Determine Ownership
Implementation Effort: Medium – This requires coordination across multiple security and IT teams to define and document responsibilities, especially in multicloud or hybrid environments.
User Impact: Low – This is an internal alignment activity among administrators and security teams; end users are not directly affected.
Overview
Determining ownership in Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a foundational step in building a secure and well-governed cloud environment. It involves identifying which teams are responsible for various security functions such as server endpoint protection, incident response, identity management, and compliance. This is especially important in multicloud or hybrid environments where responsibilities may span across different departments or cloud providers.
Clear ownership ensures accountability, reduces friction between teams, and prevents delays in security approvals or incident response. Without defined ownership, organizations risk misconfigurations, delayed threat response, and insecure deployments. This activity supports the Zero Trust principle of "Assume Breach" by ensuring that roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, enabling faster containment and response when incidents occur.