Azure Cloud Certification for Cybersecurity Professionals

Introduction

A solid understanding of Azure Cloud is essential for IT workers interested in cloud security. Obtaining an Azure cloud certification is an excellent way to demonstrate that you have the skills and experience necessary to protect Azure environments from security incidents. In addition, since Microsoft Azure is one of the most popular cloud environments, understanding Azure security is a crucial step for cybersecurity experts who want to take a more vendor-neutral stance.

This article will discuss everything you need to know about Azure cloud certification for cybersecurity professionals.

What is Azure Cloud?

Microsoft Azure is a public cloud computing environment offered by Microsoft that is one of the top 3 cloud service providers, along with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). Azure Cloud offers a wide range of public cloud services, including compute, storage, databases, networking, big data and analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Customers of Azure Cloud can use these offerings to build, deploy, and manage their own applications and services within Microsoft’s global network of cloud data centers.

Because Azure Cloud has a healthy market share and over 200 public cloud services and products, it is a major player in the field of public cloud computing. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Azure Cloud occupied 23 percent of the global cloud infrastructure market, making it the second most popular vendor after Amazon Web Services (Vailshery, L., 2022).

With so many Azure products and services available, it’s no surprise that there are also many Azure cloud certifications. As of writing, more than 50 Azure certifications are listed on the Microsoft website (Microsoft, 2023).

For example, beginners can get started with Microsoft Azure training using certifications such as “Exam AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals.” Microsoft also offers more advanced certifications in specialized Azure topics such as cybersecurity, including “Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert.”

The Importance of Azure Cloud Certification for Cybersecurity

Obtaining an Azure cloud certification can be tremendously useful for cybersecurity professionals. Below are just a few reasons to invest in Azure cloud certification:

◉ Gaining a foothold in cloud security: Azure cloud certification helps cybersecurity professionals understand the challenges and best practices associated with Microsoft Azure cloud computing. This includes the tools and methodologies used to secure Azure infrastructure, applications, and databases.

◉ Career advancement: IT certifications generally give individuals the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and expertise in a certain technology or field. Obtaining an Azure cloud certification can help workers stand out to potential employers, get a leg up on their career, and keep up with the changing face of enterprise IT.

◉ Widespread use of Azure: If you’re interested in the field of cybersecurity, getting an Azure cloud certification is a very wise idea. A majority of organizations worldwide—an estimated 56 percent—use Microsoft Azure for their cloud services (Vailshery, 2022). This means that thousands of companies are in need of Azure computing security experts who can help protect them from data breaches, hacks, and other IT security incidents.

◉ Highly applicable: Due to Microsoft Azure’s high profile, Azure and its customers have been involved in a number of major cybersecurity issues. Understanding how to identify and resolve these issues is crucial for cybersecurity professionals. In February 2023, for example, researchers discovered that the Defense Department inadvertently leaked more than a terabyte of confidential messages due to a Microsoft Azure cloud misconfiguration (Martin, P. et al., 2023).

◉ Meeting compliance requirements: Many companies and industries need to meet specific compliance requirements in terms of cybersecurity, such as HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS. By obtaining Azure cloud certification, IT professionals can demonstrate to auditors and regulators that the organization is in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

What to Look For with Azure Cloud Certification

Of course, not all Azure cloud certifications are created equal. Receiving a cybersecurity certification can be a time-consuming and intensive task that requires a great deal of self-study and motivation. This means that would-be students need to carefully select the Azure cloud certifications they choose to obtain.

When looking for the right Azure cloud certification, IT professionals should consider a number of factors. First, Microsoft certifications are offered at four different levels: Fundamentals, Associate, Expert, and Specialty. With a wide variety of options available, you should select the Azure certification that best aligns with your career goals and level of experience.

As of writing, Microsoft offers 11 different certifications and exams for would-be Azure security experts. Two particularly relevant exams are:

◉ Exam AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies: The AZ-500 exam verifies that candidates are able to deploy, manage, and monitor Azure security solutions, including in multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments. By passing this exam, candidates demonstrate that they can identify and resolve cloud vulnerabilities, model security threats, and select the right security components and configurations to protect Azure resources, including identity & access, data, networks, and applications. After passing the AZ-500 exam, Microsoft provides the Azure Security Engineer Associate certification.

