Microsoft™ understands that for you to realize the benefits of the cloud, you must be willing to entrust your cloud provider with one of your most valuable assets—your data. If you invest in a cloud service, you must be able to trust that your customer data is safe, that the privacy of your data is protected, and that you retain ownership of and control over your data—that it will only be used in a way that is consistent with your expectations. Microsoft’s™ long experience running online services has involved extensive investment in foundational technology that builds security and privacy into the development process. Over time, Microsoft™ developed industry leading security measures and privacy policies, and participated in international compliance programs with independent verification of how we measure up. Managing threats to protect against online threats, Microsoft Azure™ offers Microsoft Antimalware™ for cloud services and virtual machines. Microsoft™ also employs intrusion detection, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack prevention, regular penetration testing, and data analytics and machine learning tools to help mitigate threats to the Azure platform.

Microsoft Azure™ provides the infrastructure necessary to securely connect virtual machines to one another and to connect on premises data centers with Microsoft Azure™ VMs. Microsoft Azure™ blocks unauthorized traffic to and within Microsoft™ datacenters, using a variety of technologies. Microsoft Azure Virtual Network™ extends your on premises network to the cloud through site to site VPN. Microsoft Azure™ meets a broad set of international and industry specific compliance standards, such as ISO 27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 1 and SOC 2, as well as country specific standards like Australia IRAP, UK G—Cloud™, and Singapore MTCS. Rigorous third—party audits, such as by the British Standards Institute, verify Azure’s adherence to the strict security controls these standards mandate. You can verify our implementation of many security controls by requesting audit results from the certifying third parties. When Microsoft™ verifies that their services meet compliance standards and demonstrates how Microsoft™ achieves compliance, that makes it easier for customers to secure compliance for the infrastructure and applications they run in Microsoft Azure™.

Microsoft Security Keeps Customer Data Safe

Microsoft™ has leveraged its decades long experience building enterprise software and running some of the world’s largest online services to create a robust set of security technologies and practices. These help ensure that Azure™ infrastructure is resilient to attack, safeguards user access to the Microsoft Azure™ environment, and helps keep customer data secure through encrypted communications as well as threat management and mitigation practices, including regular penetration testing. Managing and controlling identity and user access to your environments, data, and applications by federating user identities to Microsoft Azure Active Directory™ and enabling multi factor authentication for more secure sign in. For data in transit, Microsoft Azure™ uses industry standard transport protocols between user devices and Microsoft™ data centers, and within data centers themselves. For data at rest, Microsoft Azure™ offers a wide range of encryption up to AES—256, giving you the flexibility to choose the solution that best meets your needs. Help secure your data with industry leading protection offered by encryption features. Manage and protect your apps with offerings such as Microsoft Operations Management Suite™.

Security And Privacy Are Embedded Into Azure

Take advantage of comprehensive cloud migration solutions, and you’ll get TCO analysis, help in business case development, plus discovery, migration, and management—all in one integrated Microsoft Azure™ experience. Microsoft™ makes security and privacy a priority at every step, from code development through incident response. Security and privacy are built right into the Microsoft Azure™ platform, beginning with the Security Development Life cycle (SDL) that addresses security at every development phase from initial planning to launch, and Microsoft Azure™ is continually updated to make it even more secure. Operational Security Assurance (OSA) builds on SDL knowledge and processes to provide a framework that helps ensure secure operations throughout the life cycle of cloud based services. For more than 20 years, Microsoft™ has been a leader in creating robust online solutions designed to protect the privacy of our customers. Microsoft’s™ time tested approach to privacy and data protection is grounded in our commitment to organizations’ ownership of and control over the collection, use, and distribution of their information.

Features And Benefits

Because the customer data you host on Microsoft Azure™ belongs to you, you have control over where it is stored and how it is securely accessed and deleted. How Microsoft™ responds to government and law enforcement requests to access data. When a government wants customer data—including for national security purposes—it must follow the applicable legal process, serving us with a court order for content or a subpoena for account information. If compelled to disclose customer data, Microsoft™ will promptly notify you and provide a copy of the demand, unless legally prohibited from doing so. Microsoft™ does not provide any government with direct or unfettered access to customer data except as you direct or where required by law. Microsoft Azure™ is built on the premise that for you to control your own customer data in the cloud, you require visibility into that data. You must know where it is stored. Through clearly stated and readily available policies and procedures, how we help secure your customer data, who can access it, and under what circumstances. Microsoft™ strives to be transparent in privacy, offer you meaningful privacy choices, and responsibly manage the data stored and processed.