Azure Private Link Service (PLS) has long been the go-to option for exposing your services privately to consumers across Azure — ensuring that traffic never crosses the public internet.
Until recently, this required a Standard Load Balancer to sit in front of your service. That setup worked well, but it added complexity and limited flexibility, especially in hybrid or custom routing scenarios.
Now, with Private Link Service Direct Connect, Microsoft has simplified the model. You can route traffic directly to any privately routable IP address, removing the dependency on load balancers altogether.
This new feature opens the door to several use cases — from simplifying secure hybrid connections to enabling private access to third-party SaaS and appliances.
Tag: Security
Azure Storage: GA Support for Entra ID and RBAC in Supplemental APIs
On 26 August 2025, Microsoft announced the general availability (GA) of Entra ID authentication and role-based access control (RBAC) for several supplemental Azure Storage APIs. This update improves security and gives administrators more precise control over sensitive operations such as managing container, queue, and table access permissions.
What has changed
The following APIs now support Entra ID and RBAC:
- GetAccountInfo
- GetContainerACL / SetContainerACL
- GetQueueACL / SetQueueACL
- GetTableACL / SetTableACL
These APIs now support OAuth 2.0 authentication via Entra ID.
A key change is the way error responses are returned:
- Before: using OAuth without the right permissions resulted in 404 (not found).
- Now:
- 403 (forbidden) is returned when OAuth is used but the caller does not have the required permission (for example, Microsoft.Storage/storageAccounts/blobServices/getInfo/action for GetAccountInfo).
- 401 (unauthorised) is returned for anonymous requests.
- 404 (not found) is still possible if the resource itself does not exist.
If your application logic depends on the old 404 behaviour, you should update it to handle both 404 and 403 responses. Microsoft also recommends not relying on error codes to detect unsupported APIs but instead following the Entra ID authorization guidance.
Why this matters
- Improved security – no more reliance on shared keys.
- Granular access – assign only the necessary permissions.
- Consistent responses – OAuth error codes now match industry standards.
- Application impact – developers may need to update their code to support the new response model.
Continue reading “Azure Storage: GA Support for Entra ID and RBAC in Supplemental APIs”
Introducing Azure Private Subnets: Enhancing Security by Disabling Default Outbound Access
Azure recently announced the general availability of Private Subnet, a new feature that allows you to disable the implicit outbound Internet connectivity for virtual machines in a subnet. In this blog post, we’ll cover:
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What Azure Private Subnets are and why they matter
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Key benefits of disabling default outbound access
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Step-by-step instructions to configure a private subnet via the Azure Portal
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Verifying that default outbound has been disabled
What Is an Azure Private Subnet?
Traditionally, when you create a subnet in an Azure Virtual Network (VNet) without any explicit outbound connectivity (such as a NAT gateway, Public IP, or Load Balancer), Azure automatically provides a default outbound access IP for those VMs. While this is convenient, it introduces an implicit egress path—VMs can communicate with public endpoints without you having explicitly configured any egress resources.
A Private Subnet in Azure is simply a subnet where this default outbound access is turned off. Consequently:
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Any VM deployed within that subnet cannot reach the Internet by default.
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You must explicitly configure an alternative egress mechanism if VMs need outbound connectivity (e.g., NAT Gateway, Standard Load Balancer, Firewall, or a Public IP assigned directly to the NIC).
By removing the implicit outbound IP, Azure Private Subnets enforce a “zero trust” approach: no VM can communicate externally until you grant it an explicit, auditable path.
Why Disable Default Outbound Access?
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Secure by Default
Default outbound IPs are not customer-owned and can change unpredictably. By disabling implicit egress, you ensure VMs only send traffic externally when you explicitly allow it, reducing your attack surface. -
Prevent Data Exfiltration
In regulated or highly sensitive environments (for example, PCI-DSS or HIPAA workloads), any unsolicited outbound route can pose compliance or security risks. Private Subnets eliminate unexpected data exfiltration channels. -
Encourage Explicit Egress Configuration
When default outbound is disabled, you must provision a known, managed egress mechanism (like a NAT Gateway), which can be tightly monitored for logging, analytics, and cost control. This “explicit-over-implicit” model aligns with best practices for cloud network security.
Azure Resource Locks – The One Feature You’re Probably Not Using (But Should Be)
Accidental deletion or modification of critical resources in Azure is more common than most teams would like to admit. And unlike on-prem environments, where layers of approvals or access barriers might slow someone down, Azure’s agility can sometimes be its own worst enemy — especially when production workloads are one click away from disappearing.
Enter: Azure Resource Locks — your environment’s seatbelt.
What Are Azure Resource Locks?
Azure Resource Locks are a built-in feature that allow you to restrict operations on resources, resource groups, or subscriptions. These locks act as a last line of defense — even if someone has Contributor or Owner permissions, a lock will block unwanted actions like deletion or configuration changes.
Continue reading “Azure Resource Locks – The One Feature You’re Probably Not Using (But Should Be)”
How to Use Azure Policy for Better Cloud Management
When you work in the cloud, keeping things organised is very important. Azure Policy is a simple tool that helps enforce rules on your resources. In this post, I’ll explain what Azure Policy is and show you a basic example of using it to require a tag on all your resources.
What is Azure Policy?
Azure Policy lets you set rules for your cloud resources. For example, you might want every resource to have a tag called Cost Centre so you know which department it belongs to. If someone tries to create a resource without that tag, the policy can stop it from being created.
This tool is very useful because it helps everyone on your team follow the same guidelines and keeps your cloud resources well organised.
A Simple Example: Requiring a "Cost Centre" Tag
In this example, we’ll create a custom policy that requires every resource to have a Cost Centre tag. If the tag is missing, the resource won’t be allowed.
Overview of the Steps
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Create the policy rule file.
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Create the policy parameters file.
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Create the policy definition in Azure using the Azure CLI.
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Assign the policy to a scope.
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Check if your policy is working.
Continue reading “How to Use Azure Policy for Better Cloud Management”
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