◉ Exam SC-200: Microsoft Security Operations Analyst: The SC-200 exam verifies that candidates can protect Azure cloud environments from malicious actors. By passing this exam, candidates demonstrate that they can repel active attacks, suggest ways to improve Azure security practices, and detect violations of Azure security policies. After passing the SC-200 exam, Microsoft provides the Security Operations Analyst Associate certification.

Source: eccouncil.org

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AWS, GCP and Azure: Top 3 Cloud Service Providers in 2023

There’s a lot of talk these days about which public cloud platform is best for an organization. But what many people don’t realize is that when it comes to cloud security, there isn’t necessarily a clear winner. Each of the big three providers—AWS, Azure, and GCP—has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses. So how do you decide which platform is right for your business?

This article compares and contrasts the security features offered by each provider so you can make an informed decision about which platform is right for you. We will also go through how to choose the best cloud security certification that will further your career as a certified cloud security professional.

Each Player’s Market Share and Their USPs When It Comes to Security

AWS, GCP, and Azure are the three biggest cloud service providers in the world. All three offer a variety of security features to their customers, but there are some key differences between them.

AWS

◉ AWS is the market leader in cloud services, with a 37% market share (Holori, 2021).

◉ Its main USP related to security is the comprehensive suite of security features, which include data encryption, DDoS protection, and identity and access management (IAM).

◉ It also has a strong focus on compliance, with over 90 compliance certifications.

Azure

◉ Azure is the second largest cloud provider, with a 23% market share (Holori, 2021).

◉ Its main USP in terms of security is the robust identity management system, which includes multi-factor authentication and single sign-on.

◉ It also has a number of compliance certifications, including ISO 27001 and HIPAA.

GCP

◉ GCP is the third largest cloud provider, with a 9% market share (Holori, 2021).

◉ Its main USP when it comes to security is its tight integration with Google’s other products, which makes it easy to deploy a comprehensive security solution.

◉ It also offers several unique security features, such as per-user activity monitoring and customer-managed encryption keys.

Biggest Data Breaches in the Past 5 Years

Data breaches are becoming more and more common, with large companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft being affected in recent years. Here is a look at some of the biggest data breaches that have happened at these three companies in the past five years.

1. Amazon: In 2019, Amazon had a data breach that affected over 100 million customers. This breach exposed customer names, email addresses and phone numbers. Amazon did not disclose how the breach occurred, but it is believed that hackers were able to gain access to Amazon’s systems through a third-party vendor (TechCrunch, 2022).

2. Google: In 2016, Google was hit by a data breach that affected over 1 million customers. This breach exposed customer names, email addresses, birthdates and gender information. Google blamed the breach on a “bug” in its system that allowed hackers to gain access to its systems (Check Point Software, 2016).

3. Microsoft: In 2019, Microsoft had a data breach that affected over 250 million customers. This breach exposed customer names, email addresses and password hashes. Microsoft blamed the breach on a “misconfiguration” in its system that allowed hackers to gain access to its systems (LifeLock Norton, 2022).

These are just a few of the many data breaches that have happened at large companies in recent years. Data breaches can have a major impact on customers, so it’s important for companies to take steps to protect their data.

Security Is a Shared Responsibility

It’s a common misconception that security is solely the responsibility of the IT department. In reality, security is a shared responsibility between IT and the employees of an organization. Both groups need to be aware of the potential risks and take steps to mitigate them.

As more and more businesses move to the cloud, the need for qualified cloud security professionals has never been greater. The EC-Council Certified Cloud Security Engineer (C|CSE) credential is designed to help IT professionals who want to specialize in securing cloud environments. The C|CSE trains cybersecurity professionals interested to learn about all the platforms along with cloud neutral concepts.

The C|CSE credential covers cloud security topics for all of the top three cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In addition, the C|CSE covers key security concepts such as risk management, identity and access management, data encryption and incident response.

Source: eccouncil.org

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AWS, GCP and Azure: 3 Biggest Cloud Service Providers in 2022

There’s a lot of talk these days about which public cloud platform is best for an organization. But what many people don’t realize is that when it comes to cloud security, there isn’t necessarily a clear winner. Each of the big three providers—AWS, Azure, and GCP—has its own unique set of strengths and weaknesses. So how do you decide which platform is right for your business?

This article compares and contrasts the security features offered by each provider so you can make an informed decision about which platform is right for you. We will also go through how to choose the best cloud security certification that will further your career as a certified cloud security professional.

Each Player’s Market Share and Their USPs When It Comes to Security

AWS, GCP, and Azure are the three biggest cloud service providers in the world. All three offer a variety of security features to their customers, but there are some key differences between them.

