Microsoft is about to extend Advanced Threat Protection for Azure Storage that holds documents held in Azure Files and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen 2.
“Today we’re excited to announce the preview of extending advanced threat protection for Azure Storage to support Azure Files and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 API, helping our customers to protect their data stored in file shares and data stores designed for enterprise big data analytics,” it was reported by Hasan Abo-Shally, Azure Security Center Product Manager, in a blog post. Abo-Shally further explained about the vision of providing extra security intelligence layer that would capture malware, which is sent to the cloud storage accounts.
Need for Azure File Storage
An estimate states, by the end of 2020, about 80% of organization work files will have been moved to the cloud. Big body enterprises are inclining day by day toward storing data on the cloud, looking for security and data protection, data modernization, and optimized cost and performance of IT operations.
The increasing demand has also contributed to the popularity of Azure Files Storage, which delivers secure, fully managed cloud-based files, and Server Message Block (SMB) sharing files that can also be stored on-site for efficiency and reliability.
With Azure Files, organizations benefit from a stable storage system that is massively scalable and globally accessible. Even with all these capabilities, it is still important to enhance cybersecurity, particularly with the rising complexity and sophistication of cyberattacks.
Besides, there is an increasing need for data stores designed for big data analytics and a need to support and handle large quantities of data. Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 includes a set of capabilities dedicated to big data analytics built on Azure Blob storage that focuses on performance, management, and security, supporting multiple petabytes of information while maintaining hundreds of gigabits.
Working of Threat Protection
As soon as the tool detects malicious activity, it alerts database administrators by sending an email along with a notification to the Azure Security Center. Besides, it will also recommend various methods to rectify the problem.
Among the various malicious activities that the tool is capable of monitoring are potential attempts at data exfiltration, persistence gain, data acquisition, discovery, or lateral movement through Azure cloud.
The company aired, all storage accounts with file shares and blob containers must have a preset option for handling malicious activities.
“With Azure Files, organizations get the added benefit of a secure storage infrastructure that is massively scalable and globally available. Even with all these capabilities, it’s still essential to bolster cybersecurity, especially with the growing complexity and sophistication of cyberattacks,” Abo-Shally concluded.