Enable Defender for Storage and CSPM Plan
Implementation Effort: Medium — Requires IT and Security teams to configure Defender plans at the subscription level and ensure proper permissions for enabling advanced features.
User Impact: Low — These configurations are handled by administrators and do not require end-user involvement.
Overview
Enabling Microsoft Defender for Storage and the Defender Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) plan ensures comprehensive protection for your storage workloads and improves your overall cloud security posture.
Defender for Storage provides threat detection for Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files, and Data Lake Storage. It includes features like malware scanning, sensitive data threat detection, and anomaly detection. You can enable it via the Azure portal at the storage account or subscription level.
Defender CSPM enhances visibility and governance across your cloud environment. It includes:
- Secure Score for posture assessment
- Regulatory compliance tracking
- Attack path analysis
- Agentless scanning (requires Subscription Owner permissions)
- Cloud security explorer
To enable these:
- Go to Microsoft Defender for Cloud in the Azure portal.
- Select Environment settings.
- Choose your subscription.
- On the Defender plans page, toggle Defender for Storage and Defender CSPM to On.
- Click Save.
If these plans are not enabled, your organization may lack visibility into misconfigurations, threats, and compliance gaps, especially in multicloud or hybrid environments.
This deployment supports the Zero Trust principle of "Assume Breach" by proactively detecting threats and continuously assessing security posture.