AWS

◉ AWS is the market leader in cloud services, with a 37% market share (Holori, 2021).

◉ Its main USP related to security is the comprehensive suite of security features, which include data encryption, DDoS protection, and identity and access management (IAM).

◉ It also has a strong focus on compliance, with over 90 compliance certifications.

Azure

◉ Azure is the second largest cloud provider, with a 23% market share (Holori, 2021).

◉ Its main USP in terms of security is the robust identity management system, which includes multi-factor authentication and single sign-on.

◉ It also has a number of compliance certifications, including ISO 27001 and HIPAA.

GCP

◉ GCP is the third largest cloud provider, with a 9% market share (Holori, 2021).

◉ Its main USP when it comes to security is its tight integration with Google’s other products, which makes it easy to deploy a comprehensive security solution.

◉ It also offers several unique security features, such as per-user activity monitoring and customer-managed encryption keys.

Biggest Data Breaches in the Past 5 Years

Data breaches are becoming more and more common, with large companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft being affected in recent years. Here is a look at some of the biggest data breaches that have happened at these three companies in the past five years.

1. Amazon: In 2019, Amazon had a data breach that affected over 100 million customers. This breach exposed customer names, email addresses and phone numbers. Amazon did not disclose how the breach occurred, but it is believed that hackers were able to gain access to Amazon’s systems through a third-party vendor (TechCrunch, 2022).

2. Google: In 2016, Google was hit by a data breach that affected over 1 million customers. This breach exposed customer names, email addresses, birthdates and gender information. Google blamed the breach on a “bug” in its system that allowed hackers to gain access to its systems (Check Point Software, 2016).

3. Microsoft: In 2019, Microsoft had a data breach that affected over 250 million customers. This breach exposed customer names, email addresses and password hashes. Microsoft blamed the breach on a “misconfiguration” in its system that allowed hackers to gain access to its systems (LifeLock Norton, 2022).

These are just a few of the many data breaches that have happened at large companies in recent years. Data breaches can have a major impact on customers, so it’s important for companies to take steps to protect their data.

Security Is a Shared Responsibility

It’s a common misconception that security is solely the responsibility of the IT department. In reality, security is a shared responsibility between IT and the employees of an organization. Both groups need to be aware of the potential risks and take steps to mitigate them.

As more and more businesses move to the cloud, the need for qualified cloud security professionals has never been greater. The EC-Council Certified Cloud Security Engineer (C|CSE) credential is designed to help IT professionals who want to specialize in securing cloud environments. The C|CSE trains cybersecurity professionals interested to learn about all the platforms along with cloud neutral concepts.

The C|CSE credential covers cloud security topics for all of the top three cloud providers: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). In addition, the C|CSE covers key security concepts such as risk management, identity and access management, data encryption and incident response.

What Makes C|CSE Stand Out from the Rest

EC-Council’s C|CSE program is the only cloud certification that covers both vendor-neutral and vendor-specific cloud security. The C|CSE certification is designed for security professionals who want to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in securing cloud computing environments. C|CSE’s training covers a broad range of topics, including Governance, risk management, and compliance in the cloud, Data/application and operation security, Cloud Penetration Testing, Cloud Forensics investigation, Incident Response, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.

C|CSE is a comprehensive unique program that delivers a mix of vendor-neutral and vendor-specific cloud security concepts. As a vendor-neutral program, it’s an ideal choice for organizations that use a variety of different technologies. The course is also vendor specific, meaning that it covers specific types of devices and software from major vendors such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP). This program enables candidates to acquire cloud security skills by training them in a simulated environment with 50+ labs designed to match real-time cloud security challenges and perform special security tasks essential for a cloud security role.

Source: eccouncil.org

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How to Improve Azure Web Service with Front Door

The Internet is mostly accessed through web applications these days. Though a lot of companies provide us with rich and interactive native applications, our thumb automatically taps the browser icon if need to search anything on the internet. You need a web application to run everything from a large news website to a local pastry shop to a B2B application to manage your sales channels, because your users are distributed across several locations, and the application helps make your business available.

However, there is always a demand to maximize an application’s performance for your end-users and make sure the application is always-on across attacks. This is why you need an Azure Front Door, as it offers a variety of features to improve your application with its layers of caching, global distribution, acceleration, and failover. Find out everything you need to know about Azure Web Service with the Front Door in this article.

What Is Azure App Service?

