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Encryption at rest is a critical security feature that ensures your data is protected from unauthorized access when it is stored on disk. In Azure, there are multiple ways to configure encryption at rest, with two primary services: Azure Disk Encryption and Azure Storage Service Encryption. It is a fundamental aspect covered within the AZ-500 Microsoft Azure Security Technologies exam, where professionals learn how to implement platform protection, manage identity and access, secure data and applications, and manage security operations.
Azure Disk Encryption leverages the BitLocker feature of Windows and the dm-crypt feature of Linux to provide volume encryption for the OS and data disks. The encryption keys are managed in Azure Key Vault, allowing you to control and manage the keys.
To enable Azure Disk Encryption, follow these steps:
For example, to enable encryption using Azure PowerShell:
Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName ‘MyResourceGroup’ -VMName ‘MyVM’ -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl ‘https://mykeyvault.vault.azure.net/’ -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId ‘/subscriptions/{subscription-id}/resourceGroups/{resource-group-name}/providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/{KeyVault-name}’ -KeyVaultResourceId ‘/subscriptions/{subscription-id}/resourceGroups/{resource-group-name}/providers/Microsoft.KeyVault/vaults/{KeyVault-name}’
Azure Storage Service Encryption enables you to automatically encrypt your data before persisting it to Azure Managed Disks, Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files, or Azure Queue storage. It uses Storage Service Encryption with Microsoft-managed keys by default.
For enabling encryption and managing encryption keys in Azure Storage, you can follow these steps:
For example, to update a storage account to use customer-managed keys using Azure CLI:
az storage account update –name MyStorageAccount –resource-group MyResourceGroup –assign-identity
az keyvault set-policy –name MyKeyVault –spn $AZURE_CLIENT_ID –storage-permissions get unwrapKey wrapKey
az storage account update –name MyStorageAccount –resource-group MyResourceGroup –encryption-key-source Microsoft.Keyvault –encryption-key-vault https://mykeyvault.vault.azure.net/ –encryption-key-name myKey –encryption-key-version {key-version}
Feature | Azure Disk Encryption | Azure Storage Service Encryption |
---|---|---|
Supported Services | Azure Virtual Machines, Managed Disks | Azure Blobs, Files, Queues, Disks |
Encryption Library | BitLocker (Windows), dm-crypt (Linux) | Azure Storage Encryption Libraries |
Key Management | Azure Key Vault | Azure Key Vault, Managed Keys |
Encryption Scope | OS and Data Disks | Storage account level |
Integration | Requires VMs to be provisioned with AAD identity | Enabled by default, optional CMK |
Understanding these encryption methods and capabilities is essential for the AZ-500 exam, which includes objectives on configuring encryption settings, managing and configuring Key Vault, and implementing Azure AD identity protection. Being familiar with PowerShell and CLI commands, as presented in the examples, is also beneficial for the exam since practical implementation skills are often tested.
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Storage Service Encryption for data at rest is enabled by default for all new Azure storage accounts, protecting data by using 256-bit AES encryption, one of the strongest block ciphers available.
Answer: Azure Key Vault
Explanation: Azure Disk Encryption leverages Azure Key Vault to help you control and manage disk encryption keys and secrets, and to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of your data.
Answer: True
Explanation: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) helps protect Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance against the threat of malicious activity by encrypting data at rest.
Answer: Azure Storage
Explanation: Persistent volumes in Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) utilize Azure Storage and can be encrypted at rest using Azure Storage Service Encryption.
Answer: False
Explanation: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) can be enabled on an existing Azure SQL database, it’s not limited to the initial creation phase.
Answer: It requires Azure Key Vault, It supports encryption for both OS and data disks.
Explanation: Azure Disk Encryption uses Azure Key Vault to control and manage disk encryption keys and secrets, and supports the encryption of both operating system and data disks.
Answer: True
Explanation: Azure Blob Storage supports server-side encryption for data at rest (SSE) and also allows for client-side encryption, where data is encrypted before it’s uploaded to Azure Blob Storage.
Answer: TLS 2
Explanation: Azure File Sync uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) 2 to secure files during transmission, not for encryption at rest, but this ensures the security of the data while in transit.
Answer: False
Explanation: Azure Data Lake Store uses the same encryption at rest technology as Azure Blob Storage, which is Azure Storage Service Encryption.
Answer: Azure Storage Service Encryption, Client-side encryption
Explanation: Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) for data at rest is automatically enabled for Azure Table Storage. Additionally, client-side encryption can be used where data is encrypted before being sent to Azure Table Storage.
Answer: False
Explanation: Azure provides its own key management service through Azure Key Vault, which integrates with Azure SQL Database, SQL Managed Instance, and Azure Synapse Analytics for the management of encryption keys.
Answer: Azure Storage Service Encryption
Explanation: Azure Managed Disks are encrypted by default using Azure Storage Service Encryption (SSE) with platform-managed keys for data at rest.
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