlow github -ScriptType Module 

Now, we need to create some environments with secrets in the repository to use in the Github Actions. We need to create the following environments:

You need to Configure a federated identity credential on an app too.

First Commit

Now we can commit the changes to the repository and make a pull request to the main branch.

References

• EPAC official documentation.

Cambio de nombres de los niveles de servicio de Microsoft Defender para Cloud

No es nuevo pero me gustaría recordar que Microsoft ha cambiado los nombres de los niveles de servicio de Microsoft Defender para Cloud. A continuación, se muestra una tabla con los nombres anteriores y los nuevos nombres de los niveles de servicio de Microsoft Defender para Cloud:

Azure Policy useful queries

Policy assignments and information about each of its respective definitions

// Policy assignments and information about each of its respective definitions
// Gets policy assignments in your environment with the respective assignment name,definition associated, category of definition (if applicable), as well as whether the definition type is an initiative or a single policy.

policyResources
| where type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicyAssignments'
| project policyAssignmentId = tolower(tostring(id)), policyAssignmentDisplayName = tostring(properties.displayName), policyAssignmentDefinitionId = tolower(properties.policyDefinitionId)
| join kind=leftouter(
 policyResources
 | where type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicySetDefinitions' or type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicyDefinitions'
 | project definitionId = tolower(id), category = tostring(properties.metadata.category), definitionType = iff(type =~ 'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicysetDefinitions', 'initiative', 'policy')
) on $left.policyAssignmentDefinitionId == $right.definitionId

• Original Gist

List SubscriptionId and SubscriptionName

ResourceContainers
| where type =~ 'microsoft.resources/subscriptions'
| project subscriptionId, subscriptionName=name

List ManagementGroupId and ManagementGroupName

ResourceContainers
| where type =~ 'microsoft.management/managementgroups'
| project mgname = name, displayName = properties.displayName

Policy assignments and information about each of its respective definitions displaying the scope of the assignment, the subscription display name, the management group id, the resource group name, the definition type, the assignment name, the category of the definition, and the policy assignment ID.

policyResources
| where type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicyAssignments'
| project policyAssignmentId = tolower(tostring(id)), policyAssignmentDisplayName = tostring(properties.displayName), policyAssignmentDefinitionId = tolower(properties.policyDefinitionId), subscriptionId = tostring(subscriptionId),resourceGroup=tostring(resourceGroup), AssignmentDefinition=properties
| join kind=leftouter(
    policyResources
    | where type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicySetDefinitions' or type =~'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicyDefinitions'
    | project definitionId = tolower(id), category = tostring(properties.metadata.category), definitionType = iff(type =~ 'Microsoft.Authorization/PolicysetDefinitions', 'initiative', 'policy'),PolicyDefinition=properties
) on $left.policyAssignmentDefinitionId == $right.definitionId
| extend scope = iff(policyAssignmentId contains '/subscriptions/', 'Subscription', iff(policyAssignmentId contains '/providers/microsoft.management/managementgroups', 'Management Group', 'Resource Group'))
| join kind=leftouter (ResourceContainers
| where type =~ 'microsoft.resources/subscriptions'
| project subscriptionId, subscriptionName=name) on $left.subscriptionId == $right.subscriptionId
| extend SubscriptionDisplayName = iff(isnotempty(subscriptionId), subscriptionName, '')
| extend ManagementGroupName = iff(policyAssignmentId contains '/providers/microsoft.management/', split(policyAssignmentId, '/')[4],'')
| extend resourceGroupDisplayName = iff(isnotempty(resourceGroup), resourceGroup, '')
| project ManagementGroupName,SubscriptionDisplayName,resourceGroupDisplayName, scope,definitionType,policyAssignmentDisplayName, category,policyAssignmentId, AssignmentDefinition, PolicyDefinition

• Add Management Group Display Name

How to use Azue ARC-enabled servers with managed identity to access to Azure Storage Account

In this demo we will show how to use Azure ARC-enabled servers with managed identity to access to Azure Storage Account.

Prerequisites

• An Azure subscription. If you don't have an Azure subscription, create a free account before you begin.

