Azure Audit Checklist - Final - Part 1 - Sachin Hissaria
Azure Audit Checklist - Final - Part 1 - Sachin Hissaria
Azure Audit Checklist - Final - Part 1 - Sachin Hissaria
SACHIN HISSARIA
CA | CISA | DISA | CEH | COBIT-19 | ISO27001:2022 | RPA | Trainer
SACHIN HISSARIA
Azure Audit Checklist - Sachin Hissaria
Sr.
Control Risk Auditors Remarks
No
Security defaults provide secure default settings that
Ensure Security Defaults is enabled on Azure Active Directory we manage on behalf of organizations to keep
(Manual) customers safe until they are ready to manage their
own identity security settings.
Security defaults in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) make it easier For example, doing the following:
1 to be secure and help protect your organization. Security defaults • Requiring all users and admins to register for MFA.
contain preconfigured security settings for common attacks. • Challenging users with MFA - when necessary,
Security defaults is available to everyone. The goal is to ensure that based on factors such as location, device, role, and
all organizations have a basic level of security enabled at no extra task.
cost. You may turn on security defaults in the Azure portal. • Disabling authentication from legacy
authentication clients, which can’t do MFA.
Ensure that 'Multi-Factor Auth Status' is 'Enabled' for all Privileged Multi-factor authentication requires an individual to
Users (Manual) present a minimum of two separate forms of
authentication before access is granted. Multi-factor
Enable multi-factor authentication for all roles, groups, and users authentication provides additional assurance that
2 that have write access or permissions to Azure resources. These the individual attempting to gain access is who they
include custom created objects or built-in roles such as; claim to be. With multi-factor authentication, an
• Service Co-Administrators attacker would need to compromise at least two
• Subscription Owners different authentication mechanisms, increasing the
• Contributors difficulty of compromise and thus reducing the risk.
Ensure Trusted Locations Are Defined (Manual) Defining trusted source IP addresses or ranges helps
organizations create and enforce Conditional Access
Azure Active Directory Conditional Access allows an organization to policies around those trusted or untrusted IP
configure Named locations and configure whether those locations addresses and ranges. Users authenticating from
5 are trusted or untrusted. These settings provide organizations the trusted IP addresses and/or ranges may have less
means to specify Geographical locations for use in conditional access restrictions or access requirements when
access policies, or define actual IP addresses and IP ranges and compared to users that try to authenticate to Azure
whether or not those IP addresses and/or ranges are trusted by the Active Directory from untrusted locations or
organization. untrusted source IP addresses/ranges.
Ensure that an exclusionary Geographic Access Policy is considered
(Manual)
Conditional Access, when used as a deny list for the
CAUTION: If these policies are created without first auditing and tenant or subscription, is able to prevent ingress or
testing the result, misconfiguration can potentially lock out egress of traffic to countries that are outside of the
6 administrators or create undesired access issues. scope of interest (e.g.: customers, suppliers) or
jurisdiction of an organization. This is an effective
Conditional Access Policies can be used to block access from way to prevent unnecessary and long-lasting
geographic locations that are deemed out-of-scope for your exposure to international threats such as APTs.
organization or application. The scope and variables for this policy
should be carefully examined and defined.
Ensure that A Multi-factor Authentication Policy Exists for
Administrative Groups (Manual) Enabling multi-factor authentication is a
7 recommended setting to limit the use of
For designated users, they will be prompted to use their multi- Administrative accounts to authenticated personnel.
factor authentication (MFA) process on login.
Ensure that A Multi-factor Authentication Policy Exists for All Users
Enabling multi-factor authentication is a
(Manual)
recommended setting to limit the potential of
8
accounts being compromised and limiting access to
For designated users, they will be prompted to use their multi-
authenticated personnel.
factor authentication (MFA) process on logins.
SACHIN HISSARIA
Azure Audit Checklist - Sachin Hissaria
Sr.
