Microsoft Azure Security Reports & Alerts: Enhancing Security Monitoring

Explore how Microsoft Azure Active Directory empowers administrators with comprehensive security reports and alerts. Gain insights into sign-in activities, anomaly detection, and application usage to proactively safeguard your environment and respond to potential security threats efficiently.

Microsoft Azure - Security Reports & Alerts

Azure Active Directory provides administrators with the ability to view security reports that contain various types of data related to sign-in activities, anomalous events, and application usage. Here’s an overview of the types of reports available and how to access them.

Anomalies Reports

Anomalies Reports in Azure Active Directory capture data from sign-in attempts that deviate from normal behavior. These reports help in identifying unusual or potentially suspicious activities. There are 9 types of anomaly reports available in this category.

Steps to View Anomalies Reports

1. Log in to the Azure Management Portal and navigate to the Active Directory section.
2. Click on the Reports tab from the top menu.
3. Under the Anomalous Activity section, click on a category to view the corresponding data.

Activity Reports

Activity Reports provide details on various user activities, such as password resets, user registrations, and other actions. There are currently 4 types of reports available under this category, each named according to the type of activity it logs.

Steps to View Activity Reports

1. On the Reports screen, scroll down to the Activity Report section.
2. Click on one of the reports, such as the Audit Report, to view detailed activities.

The detailed view shows individual activities, and other reports can be easily accessed from the left panel. Reports can also be downloaded in CSV format by clicking the Download button at the bottom of the screen.

Integrated Application Reports

Integrated Application Reports provide insights into the usage of cloud applications within the organization. These reports offer an interactive way to monitor application access and usage.

Example: By clicking on Application Usage in the left panel, you can see metrics such as the number of sign-ins for specific applications like App Access Panel and Visual Studio.

Search Activity of a Particular User

Azure Active Directory also allows administrators to search for activities related to a specific user. This feature is useful for tracking individual user actions and viewing their activity history.

Steps:

1. Click on the Reports tab in the top menu.
2. Enter the user’s display name or user principal name in the search field.
3. The user’s activities, along with time and date details, will be listed.

Azure Active Directory Editions and Reports Availability

Not all reports are available in every edition of Azure Active Directory. The availability of certain reports depends on the edition you are using. Below is a summary of the types of reports available across the three editions:

By understanding and utilizing these security reports, administrators can better monitor and secure their Azure Active Directory environment, identifying potential security threats and ensuring proper usage of cloud resources.