Security is an important consideration when developing Azure cloud solutions, this covers everything from authentication and authorization to data protection and compliance.
There are four main groups of security features within Azure.
Transparency
A high degree of transparency means that you can be confident that your data is protected.
Compliance
There are many offerings in Azure which help you meet compliance and regulatory requirements.
Data Access
Data access might need to be controlled by region, regulations or within security groups or time constraints. Understanding who is using your systems and what they have permission to do is critical to ensuring that your data is safe.
Azure Active Directory manages authentication and authorization, while these concepts are often used interchangeably, it is important to be clear on the differences.
| Authentication | Authentication |
| Process of establishing the identity of a person or service that wants to access a resource | Establishes the level of access an authenticated person or service has. |
| Is the user or service who they say they are? | What data is this person or service allowed to access and what can they do with it? |
Monitoring
Azure services provide many monitoring and alerting options.