Control Risk Auditors Remarks
No
Ensure Multi-factor Authentication is Required for Risky Sign-ins
Enabling multi-factor authentication is a
(Manual)
recommended setting to limit the potential of
9
accounts being compromised and limiting access to
For designated users, they will be prompted to use their multi-
authenticated personnel.
factor authentication (MFA) process on login.
Ensure Multi-factor Authentication is Required for Azure
Enabling multi-factor authentication is a
Management (Manual)
recommended setting to limit the use of
10
Administrative actions and to prevent intruders from
For designated users, they will be prompted to use their multi-
changing settings.
factor authentication (MFA) process on logins.
Ensure that 'Users can create Azure AD Tenants' is set to 'No'
It is recommended to only allow an administrator to
(Automated)
create new tenants. This prevent users from creating
11
new Azure AD or Azure AD B2C tenants and ensures
Require administrators or appropriately delegated users to create
that only authorized users are able to do so.
new tenants.
Ensure Access Review is Set Up for External Users in Azure AD
Privileged Identity Management (Manual)
Guest users in the Azure AD are generally required
for collaboration purposes in Office 365, and may
This recommendation extends guest access review by utilizing the
also be required for Azure functions in enterprises
Azure AD Privileged Identity Management feature provided in Azure
with multiple Azure tenants. Guest users should be
AD Premium P2.
reviewed on a regular basis, at least annually. Guest
Azure AD is extended to include Azure AD B2B collaboration,
users should not be granted administrative roles
allowing you to invite people from outside your organization to be
where possible.
12 guest users in your cloud account and sign in with their own work,
Guest users are typically added outside your
school, or social identities. Guest users allow you to share your
employee on-boarding/off-boarding process and
company's applications and services with users from any other
could potentially be overlooked indefinitely, leading
organization, while maintaining control over your own corporate
to a potential vulnerability.
data.
Guest users should be reviewed on a monthly basis
Work with external partners, large or small, even if they don't have
to ensure that inactive and unneeded accounts are
Azure AD or an IT department. A simple invitation and redemption
removed.
process lets partners use their own credentials to access your
company's resources a a guest user.
Azure AD is extended to include Azure AD B2B collaboration, Guest users in the Azure AD are generally required
allowing you to invite people from outside your organization to be for collaboration purposes in Office 365, and may
guest users in your cloud account and sign in with their own work, also be required for Azure functions in enterprises
school, or social identities. Guest users allow you to share your with multiple Azure tenants. Guest users are typically
company's applications and services with users from any other added outside your employee on-boarding/off-
13 organization, while maintaining control over your own corporate boarding process and could potentially be
data. overlooked indefinitely, leading to a potential
Work with external partners, large or small, even if they don't have vulnerability. To prevent this, guest users should be
Azure AD or an IT department. A simple invitation and redemption reviewed on a regular basis. During this audit, guest
process lets partners use their own credentials to access your users should also be determined to not have
company's resources as a guest user. administrative privileges.
Guest users in every subscription should be review on a regular
basis to ensure that inactive and unneeded accounts are removed.
Ensures that two alternate forms of identification are provided There may be administrative overhead, as users who
before allowing a password reset. lose access to their secondary authentication
methods will need an administrator with permissions
A Self-service Password Reset (SSPR) through Azure Multi-factor to remove it. There will also need to be organization-
14
Authentication (MFA) ensures the user's identity is confirmed using wide security policies and training to teach
two separate methods of identification. With multiple methods set, administrators to verify the identity of the requesting
an attacker would have to compromise both methods before they user so that social engineering can not render this
could maliciously reset a user's password. setting useless.