Required permissions

You'll need the following Azure built-in roles for different aspects of managing connected machines:

• To onboard machines, you must have the Azure Connected Machine Onboarding or Contributor role for the resource group where you're managing the servers.
• To read, modify, and delete a machine, you must have the Azure Connected Machine Resource Administrator role for the resource group.
• To select a resource group from the drop-down list when using the Generate script method, you'll also need the Reader role for that resource group (or another role that includes Reader access).

Register Azure resource providers

To use Azure Arc-enabled servers with managed identity, you need to register the following resource providers:

az account set --subscription "{Your Subscription Name}"
az provider register --namespace 'Microsoft.HybridCompute'
az provider register --namespace 'Microsoft.GuestConfiguration'
az provider register --namespace 'Microsoft.HybridConnectivity'
az provider register --namespace 'Microsoft.AzureArcData'

Networking requirements

The Azure Connected Machine agent for Linux and Windows communicates outbound securely to Azure Arc over TCP port 443. In this demo, we have use Azure Private Link.

Azure ARC-enabled enabled server

We use Use Azure Private Link to securely connect networks to Azure Arc-enabled servers to achieve this.

Some tips:

• If you have any issue registerin de VM: generate a script to register a machine with Azure Arc following that instructions here

• If you have an error that says "Path C:\ProgramData\AzureConnectedMachineAgent\Log\himds.log is busy. Retrying..." you can use the following command to resolve it if you know that you are doing:

 (get-wmiobject -class win32_product | where {$_.name -like "Azure *"}).uninstall() 

$Env:PEname = "myprivatelink"
$Env:resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$file = "C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts"

$gisfqdn = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query '[0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[0].recordSets[0].fqdn' -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$gisIP = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[0].recordSets[0].ipAddresses[0] -o json).replace("`"","")
$hisfqdn = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[0].recordSets[1].fqdn -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$hisIP = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[0].recordSets[1].ipAddresses[0] -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$agentfqdn = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[1].recordSets[0].fqdn -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$agentIp = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[1].recordSets[0].ipAddresses[0] -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$gasfqdn = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[1].recordSets[1].fqdn -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$gasIp = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[1].recordSets[1].ipAddresses[0] -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$dpfqdn = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[2].recordSets[0].fqdn -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")
$dpIp = (az network private-endpoint dns-zone-group list --endpoint-name $Env:PEname --resource-group $Env:resourceGroup -o json --query [0].privateDnsZoneConfigs[2].recordSets[0].ipAddresses[0] -o json).replace('.privatelink','').replace("`"","")

$hostfile += "$gisIP $gisfqdn"
$hostfile += "$hisIP $hisfqdn"
$hostfile += "$agentIP $agentfqdn"
$hostfile += "$gasIP $gasfqdn"
$hostfile += "$dpIP $dpfqdn"

Storage Account configuration

Create a Storage Account with static website enabled

$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$location = "eastus"
$storageAccount = "mystorageaccount"
$indexDocument = "index.html"
az group create --name $resourceGroup --location $location
az storage account create --name $storageAccount --resource-group $resourceGroup --location $location --sku Standard_LRS
az storage blob service-properties update --account-name $storageAccount --static-website --index-document $indexDocument

Add private endpoints to the storage accoun for blob and static website

$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$storageAccount = "mystorageaccount"
$privateEndpointName = "myprivatelink"
$location = "eastus"
$vnetName = "myVnet"
$subnetName = "mySubnet"
$subscriptionId = "{subscription-id}"
az network private-endpoint create --name $privateEndpointName --resource-group $resourceGroup --vnet-name $vnetName --subnet $subnetName --private-connection-resource-id "/subscriptions/$subscriptionId/resourceGroups/$resourceGroup/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/$storageAccount" --group-id blob --connection-name $privateEndpointName --location $location
az network private-endpoint create --name $privateEndpointName --resource-group $resourceGroup --vnet-name $vnetName --subnet $subnetName --private-connection-resource-id "/subscriptions/$subscriptionId/resourceGroups/$resourceGroup/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/$storageAccount" --group-id web --connection-name $privateEndpointName --location $location

