To make sure your data migration is safe and follows all the rules, we put together this checklist of best practices. It’s designed specifically for top managers who oversee Azure migrations. We focus on important things like stopping unauthorized access, protecting against malware, keeping sensitive data safe, and following all the legal rules. The primary goal of this guide is to avert potential legal penalties and safeguard against reputational risks.
Avoid potential legal penalties by following regional compliance laws
To safeguard your business from legal risks and uphold trust and reputation with customers, stakeholders, and investors, diligently adhere to regional compliance laws throughout the cloud migration process. For businesses in the EU, follow the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and in California, US, we comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Prioritize key provisions, such as ensuring users have the right to delete their personal data upon request, and strictly limiting the processing of data to what is necessary for each purpose. Meticulously document every step and maintain detailed logs to meet GDPR’s accountability standards. This thorough preparation will help you pass data protection audits by authorities (DPAs) smoothly, without facing any penalties.
Respond quickly to threats by implementing a cybersecurity framework
To improve response to threats, experts recommend adopting a proven cybersecurity framework. Frameworks like NIST, CIS, or ISO/IEC 27001 and 27002 give you a structured way to spot risks, deal with threats, and bounce back from incidents fast. They serve as detailed guides for responding to threats, which is particularly important for industries handling sensitive data or facing strict regulations, like finance, healthcare, and government sectors.
You can be flexible with frameworks like NIST, so you are able to tailor them to fit your specific needs and measure how effective your security program is. Intel using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework shows how it can benefit big companies and improve cybersecurity worldwide by speeding up best practices.
The NIST CSF can streamline threat responses, but achieving success relies on an experienced cloud team meticulously implementing and regularly updating it to stay abreast of emerging threats.
Reducing the risk of unauthorized breaches by using firewalls and private endpoints
Limited IP address access through firewall restrictions
Secure your data by deploying firewalls that control access to authorized IP addresses throughout and after the migration process.
To achieve this, establish an “allow list” to permit access exclusively to personnel from your company’s designated locations and authorized remote workers. When a user attempts to connect to your database, their IP address is verified against the firewall’s whitelist. If there’s a match, the connection is allowed; otherwise, the request is denied.
Regularly review and update firewall rules throughout the migration process. This flexibility is crucial because different migration stages may necessitate varying access levels and controls. To handle this, utilize the Azure Portal’s user-friendly interface for creating, reviewing, and updating firewall rules. For more advanced control, PowerShell offers scripting capabilities, enabling automation and management of firewall settings across multiple databases or resources.
Restricting external access to your data using Azure Private Endpoints
When migrating to Azure, your company’s database could become accessible over the internet, posing security risks. To mitigate this and enhance network security, utilize tools such as Azure Private Endpoint. This service establishes a private connection between your database and Azure services, enabling access without exposing them to the public internet.
Verifying user identities before granting access to sensitive data through stringent authentication
Firewalls and private endpoints represent the initial steps in securing your data against external threats. The next step in security is making sure only the right people can access your sensitive business data and services by confirming their identity.
We recommend utilizing Azure Active Directory (AD) for user authentication. Azure AD offers different ways to confirm your identity, like logging in with your Azure credentials or using Multi-factor Authentication (MFA). MFA necessitates additional verification, such as receiving a code via SMS, phone call, or email.
Although Multi-factor authentication boosts security, it may inconvenience users with extra steps and a complex login process, or by requiring confirmation on another device. Select MFA techniques that strike a balance between top security and user-friendliness, such as push notifications or biometrics, and seamlessly integrate them into daily operations.
Actively identifying threats through routine automated audits
Now that your cloud environment is secured with access controls and compliance protocols, the next step is to implement strong threat detection measures. Leverage tools from the Azure Security Center, like Advanced Threat Detection and Vulnerability Assessment, to automate the analysis and protection of your Azure data.
For example, your team can set up threat detection to notify you about unusual activities, like repeated failed login attempts or access from unrecognized locations, which could suggest attempted breaches. When an alert is triggered, it offers details and potential solutions through integration with the Azure Security Center.
You can also automate the detection and resolution of weaknesses in your database using the Vulnerability Assessment service. It scans your Azure databases for security issues, system misconfigurations, unnecessary permissions, unsecured data, firewall and endpoint rules, as well as server-level permissions.
Having skilled personnel is really important for making the most of automated threat detection tools. Their effectiveness depends on setting them up right and checking alerts regularly to make sure they’re correct.
