Azure security baseline for Machine Learning Service

This security baseline applies guidance from the Microsoft cloud security benchmark version 1.0 to Machine Learning Service. 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 Machine Learning Service.

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 Machine Learning Service have been excluded. To see how Machine Learning Service completely maps to the Microsoft cloud security benchmark, see the full Machine Learning Service security baseline mapping file.

Security profile

The security profile summarizes high-impact behaviors of Machine Learning Service, which may result in increased security considerations.

Service Behavior Attribute	Value
Product Category	AI+ML
Customer can access HOST / OS	Full Access
Service can be deployed into customer's virtual network	True
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	Shared

Configuration Guidance: Use managed network isolation to provide automated network isolation experience.

Note: You can also use your virtual network for Azure Machine Learning resources, but several computing types are not supported.

Reference: Secure Azure Machine Learning workspace resources using virtual networks (VNets)

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	Shared

Configuration Guidance: Use managed network isolation to provide automated network isolation experience which includes inbound and outbound configurations using NSG.

Note: 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: Plan for network isolation

NS-2: Secure cloud services with network controls

Features

Azure Private Link

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

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: Configure a private endpoint for an Azure Machine Learning workspace

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
True	False	Customer

Configuration Guidance: Disable public network access either using the service-level IP ACL filtering rule or a toggling switch for public network access.

Reference: Configure a private endpoint for an Azure Machine Learning workspace

Microsoft Defender for Cloud monitoring

Azure Policy built-in definitions - Microsoft.MachineLearningServices:

Name (Azure portal)	Description	Effect(s)	Version (GitHub)
Azure Machine Learning Computes should be in a virtual network	Azure Virtual Networks provide enhanced security and isolation for your Azure Machine Learning Compute Clusters and Instances, as well as subnets, access control policies, and other features to further restrict access. When a compute is configured with a virtual network, it is not publicly addressable and can only be accessed from virtual machines and applications within the virtual network.	Audit, Disabled	1.0.1

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	True	Microsoft

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

Reference: Set up authentication for Azure Machine Learning resources and workflows

Local Authentication Methods for Data Plane Access

Description: Local authentications methods supported for data plane access, such as a local username and password. Learn more.

Supported	Enabled By Default	Configuration Responsibility
False	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

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

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 authentication between Azure Machine Learning and other services

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: Set up authentication between Azure Machine Learning and other services

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: Use 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
True	False	Customer

Configuration Guidance: Ensure that secrets and credentials are stored in secure locations such as Azure Key Vault, instead of embedding them into code or configuration files.

Reference: Use authentication credential secrets in Azure Machine Learning jobs

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
False	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

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

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: Manage access to an Azure Machine Learning workspace

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

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.

Reference: Connect to and manage Azure Machine Learning in Microsoft Purview

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	Customer

Configuration Guidance: If required for compliance of data loss prevention (DLP), you can use a data exfiltration protection configuration. Managed network isolation also supports data exfiltration protection.

Reference: Azure Machine Learning data exfiltration prevention

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

Feature notes: Azure Machine Learning uses TLS to secure internal communication between various Azure Machine Learning microservices. All Azure Storage access also occurs over a secure channel.

For information on how to secure a Kubernetes online endpoint that's created through Azure Machine Learning, please visit: Configure a secure online endpoint with TLS/SSL

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

Reference: Encryption in transit

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 encryption with Azure Machine Learning

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
True	False	Customer

Configuration Guidance: If required for regulatory compliance, define the use case and service scope where encryption using customer-managed keys are needed. Enable and implement data at rest encryption using customer-managed key for those services.

Reference: Customer-managed keys for Azure Machine Learning

Microsoft Defender for Cloud monitoring

Azure Policy built-in definitions - Microsoft.MachineLearningServices:

Name (Azure portal)	Description	Effect(s)	Version (GitHub)
Azure Machine Learning workspaces should be encrypted with a customer-managed key	Manage encryption at rest of Azure Machine Learning workspace data with customer-managed keys. By default, customer data is encrypted with service-managed keys, but customer-managed keys are commonly required to meet regulatory compliance standards. Customer-managed keys enable the data to be encrypted with an Azure Key Vault key created and owned by you. You have full control and responsibility for the key lifecycle, including rotation and management. Learn more at https://aka.ms/azureml-workspaces-cmk.	Audit, Deny, Disabled	1.0.3

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
True	False	Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Azure Key Vault to create and control the life cycle of your encryption keys, including key generation, distribution, and storage. Rotate and revoke your keys in Azure Key Vault and your service based on a defined schedule or when there is a key retirement or compromise. When there is a need to use customer-managed key (CMK) in the workload, service, or application level, ensure you follow the best practices for key management: Use a key hierarchy to generate a separate data encryption key (DEK) with your key encryption key (KEK) in your key vault. Ensure keys are registered with Azure Key Vault and referenced via key IDs from the service or application. If you need to bring your own key (BYOK) to the service (such as importing HSM-protected keys from your on-premises HSMs into Azure Key Vault), follow recommended guidelines to perform initial key generation and key transfer.

Reference: Customer-managed keys for Azure Machine Learning

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 Policy built-in policy definitions for Azure Machine Learning

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

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
False	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

Feature notes: If using your own custom containers or clusters for Azure Machine Learning, you should enable scanning of your Azure Container Registry resource and Azure Kubernetes Service resources through Microsoft Defender for Cloud. However, Microsoft Defender for Cloud cannot be used on Azure Machine Learning managed compute instances or compute clusters.

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

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: Monitor Azure Machine Learning

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
True	False	Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Azure Policy guest configuration agent to regularly assess and remediate configuration deviations on your Azure compute resources, including VMs, containers, and others.

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
False	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

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

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
True	False	Customer

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

Reference: Train a model by using a custom Docker image

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
False	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

Feature notes: Defender for Server agent installation is currently not supported, however Trivy may be installed on the compute instances to discover OS and Python package level vulnerabilities.

For more information, please visit: Vulnerability management for Azure Machine Learning

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

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

Feature notes: Compute clusters automatically upgrade to the latest VM image. If the cluster is configured with min nodes = 0, it automatically upgrades nodes to the latest VM image version when all jobs are completed and the cluster reduces to zero nodes.

Compute instances get the latest VM images at the time of provisioning. Microsoft releases new VM images on a monthly basis. Once a compute instance is deployed, it does not get actively updated. To keep current with the latest software updates and security patches, you could:

1. Recreate a compute instance to get the latest OS image (recommended)

2. Alternatively, regularly update OS and Python packages.

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
False	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

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

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: ClamAV may be used to discover malware and comes pre-installed on compute instance.

Reference: Vulnerability management on compute hosts

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: ClamAV may be used to discover malware and comes pre-installed on compute instance.

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
False	Not Applicable	Not Applicable

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

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

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

Next steps

• See the Microsoft cloud security benchmark overview
• Learn more about Azure security baselines