AZ-500 Microsoft Azure Security Technologies Exam

Secure Score Analysis and Remediation

Microsoft Defender for Cloud uses the Secure Score to give you a clear picture of your Azure security posture. This score adds up points for good practices and subtracts points for risky configurations. A higher Secure Score means your environment is more secure. By regularly checking your score, you can spot weak spots before they become real threats.

The first step is to interpret control assessments. Defender for Cloud looks at your settings and flags any misconfigurations or vulnerabilities. Misconfigurations might include open network ports or weak access policies, while vulnerabilities could be outdated software or known exploits. Each finding is tied to a specific security control so you know exactly what to fix.

Next, you link these assessments with the Resource Inventory to identify which assets are at risk. The Resource Inventory lists all your Azure resources along with their current state. By mapping poor control scores to specific servers, databases, or storage accounts, you can focus on the highest-risk items first. This cross-reference ensures you won’t miss any exposed vulnerabilities.

Once you know what to fix, you apply remediation through policy-driven or automated playbooks. Typical steps include:

• Review Findings: Examine the detailed recommendations for each control.
• Apply Fixes: Use Azure policies or scripts to enforce secure settings.
• Validate Results: Check your score again to confirm the improvements. These actions help you move from identifying risks to resolving them quickly and consistently.

Finally, set a baseline to track security over time. Your baseline represents the ideal configuration you want to maintain. By monitoring deviations from this baseline, Defender for Cloud can alert you when drift occurs. This lets you see how each change affects your security posture and ensures continuous improvement.

Conclusion

In this section, we explored how Microsoft Defender for Cloud’s Secure Score and Resource Inventory work together to reveal security risks in Azure. You learned how to interpret control assessments, map findings to real resources, and use policy-driven or automated playbooks for remediation. Setting a baseline and continuously tracking your score helps maintain a strong security posture over time. By following these steps, you can proactively identify, prioritize, and fix risks to keep your Azure environment secure.