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Azure security baseline for Azure Virtual Desktop

  • Artikkeli

This security baseline applies guidance from the Microsoft cloud security benchmark version 1.0 to Azure Virtual Desktop. The Microsoft cloud security benchmark provides recommendations on how you can secure your cloud solutions on Azure. The content is grouped by the security controls defined by the Microsoft cloud security benchmark and the related guidance applicable to Azure Virtual Desktop.

You can monitor this security baseline and its recommendations using Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Azure Policy definitions will be listed in the Regulatory Compliance section of the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal page.

When a feature has relevant Azure Policy Definitions, they are listed in this baseline to help you measure compliance with the Microsoft cloud security benchmark controls and recommendations. Some recommendations may require a paid Microsoft Defender plan to enable certain security scenarios.

Note

Features not applicable to Azure Virtual Desktop have been excluded. To see how Azure Virtual Desktop completely maps to the Microsoft cloud security benchmark, see the full Azure Virtual Desktop security baseline mapping file.

Security profile

The security profile summarizes high-impact behaviors of Azure Virtual Desktop, which may result in increased security considerations.

Service Behavior Attribute Value
Product Category Virtual Desktop
Customer can access HOST / OS Full Access
Service can be deployed into customer's virtual network False
Stores customer content at rest False

Network security

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Network security.

NS-1: Establish network segmentation boundaries

Features

Virtual Network Integration

Description: Service supports deployment into customer's private Virtual Network (VNet). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Feature notes: Virtual machines within the host pool must be placed in a virtual network.

Configuration Guidance: Deploy the service into a virtual network. Assign private IPs to the resource (where applicable) unless there is a strong reason to assign public IPs directly to the resource.

Reference: Tutorial: Create a host pool

Network Security Group Support

Description: Service network traffic respects Network Security Groups rule assignment on its subnets. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Feature notes: Virtual machines used within the host pool support use of network security groups.

Configuration Guidance: Use network security groups (NSG) to restrict or monitor traffic by port, protocol, source IP address, or destination IP address. Create NSG rules to restrict your service's open ports (such as preventing management ports from being accessed from untrusted networks). Be aware that by default, NSGs deny all inbound traffic but allow traffic from virtual network and Azure Load Balancers.

Reference: Tutorial: Create a host pool

NS-2: Secure cloud services with network controls

Features

Description: Service native IP filtering capability for filtering network traffic (not to be confused with NSG or Azure Firewall). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Feature notes: Private link with Azure Virtual Desktop is currently in preview.

Configuration Guidance: Deploy private endpoints for all Azure resources that support the Private Link feature, to establish a private access point for the resources.

Reference: Use Azure Private Link with Azure Virtual Desktop (preview)

Disable Public Network Access

Description: Service supports disabling public network access either through using service-level IP ACL filtering rule (not NSG or Azure Firewall) or using a 'Disable Public Network Access' toggle switch. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Identity management

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Identity management.

IM-1: Use centralized identity and authentication system

Features

Azure AD Authentication Required for Data Plane Access

Description: Service supports using Azure AD authentication for data plane access. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) as the default authentication method to control your data plane access.

Reference: Azure AD join for Azure Virtual Desktop

IM-3: Manage application identities securely and automatically

Features

Managed Identities

Description: Data plane actions support authentication using managed identities. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Azure managed identities instead of service principals when possible, which can authenticate to Azure services and resources that support Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) authentication. Managed identity credentials are fully managed, rotated, and protected by the platform, avoiding hard-coded credentials in source code or configuration files.

Reference: Set up managed identities

Service Principals

Description: Data plane supports authentication using service principals. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: There is no current Microsoft guidance for this feature configuration. Please review and determine if your organization wants to configure this security feature.

Reference: Tutorial: Create service principals and role assignments with PowerShell in Azure Virtual Desktop (classic)

IM-7: Restrict resource access based on conditions

Features

Conditional Access for Data Plane

Description: Data plane access can be controlled using Azure AD Conditional Access Policies. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Define the applicable conditions and criteria for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) conditional access in the workload. Consider common use cases such as blocking or granting access from specific locations, blocking risky sign-in behavior, or requiring organization-managed devices for specific applications.

Reference: Enable Conditional Access

IM-8: Restrict the exposure of credential and secrets

Features

Service Credential and Secrets Support Integration and Storage in Azure Key Vault

Description: Data plane supports native use of Azure Key Vault for credential and secrets store. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Privileged access

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Privileged access.