The Azure App Service is a fully managed Platform as a Service that can be used to integrate  BizTalk Services, and Mobile Services into a single service while adding new capabilities that enables integration with cloud systems or on-premises. Furthermore, Azure App Service offers users the ability to:

◉ Build engaging iOS, Android, and Windows apps.

◉ Provision and deployment of web and mobile apps in seconds.

◉ Automation of business processes plus a visual design experience.

◉ Integration with Software as a Service (SaaS) applications like OneDrive, Office 365, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and on-premises applications.

Why Use Azure App Service?

Some of the key features of the Azure App Service are:

◉ The Azure App Service supports multiple languages and frameworks. This means support for ASP.NET, Java, Python, PHP, etc. You can also run PowerShell and other scripts as a background service.

◉ It features a managed production environment. This means that the App Service helps to automatically patch and maintain the OS and language frameworks for you while you spend time creating great apps.

◉ You can use App Service for containerization and docker functions. You can dockerize your app and also host a custom Linux or Windows container with an App Service.

◉ Azure Web Service offers DevOps This means you can set up continuous integration and deployment using Azure DevOps, Docker Hub, GitHub, Azure Container Registry, or BitBucket. It also promotes updates by testing and staging environments.

◉ It offers connections to SaaS platforms and on-premises data. You can use App Service to choose from over 50 connectors for SaaS services, enterprise systems, and internet services.

◉ Some of the other Azure Web Service features are global scale with high availability, application templates, security and compliance, Serverless code, Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code integration, API and mobile features, etc.

Types of Azure App Services

Azure runs App Services on fully managed virtual machines in either a shared or dedicated mode based on your App Service Plan. There are four types of Azure App Services:

◉ Web App: This is used for hosting web applications and websites (previously Azure Websites).

◉ API App: It is used for hosting the RESTful APIs.

◉ Logic App: It is used for sharing data across clouds, system integration, and business process automation.

◉ Mobile App: It is used to host mobile app backends previously delivered by Azure Mobile Services.

Benefits of Azure Web Service

◉ The deployment slots are free.

◉ It is very easy to deploy to, and it deploys faster than Cloud Services.

◉ It can combine multiple applications together to save money.

◉ It is extendable with site extensions.

◉ It has a built-in A/B testing feature.

Limitations of Azure Web Service

◉ It cannot use all the monitoring tools as you cannot install an agent.

◉ It has limited windows performance counters.

◉ It has no server access.

◉ It has limited VM sizes and specs to choose from.

What Is Azure Front Door?

Azure Front Door is a premium service that gives the application access to networks of edge nodes. With Azure Front Door as a service layer, you can improve your user’s network access performance without modifying the existing application. Furthermore, Azure Front Door offers diverse features like geographic load-balancing.

You can additionally use Azure Front Door to offload the overhead SSL encryption from your application server onto the Edge Node. Azure Front Door also provides firewall and DDoS protection.

Azure Web Service with Front Door (Coming Soon on CodeRed)

This is one of the best Azure Web Service courses that you can find out there. In this course, you will learn what Azure Web Apps are, how developers can use the Azure web apps to create and deploy the application, and how to scale and secure Azure Web Apps. You will also learn about the high availability of the application hosted on Azure Web Apps with Azure Front Door.

Source: eccouncil.org

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Why Modern Businesses Implement Microsoft Azure

Operating business with the cloud is getting more popular among enterprises. Microsoft Azure is regarded as an emerging market leader in the cloud computing industry. It offers businesses a wide scope of cloud services, including computing, storage, analytics, and networking. The main goal of the Azure platform is to help businesses tackle challenges and meet their organizational goals.

What Is Microsoft Azure?

Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing platform launched in February 2010. It features a comprehensive collection of interoperable cloud computing services, including open-source versions of Microsoft technologies that are managed and remotely hosted.

The Benefits of Azure Development for Businesses

Microsoft Azure is suitable for businesses that need PaaS (platform as a service) and IaaS (infrastructure as a service). Furthermore, it is regarded as the best cloud computing platform in the business world because of its numerous benefits and features. Some of the benefits of Azure are stated below.

◉ It can be closely integrated with other Microsoft tools.

◉ It is a reputable brand.

◉ You can easily customize your cloud service to the exact requirements and specifications, making it easier to build, deploy, and develop applications.

◉ Microsoft Azure relies on the cloud, which boosts 99.9% availability while also providing users with 24/7 tech support and monitoring.

