Security recommendations and score in Azure - Commands & Configuration

Introduction

Security recommendations and score help you find and fix security problems in your cloud resources. They show how safe your setup is and suggest ways to improve it.

When you want to check if your cloud resources follow security best practices.

When you need to find weak spots in your Azure environment before attackers do.

When you want to improve your security by following clear, actionable advice.

When you want to track your security progress over time with a score.

When you need to report security status to your team or manager.

Commands

This command lists all security assessments for your Azure subscriptions, showing their names, current status, and the resource they apply to. It helps you see what security checks are active.

Terminal

az security assessment list --query '[].{Name:name, Status:status.code, Resource:resourceDetails.id}'

Expected Output

[{"Name":"Enable MFA on accounts","Status":"Healthy","Resource":"/subscriptions/12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc/resourceGroups/myResourceGroup/providers/Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/myVM"},{"Name":"Use secure transfer for storage accounts","Status":"Unhealthy","Resource":"/subscriptions/12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc/resourceGroups/myResourceGroup/providers/Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/mystorage"}]

→

--query - Filters and formats the output to show only important fields.

This command shows compliance assessments, which check if your resources meet specific security standards. It helps you understand your compliance status.

Terminal

az security regulatory-compliance-assessment list --query '[].{Name:name, Status:status.code}'

Expected Output

[{"Name":"PCI DSS 3.2.1","Status":"Passed"},{"Name":"ISO 27001","Status":"Failed"}]

→

--query - Simplifies output to show only the name and status of each compliance assessment.

This command displays your current security score, which is a number showing how well your Azure environment follows security best practices.

Terminal

az security score show

Expected Output

{"score":75,"maxScore":100,"percentage":75,"categoryScores":[{"categoryName":"Identity","score":80},{"categoryName":"Data","score":70},{"categoryName":"Network","score":75}]}

Key Concept

If you remember nothing else from this pattern, remember: security recommendations show what to fix, and the security score shows how safe your cloud is overall.

Common Mistakes

Ignoring the security recommendations and not acting on them.

This leaves your cloud resources vulnerable to attacks and compliance failures.

Regularly review and fix the recommendations to improve your security score.

Running commands without specifying the right subscription or permissions.

You might see no results or incomplete data, missing important security issues.

Make sure you are logged in with the right account and have selected the correct subscription using 'az account set --subscription <subscription-id>'.

Summary

Use 'az security assessment list' to see current security checks and their status.

Use 'az security regulatory-compliance-assessment list' to check compliance with standards.

Use 'az security score show' to get an overall security score for your Azure environment.

Practice

1. What does the Azure security score represent?

easy

A. A number showing how well your cloud resources are protected

B. The total cost of your Azure services

C. The number of users in your Azure subscription

D. The amount of storage used in your Azure account

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the purpose of security score

   The security score is designed to give a simple measure of how secure your cloud environment is.

2. Step 2: Identify what the score reflects

   It reflects how many security recommendations you have fixed and how protected your resources are.

3. Final Answer:

   A number showing how well your cloud resources are protected -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Security score = protection level [OK]

Hint: Security score measures protection level, not cost or users [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Confusing security score with cost or usage metrics
• Thinking it counts users or storage instead of security
• Assuming it is a percentage instead of a score

2. Which Azure CLI command shows your current security recommendations and score?

easy

A. az vm list

B. az network vnet list

C. az storage account show

D. az security assessment list

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the command related to security

   The command to get security recommendations and score is under the 'security' group in Azure CLI.

2. Step 2: Match the command to the correct syntax

   'az security assessment list' lists security assessments and recommendations.

3. Final Answer:

   az security assessment list -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Security info = az security assessment list [OK]

Hint: Security commands start with az security [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing commands unrelated to security
• Confusing VM or storage commands with security commands
• Using commands that list resources but not security info

3. You run az security assessment list and see 5 recommendations. After fixing 3, what happens to your security score?

medium

A. It resets to zero automatically

B. It increases because you fixed some recommendations

C. It stays the same because score does not change

D. It decreases because you had recommendations

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand how fixing recommendations affects score

   Fixing security recommendations improves your protection, so the score should increase.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect options

   The score does not decrease or reset to zero when fixing issues; it reflects improvement.

3. Final Answer:

   It increases because you fixed some recommendations -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Fixing issues = score up [OK]

Hint: Fixing recommendations raises your security score [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking score decreases when fixing issues
• Believing score stays constant regardless of fixes
• Assuming score resets after changes

4. You tried to run az security assessment list but got an error saying 'command not found'. What is the likely cause?

medium

A. Azure CLI is not installed or not updated

B. You typed the command correctly but your internet is off

C. Your subscription has no virtual machines

D. You need to run the command inside a virtual machine

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze the error message

   'Command not found' usually means the CLI tool or extension is missing or outdated.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   Internet off would cause different errors; subscription content or VM location does not cause 'command not found'.

3. Final Answer:

   Azure CLI is not installed or not updated -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Command not found = CLI missing or outdated [OK]

Hint: Command not found means CLI missing or outdated [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming internet off causes 'command not found'
• Thinking subscription content affects command availability
• Trying to run commands only inside VMs

5. Your Azure security score is low due to many open ports on virtual machines. What is the best way to improve your score?

hard

A. Add more storage accounts

B. Increase the size of your virtual machines

C. Close unnecessary ports using network security groups

D. Create more virtual networks

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the security risk

   Open ports increase attack surface; closing unnecessary ports reduces risk.

2. Step 2: Choose the best action to reduce risk

   Network security groups control ports; closing ports improves security score.

3. Step 3: Eliminate unrelated options

   Increasing VM size, adding storage, or creating networks do not reduce open ports or improve security score.

4. Final Answer:

   Close unnecessary ports using network security groups -> Option C

5. Quick Check:

   Close ports = better security score [OK]

Hint: Close open ports with security groups to boost score [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking bigger VMs improve security score
• Adding storage or networks unrelated to port security
• Ignoring network security group rules