PA-1: Separate and limit highly privileged/administrative users

Features

Local Admin Accounts

Description: Service has the concept of a local administrative account. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Feature notes: A local virtual machine administrator account is created for virtual machines that are added to the host pool. Avoid the usage of local authentication methods or accounts, these should be disabled wherever possible. Instead use Azure AD to authenticate where possible.

Configuration Guidance: If not required for routine administrative operations, disable or restrict any local admin accounts for only emergency use.

PA-7: Follow just enough administration (least privilege) principle

Features

Azure RBAC for Data Plane

Description: Azure Role-Based Access Control (Azure RBAC) can be used to managed access to service's data plane actions. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Azure role-based access control (Azure RBAC) to manage Azure resource access through built-in role assignments. Azure RBAC roles can be assigned to users, groups, service principals, and managed identities.

Reference: Built-in Azure RBAC roles for Azure Virtual Desktop

PA-8: Determine access process for cloud provider support

Features

Customer Lockbox

Description: Customer Lockbox can be used for Microsoft support access. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Data protection

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Data protection.

DP-1: Discover, classify, and label sensitive data

Features

Sensitive Data Discovery and Classification

Description: Tools (such as Azure Purview or Azure Information Protection) can be used for data discovery and classification in the service. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Feature notes: Use Azure Information Protection (and its associated scanning tool) for sensitive information within Office documents on Azure, on-premises, Office 365 and other locations.

Configuration Guidance: Use tools such as Azure Purview, Azure Information Protection, and Azure SQL Data Discovery and Classification to centrally scan, classify and label any sensitive data that resides in Azure, on-premises, Microsoft 365, or other locations.

DP-2: Monitor anomalies and threats targeting sensitive data

Features

Data Leakage/Loss Prevention

Description: Service supports DLP solution to monitor sensitive data movement (in customer's content). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Microsoft

Feature notes: Use data loss prevention solutions, such as host-based ones, to enforce detective and/or preventative controls to prevent data exfiltration.

Solutions such as DLP for Microsoft Azure may also be used for your Virtual Desktop Environment. For more information, please visit: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for Microsoft Azure Azure Information protection (AIP) provides monitoring capabilities for information that has been classified and labeled.

Configuration Guidance: If required for compliance of data loss prevention (DLP), you can use a host based DLP solution from Azure Marketplace or a Microsoft 365 DLP solution to enforce detective and/or preventative controls to prevent data exfiltration.

DP-3: Encrypt sensitive data in transit

Features

Data in Transit Encryption

Description: Service supports data in-transit encryption for data plane. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Networking

DP-4: Enable data at rest encryption by default

Features

Data at Rest Encryption Using Platform Keys

Description: Data at-rest encryption using platform keys is supported, any customer content at rest is encrypted with these Microsoft managed keys. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Data protection

DP-5: Use customer-managed key option in data at rest encryption when required

Features

Data at Rest Encryption Using CMK

Description: Data at-rest encryption using customer-managed keys is supported for customer content stored by the service. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

DP-6: Use a secure key management process

Features

Key Management in Azure Key Vault

Description: The service supports Azure Key Vault integration for any customer keys, secrets, or certificates. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

DP-7: Use a secure certificate management process

Features

Certificate Management in Azure Key Vault

Description: The service supports Azure Key Vault integration for any customer certificates. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Asset management

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Asset management.

AM-2: Use only approved services

Features

Azure Policy Support

Description: Service configurations can be monitored and enforced via Azure Policy. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to configure Azure Policy to audit and enforce configurations of your Azure resources. Use Azure Monitor to create alerts when there is a configuration deviation detected on the resources. Use Azure Policy [deny] and [deploy if not exists] effects to enforce secure configuration across Azure resources.

Reference: Azure security baseline for Azure Virtual Desktop

AM-5: Use only approved applications in virtual machine

Features

Microsoft Defender for Cloud - Adaptive Application Controls

Description: Service can limit what customer applications run on the virtual machine using Adaptive Application Controls in Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Feature notes: Though Adaptive Application Control through Microsoft Defender for Cloud is not supported, when choosing a deployment model, you can either provide remote users access to entire virtual desktops or only select applications. Remote applications, or RemoteApps, provide a seamless experience as the user works with apps on their virtual desktop. RemoteApps reduce risk by only letting the user work with a subset of the remote machine exposed by the application.