◉ It offers powerful analytics and business insights to businesses.

◉ It has the ability to scale on your business demand.

◉ It offers a great sense of flexibility when it comes to adapting to evolving trends.

Azure Security

Azure security is the security tools and capabilities that are available on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform. Furthermore, the Azure security tool used for securing cloud service covers a wide range of physical, infrastructure, and operational controls. The best thing is that Azure can support multiple programming languages, frameworks, systems, and devices. This makes it easy to access Azure’s services and resources as long as you are connected to the internet.

What Is Azure Security Center?

The Azure security center is a unified security management system for Azure customers. Some of the benefits that organizations can get from Azure security centers are stated below.

◉ It provides visibility and control over the security of Azure resources.

◉ It strengthens the security posture by checking the cloud environment and helping customers understand their resources’ status and security.

◉ It protects hybrid workloads that are deployed in Azure or non-Azure environments and on the customer’s premises.

◉ It helps to detect and block cybersecurity threats.

How Does Azure Security Work?

The Microsoft Azure security infrastructure operates under a shared security responsibility model. This shows that security is a joint effort between Azure and its customers, excluding the on-premise setting where customers carry all the responsibilities. However, some Azure customer security responsibilities are transferred when customers move into the cloud.

Here is a breakdown of how the division of responsibilities changes across different cloud service models.

In infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Azure will take over physical security like networks, hosts, and datacenter.

In platform as a service (PaaS), Azure will take over the physical security and the operating system.

In software as a service (SaaS), Azure will take more responsibilities in different areas such as physical security, network controls, operating systems, and applications.

Top Azure Jobs That Can Help You Transform Your Career

Cloud Solution Architect

They help to design, build, test, secure, and maintain cloud solutions.

Average salary: $129,000

System Administrator

They help to monitor, implement, and maintain Microsoft Azure solutions.

Average salary: $66,000

Software Developer

They help in testing and documenting software for client applications. This includes writing codes, modifying, and debugging software for client applications.

Average salary: $74,000

Top Organizations That Implement Microsoft Azure

Some of the organizations that need Microsoft Azure are LinkedIn, Stack, eBay, Accenture, Delivery Hero, ViaVarjo, Hennge Microsoft, Dusterexperess, etc.

How Can Azure Training Help You Stand Out?

◉ It makes it easy to get hired and be productive faster.

◉ It helps to make you a vital asset for an organization and to enhance business growth.

◉ It helps to make professional highly efficiently and fit into any role in the organization.

◉ There is a high demand for cloud computing professionals by companies.

Microsoft Azure Training for Everyone

You can join the EC-Council’s CodeRed comprehensive cloud training to take the first step in equipping your organization’s workforce. Furthermore, this training guide comprises the end-to-end theoretical and practical knowledge you need to become an Azure professional. It will also guide you on the ways to pass Azure certification exams.

Identity & Access management – Azure Active directory –2020

Description

The Azure active directory is a comprehensive cloud solution that offers a set of capabilities for managing users and groups and securing access to applications. In this course, you will learn how to set up Azure AD and gets hands-on experience.

Exam AZ-301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design

This course is made for experienced IT professionals who intend to do AZ 301 exam while knowing IT operations such as virtualization, business continuity, networking, identity management, security, data management, disaster recovery, governance, and budgeting.

Note: you need to have prior knowledge of the AZ-300 Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies path to join the course.

AZ-103 / 104: Microsoft Azure Administrator Full Course

This course is designed mainly for professionals that are preparing for the AZ 103/104 exam. However, you can join if you want to become an Azure administrator. In this course, your knowledge of Azure infrastructure aspects like managing networks, VM creating, app deployment, monitoring, Azure AD, security, WAF, load balancer, autoscaling, etc. will be tested.

AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Certification

This course is for coaching candidates for the Azure Fundamentals certification. In the course, you will learn about the basic cloud fundamentals and how Microsoft Azure exemplifies those concepts. Furthermore, the course will provide you with the knowledge of core Azure services, SLA, cloud concepts, Azure pricing and lifecycle, and the fundamentals of cloud security, compliance, privacy, and trust.

Containers and Kubernetes on Azure

Containers are an evolutionary step used for running modern applications taken by Organizations, following DevOps principles and practices. It is regarded as a shift from traditional hosting of applications to deploying a single clustered cloud architecture. Among the popular container orchestrators is the Kubernetes, and it can be used to develop and manage applications.

Source: eccouncil.org

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