Determine Storage Workload Protection Requirements
Implementation Effort: Medium — Requires IT and Security teams to assess storage account configurations, apply policies, and monitor alerts across subscriptions.
User Impact: Low — Protection is applied at the infrastructure level; end users are not directly impacted or required to take action.
Overview
Microsoft Defender for Storage is a native Azure security solution that protects storage workloads such as Azure Blob Storage, Azure Files, and Azure Data Lake Storage. It provides advanced threat detection capabilities including malware scanning, sensitive data threat detection, and activity monitoring. These features help identify and mitigate risks such as malicious uploads, data exfiltration, and unauthorized access.
To determine protection requirements, organizations must evaluate the sensitivity of data stored, the threat landscape, and compliance needs. Defender for Storage can be enabled at the subscription or resource level, and policies can be enforced using Azure Policy. If not properly configured, storage accounts may become vulnerable to malware, data leaks, or misuse, potentially leading to compliance violations or data breaches.
This capability supports the Zero Trust principle of "Assume Breach" by continuously monitoring for threats and anomalies in storage access and usage patterns.