For more information, please visit: Use Remote Apps

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Logging and threat detection

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Logging and threat detection.

LT-1: Enable threat detection capabilities

Features

Microsoft Defender for Service / Product Offering

Description: Service has an offering-specific Microsoft Defender solution to monitor and alert on security issues. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) as the default authentication method to control your management plane access. When you get an alert from Microsoft Defender for Key Vault, investigate and respond to the alert.

Reference: Onboard Windows devices in Azure Virtual Desktop

LT-4: Enable logging for security investigation

Features

Azure Resource Logs

Description: Service produces resource logs that can provide enhanced service-specific metrics and logging. The customer can configure these resource logs and send them to their own data sink like a storage account or log analytics workspace. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Enable resource logs for the service. For example, Key Vault supports additional resource logs for actions that get a secret from a key vault or and Azure SQL has resource logs that track requests to a database. The content of resource logs varies by the Azure service and resource type.

Reference: Push diagnostics data to your workspace

Posture and vulnerability management

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Posture and vulnerability management.

PV-3: Define and establish secure configurations for compute resources

Features

Azure Automation State Configuration

Description: Azure Automation State Configuration can be used to maintain the security configuration of the operating system. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Azure Policy Guest Configuration Agent

Description: Azure Policy guest configuration agent can be installed or deployed as an extension to compute resources. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Custom VM Images

Description: Service supports using user-supplied VM images or pre-built images from the marketplace with certain baseline configurations pre-applied. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use a pre-configured hardened image from a trusted supplier such as Microsoft or build a desired secure configuration baseline into the VM image template

Reference: Operating systems and licenses

Custom Containers Images

Description: Service supports using user-supplied container images or pre-built images from the marketplace with certain baseline configurations pre-applied. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

PV-5: Perform vulnerability assessments

Features

Vulnerability Assessment using Microsoft Defender

Description: Service can be scanned for vulnerability scan using Microsoft Defender for Cloud or other Microsoft Defender services embedded vulnerability assessment capability (including Microsoft Defender for server, container registry, App Service, SQL, and DNS). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Follow recommendations from Microsoft Defender for Cloud for performing vulnerability assessments on your Azure virtual machines, container images, and SQL servers.

Reference: Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud

PV-6: Rapidly and automatically remediate vulnerabilities

Features

Azure Automation Update Management

Description: Service can use Azure Automation Update Management to deploy patches and updates automatically. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Endpoint security

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Endpoint security.

ES-1: Use Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Features

EDR Solution

Description: Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) feature such as Azure Defender for servers can be deployed into the endpoint. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Azure Defender for servers (with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint integrated) provides EDR capability to prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats. Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to deploy Azure Defender for servers for your endpoint and integrate the alerts to your SIEM solution such as Azure Sentinel.

Reference: Enable endpoint protection

ES-2: Use modern anti-malware software

Features

Anti-Malware Solution

Description: Anti-malware feature such as Microsoft Defender Antivirus, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can be deployed on the endpoint. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: For Windows Server 2016 and above, Microsoft Defender for Antivirus is installed by default. For Windows Server 2012 R2 and above, customers can install SCEP (System Center Endpoint Protection). For Linux, customers can have the choice of installing Microsoft Defender for Linux. Alternatively, customers also have the choice of installing third-party anti-malware products.

Reference: Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud

ES-3: Ensure anti-malware software and signatures are updated

Features

Anti-Malware Solution Health Monitoring

Description: Anti-malware solution provides health status monitoring for platform, engine, and automatic signature updates. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Configure your anti-malware solution to ensure the platform, engine and signatures are updated rapidly and consistently and their status can be monitored.

Reference: Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Backup and recovery

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Backup and recovery.

BR-1: Ensure regular automated backups

Features

Azure Backup

Description: The service can be backed up by the Azure Backup service. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Enable Azure Backup and configure the backup source (such as Azure Virtual Machines, SQL Server, HANA databases, or File Shares) on a desired frequency and with a desired retention period. For Azure Virtual Machines, you can use Azure Policy to enable automatic backups.

Reference: How does Azure Virtual Desktop handle backups?

Service Native Backup Capability

Description: Service supports its own native backup capability (if not using Azure Backup). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Feature notes: Azure Virtual Desktop leverages Azure Backup.

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

Next steps