Ensure that a Custom Bad Password List is set to 'Enforce' for your
Organization (Manual)
Enabling this gives your organization further
Microsoft Azure provides a Global Banned Password policy that customization on what secure passwords are
applies to Azure administrative and normal user accounts. This is allowed. Setting a bad password list enables your
15 not applied to user accounts that are synced from an on-premise organization to fine-tune its password policy further,
Active Directory unless Azure AD Connect is used and you enable depending on your needs. Removing easy-to-guess
EnforceCloudPasswordPolicyForPasswordSyncedUsers. Please see passwords increases the security of access to your
the list in default values on the specifics of this policy. To further Azure resources.
password security, it is recommended to further define a custom
banned password policy.
SACHIN HISSARIA
Azure Audit Checklist - Sachin Hissaria
Sr.
Control Risk Auditors Remarks
No
Ensure `User consent for applications` is set to `Do not allow user If Azure Active Directory is running as an identity
consent` (Manual) provider for third-party applications, permissions and
19 consent should be limited to administrators or pre-
Require administrators to provide consent for applications before approved. Malicious applications may attempt to
use. exfiltrate data or abuse privileged user accounts.
Ensure ‘User consent for applications’ Is Set To ‘Allow for Verified If Azure Active Directory is running as an identity
Publishers’ (Manual) provider for third-party applications, permissions and
20 consent should be limited to administrators or pre-
Allow users to provide consent for selected permissions when a approved. Malicious applications may attempt to
request is coming from a verified publisher. exfiltrate data or abuse privileged user accounts.
Unless Azure Active Directory is running as an
identity provider for third-party applications, do not
Ensure that 'Users can add gallery apps to My Apps' is set to 'No' allow users to use their identity outside of your cloud
(Manual) environment. User profiles contain private
21
information such as phone numbers and email
Require administrators to provide consent for the apps before use. addresses which could then be sold off to other third
parties without requiring any further consent from
the user.
It is recommended to only allow an administrator to
register custom-developed applications. This ensures
Ensure That ‘Users Can Register Applications’ Is Set to ‘No’ that the application undergoes a formal security
(Manual) review and approval process prior to exposing Azure
22 Active Directory data. Certain users like developers
Require administrators or appropriately delegated users to register or other high-request users may also be delegated
third-party applications. permissions to prevent them from waiting on an
administrative user. Your organization should review
your policies and decide your needs.
SACHIN HISSARIA
Azure Audit Checklist - Sachin Hissaria
Sr.
Control Risk Auditors Remarks
No
Restrict access to the Azure AD administration portal to The Azure AD administrative portal has sensitive data
administrators only. and permission settings. All non-administrators
25
should be prohibited from accessing any Azure AD
NOTE: This only affects access to the Azure AD administrator's web data in the administration portal to avoid exposure.
portal. This setting does not prohibit privileged users from using
other methods such as Rest API or Powershell to obtain sensitive
information from Azure AD.
Self-service group management enables users to
Ensure that 'Restrict user ability to access groups features in the create and manage security groups or Office 365
Access Pane' is Set to 'Yes' (Manual) groups in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD). Unless a
26
business requires this day-to-day delegation for some
Restricts group creation to administrators with permissions only. users, self-service group management should be
disabled.
When creating security groups is enabled, all users in
Ensure that 'Users can create security groups in Azure portals, API the directory are allowed to create new security
or PowerShell' is set to 'No' (Manual) groups and add members to those groups. Unless a
27
business requires this day-to-day delegation, security
Restrict security group creation to administrators only. group creation should be restricted to administrators
only.
Restricting security group management to
Ensure that 'Owners can manage group membership requests in
administrators only prohibits users from making
the Access Panel' is set to 'No' (Manual)
28 changes to security groups. This ensures that security
groups are appropriately managed and their
Restrict security group management to administrators only.
management is not delegated to non-administrators.
Restricting Microsoft 365 group creation to
administrators only ensures that creation of
Ensure that 'Users can create Microsoft 365 groups in Azure
Microsoft 365 groups is controlled by the
portals, API or PowerShell' is set to 'No' (Manual)
29 administrator. Appropriate groups should be created
and managed by the administrator and group
Restrict Microsoft 365 group creation to administrators only.
creation rights should not be delegated to any other
user.
