Why Security Posture Matters

Strong governance and identity controls reduce risks, but enterprises also need continuous monitoring of their compliance and security posture. Misconfigurations, new threats, or insider misuse can compromise workloads. Azure provides two key tools:

• Defender for Cloud → Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) + Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP).

• Microsoft Sentinel → Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) + Security Orchestration Automated Response (SOAR).

Together, they provide visibility, compliance checks, and incident response.

1. Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Definition:
A unified security management system for Azure, hybrid, and multi-cloud resources.

Key Features:

• Secure Score → overall security posture rating.

• Regulatory Compliance Dashboard → map Azure resources against standards (ISO, HIPAA, PCI DSS, NIST).

• Recommendations → fix vulnerabilities (e.g., enable encryption, close ports).

• Workload Protection → VM, database, storage, AKS, App Services.

• Integration with Azure Policy → enforce compliance at deployment.

Use Cases:

• Continuous compliance checks.

• Enforcing regulatory requirements across subscriptions.

• Proactive hardening of workloads.

2. Microsoft Sentinel

Definition:
A cloud-native SIEM/SOAR for collecting logs, detecting threats, and automating responses.

Key Features:

• Collect logs from Azure, on-prem, SaaS, and 3rd-party tools.

• Analytics rules & AI-based detection.

• Incident correlation across users, devices, and workloads.

• Automated playbooks (via Logic Apps) for response.

Use Cases:

• Detect suspicious login attempts across regions.

• Investigate anomalous VM activity.

• Automate incident responses (disable user, block IP).

Example Enterprise Scenario

A financial institution requires:

• Continuous compliance with PCI DSS.

• Real-time detection of unauthorized admin logins.

• Automated blocking of malicious IP addresses.

Correct design:

• Use Defender for Cloud compliance dashboard + PCI DSS initiative.

• Ingest logs into Sentinel for SIEM analysis.

• Create Sentinel playbooks to block IPs automatically.

Confusion Buster

• Defender for Cloud vs Sentinel

  • Defender = posture + recommendations (preventive).

  • Sentinel = detection + response (reactive).

• Azure Policy vs Defender

  • Policy = enforces resource configurations.

  • Defender = monitors compliance and provides remediation guidance.

• SIEM vs SOAR

  • SIEM = collects and correlates events.

  • SOAR = automates incident responses.

Exam Tips

• “Which Azure service provides Secure Score and compliance dashboards?” → Defender for Cloud.

• “Which service correlates logs across multiple data sources for incident detection?” → Sentinel.

• “Which feature provides automatic response to security incidents?” → Sentinel Playbooks.

• “Which tool checks workloads against standards like ISO and PCI DSS?” → Defender for Cloud.

What to Expect in the Exam

• Direct Q: “Which Azure service provides CSPM and CWPP capabilities?” → Defender for Cloud.

• Scenario Q: “Company requires real-time incident detection and auto-remediation.” → Sentinel.

• Scenario Q: “Company wants regulatory compliance checks for HIPAA.” → Defender for Cloud.

• Trick Q: “Sentinel improves security posture automatically.” → False (that’s Defender).