InfoQ had the exclusive opportunity to speak with Microsoft executive vice president Scott Guthrie to discuss Microsoft Azure and his recent Red Shirt Dev Tours. Yesterday we talked about Azure’s ability to provide Custom Dashboards that allow developers to create custom task workflows and how the Azure Monitor provides detailed views of Azure’s operations.
Today we will look at the Azure Security Center and how the Role Based Access Controls can benefit developers. For each of these Azure components there is a short video snippet from Guthrie’s Red Shirt tour – edited to provide readers with just the information they need. Guthrie joins InfoQ to provide greater context on the video presentations that demonstrate these concepts in action.
InfoQ: Is it possible for these Recommendations and alerts to be applied via scripting? Or to "trust" the Recommendations / alerts suggested to be added automatically via subscription?
Scott Guthrie: Microsoft security researchers are continuously adding and enhancing the security analytics in Azure Security Center to address new attack vectors automatically. These analytics power Azure Security Center threat detections (alerts and incidents) and security recommendations. Both alerts and recommendations are available via the REST API, and customers can use a number of mechanisms to automate remediation, including scripting, Azure Automation, or Azure Logic Apps. Azure Security Center is also developing additional capabilities for automating and orchestrating response, such as pre-configured playbooks for common scenarios.
Role Based Access Control
InfoQ: Are there key takeaways a developer should receive after viewing this?
Guthrie: Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) offers fine-grained access management for Azure. RBAC is a core piece of the platform and is available in a consistent location in every resource management screen (it is typically the 3rd element in the menu on the left side). By using RBAC you can secure access to your Azure resources. The portal experience has been recently revamped based on all the feedback we got from customers. Using RBAC to configure access to your Azure resources is a best practice.
InfoQ: What are some of the biggest benefits / positive surprises that .NET developers see when moving to Azure from traditional desktop / web apps?
Guthrie: .NET developers are going to be most productive in Azure cloud compared to any other environment for the following reasons:
- Really fine-tuned development and hosting experiences for .Net developers, including the ability to code, deploy, debug, and run to Azure services from Visual Studio set of products (best IDE, CI/CD, Diagnostics platform).
- Enterprise class SLA for a spectrum of IaaS and PaaS Services like Azure App Service for web and mobile apps.
- Azure Service Fabric is the only complete microservices platform for .Net developers enabling different execution environments including containers on Windows and Linux.
- Out of cloud connectors from your app to everything else through Azure Logic Apps.
- Industry leading serverless capability with Azure Functions.
- Best in class worldwide reach with DCs in 40 regions and market leading security & compliance record.
- Ability to sell your apps through Azure and Azure stack Marketplace.
Thanks again Scott for agreeing to this interview.