SACHIN HISSARIA
Azure Audit Checklist - Sachin Hissaria
Sr.
Control Risk Auditors Remarks
No
Ensure a Custom Role is Assigned Permissions for Administering
Resource Locks (Manual)
Given the resource lock functionality is outside of
standard Role Based Access Control(RBAC), it would
32 Resource locking is a powerful protection mechanism that can
be prudent to create a resource lock administrator
prevent inadvertent modification/deletion of resources within
role to prevent inadvertent unlocking of resources.
Azure subscriptions/Resource Groups and is a recommended NIST
configuration.
Permissions to move subscriptions in and out of
Ensure That ‘Subscription Entering AAD Directory’ and
Azure Active Directory must only be given to
‘Subscription Leaving AAD Directory’ Is Set To ‘Permit No One’
appropriate administrative personnel. A subscription
(Manual)
that is moved into an Azure Active Directory may be
33
within a folder to which other users have elevated
Users who are set as subscription owners are able to make
permissions. This prevents loss of data or
administrative changes to the subscriptions and move them into
unapproved changes of the objects within by
and out of Azure Active Directories.
potential bad actors.
SACHIN HISSARIA
Azure Audit Checklist - Sachin Hissaria
Sr.
Control Risk Auditors Remarks
No
In scanning Azure Cosmos DB requests within a
Ensure That Microsoft Defender for Azure Cosmos DB Is Set To 'On'
subscription, requests are compared to a heuristic
(Manual)
list of potential security threats. These threats could
42
be a result of a security breach within your services,
Microsoft Defender for Azure Cosmos DB scans all incoming
thus scanning for them could prevent a potential
network requests for threats to your Azure Cosmos DB resources.
security threat from being introduced.
Ensure That Microsoft Defender for Key Vault Is Set To 'On'
(Manual)
Enabling Microsoft Defender for Key Vault allows for
greater defense-in-depth, with threat detection
43 Turning on Microsoft Defender for Key Vault enables threat
provided by the Microsoft Security Response Center
detection for Key Vault, providing threat intelligence, anomaly
(MSRC).
detection, and behavior analytics in the Microsoft Defender for
Cloud.
DNS lookups within a subscription are scanned and
Ensure That Microsoft Defender for DNS Is Set To 'On' (Manual) compared to a dynamic list of websites that might be
potential security threats. These threats could be a
44
Microsoft Defender for DNS scans all network traffic exiting from result of a security breach within your services, thus
within a subscription. scanning for them could prevent a potential security
threat from being introduced.
Ensure That Microsoft Defender for Resource Manager Is Set To
'On' (Manual)
Scanning resource requests lets you be alerted every
45 time there is suspicious activity in order to prevent a
Microsoft Defender for Resource Manager scans incoming
security threat from being introduced.
administrative requests to change your infrastructure from both CLI
and the Azure portal.
Ensure that Auto provisioning of 'Vulnerability assessment for Vulnerability assessment for machines scans for
machines' is Set to 'On' (Manual) various security-related configurations and events
49 such as system updates, OS vulnerabilities, and
Enable automatic provisioning of vulnerability assessment for endpoint protection, then produces alerts on threat
machines on both Azure and hybrid (Arc enabled) machines. and vulnerability findings.
Ensure that Auto provisioning of 'Microsoft Defender for
As with any compute resource, Container
Containers components' is Set to 'On' (Manual)
environments require hardening and run-time
50
protection to ensure safe operations and detection
Enable automatic provisioning of the Microsoft Defender for
of threats and vulnerabilities.
Containers components.
SACHIN HISSARIA
Azure Audit Checklist - Sachin Hissaria
Sr.
Control Risk Auditors Remarks
No
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachin-hissaria/
https://youtube.com/@sachinhissaria6512
SACHIN HISSARIA