Disable public access to the storage account except for your ip

$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$storageAccount = "mystorageaccount"
$ipAddress = "myIpAddress"
az storage account update --name $storageAccount --resource-group $resourceGroup --bypass "AzureServices,Logging,Metrics" --default-action Deny
az storage account network-rule add --account-name $storageAccount --resource-group $resourceGroup --ip-address $ipAddress

Assign the Storage Blob Data Contributor role to the managed identity of the Azure ARC-enabled server

$resourceGroup = "myResourceGroup"
$storageAccount = "mystorageaccount"
$serverName = "myserver"
$managedIdentity = az resource show --resource-group $resourceGroup --name $serverName --resource-type "Microsoft.HybridCompute/machines" --query "identity.principalId" --output tsv
az role assignment create --role "Storage Blob Data Contributor" --assignee-object-id $managedIdentity --scope "/subscriptions/{subscription-id}/resourceGroups/$resourceGroup/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/$storageAccount"

Download azcopy, install it and copy something to $web in the storage account

Download azcopy in the vm

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://aka.ms/downloadazcopy-v10-windows" -OutFile AzCopy.zip

Expand-Archive AzCopy.zip -DestinationPath $env:ProgramFiles

$env:Path += ";$env:ProgramFiles\azcopy"

Copy something to $web in the storage account

$storageAccount = "mystorageaccount"
$source = "C:\Users\Public\Documents\myFile.txt"
$destination = "https://$storageAccount.blob.core.windows.net/\$web/myFile.txt"
azcopy login --identity
azcopy copy $source $destination

Now you can check the file in the static website of the storage account.

Azure ARC

Azure ARC is a service that extends Azure management capabilities to any infrastructure. It allows you to manage resources running on-premises, at the edge, or in multi-cloud environments using the same Azure management tools, security, and compliance policies that you use in Azure. Azure ARC enables you to manage and govern your resources consistently across all environments, providing a unified control plane for your hybrid cloud infrastructure. Let's explore how Azure ARC works and how you can leverage it to manage your resources effectively.

Azure ARC Overview

Azure ARC is a service that extends Azure management capabilities to any infrastructure. It allows you to manage resources running outside of Azure using the same Azure management tools, security, and compliance policies that you use in Azure. Azure ARC provides a unified control plane for managing resources across on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments, enabling you to govern your resources consistently.

Azure ARC enables you to:

• Manage resources: Azure ARC allows you to manage resources running on-premises, at the edge, or in multi-cloud environments using Azure management tools like Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
• Governance: Azure ARC provides a unified control plane for managing and governing resources across all environments, enabling you to enforce security and compliance policies consistently.
• Security: Azure ARC extends Azure security capabilities to resources running outside of Azure, enabling you to protect your resources with Azure security features like Azure Security Center and Azure Defender.
• Compliance: Azure ARC enables you to enforce compliance policies across all environments, ensuring that your resources meet regulatory requirements and organizational standards.

Azure ARC Components

Azure ARC consists of the following components:

• Azure ARC-enabled servers: Azure ARC-enabled servers allow you to manage and govern servers running on-premises or at the edge using Azure management tools. You can connect your servers to Azure ARC to manage them using Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
• Azure ARC-enabled Kubernetes clusters: Azure ARC-enabled Kubernetes clusters allow you to manage and govern Kubernetes clusters running on-premises or in other clouds using Azure management tools. You can connect your Kubernetes clusters to Azure ARC to manage them using Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
• Azure ARC-enabled data services: Azure ARC-enabled data services allow you to manage and govern data services running on-premises or in other clouds using Azure management tools. You can connect your data services to Azure ARC to manage them using Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
• SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc: SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc allows you to run SQL Server on any infrastructure using Azure management tools. You can connect your SQL Server instances to Azure ARC to manage them using Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
• Azure Arc-enabled private clouds: Azure Arc resource bridge hosts other components such as custom locations, cluster extensions, and other Azure Arc agents in order to deliver the level of functionality with the private cloud infrastructures it supports.

Azure ARC Use Cases

Azure ARC can be used in a variety of scenarios to manage and govern resources across on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments. Some common use cases for Azure ARC include:

• Hybrid cloud management: Azure ARC enables you to manage resources consistently across on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments using the same Azure management tools and policies.
• Security and compliance: Azure ARC allows you to enforce security and compliance policies consistently across all environments, ensuring that your resources meet regulatory requirements and organizational standards.
• Resource governance: Azure ARC provides a unified control plane for managing and governing resources across all environments, enabling you to enforce policies and monitor resource health and performance.
• Application modernization: Azure ARC enables you to manage and govern Kubernetes clusters and data services running on-premises or in other clouds, allowing you to modernize your applications and infrastructure.

Getting Started with Azure ARC

To get started with Azure ARC, you need to:

1. Connect your resources: Connect your servers, Kubernetes clusters, or data services to Azure ARC using the Azure ARC agent.
2. Manage your resources: Use Azure management tools like Azure Policy, Azure Monitor, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud to manage and govern your resources consistently across all environments.
3. Enforce security and compliance: Use Azure security features like Microsoft Defender for Cloud to protect your resources and enforce security and compliance policies.

By leveraging Azure ARC, you can manage and govern your resources consistently across on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments, providing a unified control plane for your hybrid cloud infrastructure. Azure ARC enables you to enforce security and compliance policies consistently, ensuring that your resources meet regulatory requirements and organizational standards.

Conclusion

Azure ARC is a powerful service that extends Azure management capabilities to any infrastructure, enabling you to manage and govern resources consistently across on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments. By leveraging Azure ARC, you can enforce security and compliance policies consistently, ensuring that your resources meet regulatory requirements and organizational standards. Azure ARC provides a unified control plane for managing and governing resources, enabling you to manage your hybrid cloud infrastructure effectively.

For more information on Azure ARC, visit the Azure ARC documentation.

Microsoft Azure Certifications

Microsoft offers a wide range of certifications for IT professionals who want to demonstrate their expertise in Microsoft technologies. These certifications cover a variety of topics, including Azure, Office 365, Windows Server, and more.

Microsoft divide this certifications into different categories, such as:

• Infrastructure
• Data and AI
• Digital app and innovation
• Modern work
• Business applications
• Security

Inside of each category, you can find different certification levels:

• Fundamentals: This level is designed for individuals who are new to the technology and want to demonstrate their knowledge of the basics.
• Role-based: This level is designed for individuals who want to demonstrate their expertise in a specific role, such as Azure Administrator or Data Engineer.
• Specialty: This level is designed for individuals who want to demonstrate their expertise in a specific skill, such as Azure Virtual Desktop or Azure SAP.

In the case of role-based certifications, Microsoft offers different levels of certification, such as:

• Associate: This level is designed for individuals who have some experience in the technology and want to demonstrate their expertise in a specific role.
• Expert: This level is designed for individuals who have extensive experience in the technology and want to demonstrate their expertise in a specific role.

Allways is a good idea to start with the fundamentals certifications, and then move on to the role-based certifications that are relevant to your career goals.

In the majority of cases, you need associate certifications to get expert certifications.

Azure Certifications

Here's a table summarizing the Azure Certifications and their description:

You can find more information about Microsoft certifications on the Microsoft Certification Poster and in the Microsoft Learning website.

Privileged Access Management (PAM) Strategy with Microsoft Entra ID and some Azure Services

Today, I'd like to share a brief of a recommended strategy for Privileged Access Management (PAM) of other vendors with Microsoft Entra ID and some Azure Services. This strategy is divided into seven phases:

graph LR;
    A[Phase 1: Set Policy] 
    C[Phase 2: The Process of Discovery]
    E[Phase 3: Protect Credentials]
    G[Phase 4: Secure Privileged Access]
    I[Phase 5: Least Privilege]
    K[Phase 6: Control All Applications]
    M[Phase 7: Detect and Respond]

    A-->C
    C-->E
    E-->G
    G-->I
    I-->K
    K-->M
    M-->A

    classDef phase fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px;
    class A,C,E,G,I,K,M phase;

Phase 1: Set Policy

The first step in any PAM strategy is to establish a clear policy. This policy should define who has access to what, when they have access, and what they can do with that access. It should also include guidelines for password management and multi-factor authentication. For example:

• Define clear access control policies.
• Establish guidelines for password management and multi-factor authentication.
• Regularly review and update the policy to reflect changes in the organization.

How to implement this:

• Use Azure Policy to define and manage policies for your Azure environment.
• Use Microsoft Entra multifactor authentication for implementing multi-factor authentication.

Phase 2: The Process of Discovery

In this phase, we identify all the privileged accounts across the organization. This includes service accounts, local administrative accounts, domain administrative accounts, emergency accounts, and application accounts. For example:

• Use automated tools to identify all privileged accounts across the organization.
• Regularly update the inventory of privileged accounts.
• Identify any accounts that are no longer in use and deactivate them.

How to implement this:

• Use Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management to discover, restrict and monitor administrators and their access to resources and provide just-in-time access when needed.

Phase 3: Protect Credentials

Once we've identified all privileged accounts, we need to ensure that these credentials are stored securely. This could involve using a secure vault, regularly rotating passwords, and using unique passwords for each account. For example:

• Store credentials in a secure vault.
• Implement regular password rotation.
• Use unique passwords for each account.

How to implement this:

• Use Azure Key Vault to safeguard cryptographic keys and other secrets used by your apps and services and rotate secrets regularly.
• Implement Microsoft Entra ID Password Protection to protect against weak passwords that can be easily guessed or cracked.

Phase 4: Secure Privileged Access

Securing privileged access involves implementing controls to prevent unauthorized access. This could include limiting the number of privileged accounts, implementing least privilege, and using just-in-time access. For example:

• Limit the number of privileged accounts.
• Implement just-in-time access, where access is granted only for the duration of a task.
• Use session recording and monitoring for privileged access.

How to implement this:

• Use Microsoft Entra ID Conditional Access to enforce controls on the access to apps in your environment based on specific conditions.
• Implement Microsoft Entra Privileged Identity Management for just-in-time access.

Phase 5: Least Privilege

The principle of least privilege involves giving users the minimum levels of access — or permissions — they need to complete their job functions. By limiting the access rights of users, the risk of a security breach is reduced. For example:

• Implement role-based access control (RBAC) in Azure to grant the minimum necessary access to users.
• Regularly review user roles and access rights.
• Implement a process for revoking access when it's no longer needed.

How to implement this:

• Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Azure to grant the minimum necessary access to users.
• Use Microsoft Entra ID Access Reviews to efficiently manage group memberships, access to enterprise applications, and role assignments.

Phase 6: Control All Applications

In this phase, we ensure that all applications, whether on-premises or in the cloud, are controlled and monitored. This includes implementing application control policies and monitoring application usage. For example:

• Implement application control policies that dictate what applications can be run on systems.
• Monitor application usage and block unauthorized applications.
• Regularly update and patch all applications to reduce vulnerabilities.

How to implement this:

• Use Microsoft Entra Application Proxy to control and secure access to on-premises and cloud apps.
• Enable Change Tracking and Inventory in Azure Automation to track changes to your Azure VMs. Use desired state configuration to ensure that your VMs are configured correctly.
• Implement Microsoft Intune to manage and secure your devices and applications.

Phase 7: Detect and Respond

The final phase involves setting up systems to detect and respond to any suspicious activity. This could involve setting up alerts for unusual activity, regularly auditing access logs, and having a response plan in place for when a breach occurs. For example:

• Set up alerts for unusual activity.
• Regularly audit access logs.
• Have a response plan in place for when a breach occurs, including steps for containment, eradication, and recovery.

How to implement this:

• Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud for increased visibility into your security state and to detect and respond to threats.
• Implement Azure Sentinel, Microsoft's cloud-native SIEM solution, for intelligent security analytics.

By following these seven phases, you can create a robust PAM strategy that protects your organization from security breaches and helps you maintain compliance with various regulations.

Remember, a good PAM strategy is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process that needs to be regularly reviewed and updated. Microsoft and Azure services provide a robust set of tools to help you implement and manage your PAM strategy effectively.