Azure security baseline for Azure SignalR Service

This security baseline applies guidance from the Microsoft cloud security benchmark version 1.0 to Azure SignalR Service. The Microsoft cloud security benchmark provides recommendations on how you can secure your cloud solutions on Azure. The content is grouped by the security controls defined by the Microsoft cloud security benchmark and the related guidance applicable to Azure SignalR Service.

You can monitor this security baseline and its recommendations using Microsoft Defender for Cloud. Azure Policy definitions will be listed in the Regulatory Compliance section of the Microsoft Defender for Cloud portal page.

When a feature has relevant Azure Policy Definitions, they are listed in this baseline to help you measure compliance with the Microsoft cloud security benchmark controls and recommendations. Some recommendations may require a paid Microsoft Defender plan to enable certain security scenarios.

Note

Features not applicable to Azure SignalR Service have been excluded. To see how Azure SignalR Service completely maps to the Microsoft cloud security benchmark, see the full Azure SignalR Service security baseline mapping file.

Security profile

The security profile summarizes high-impact behaviors of Azure SignalR Service, which may result in increased security considerations.

Service Behavior Attribute Value
Product Category Web
Customer can access HOST / OS No Access
Service can be deployed into customer's virtual network False
Stores customer content at rest False

Network security

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Network security.

NS-1: Establish network segmentation boundaries

Features

Virtual Network Integration

Description: Service supports deployment into customer's private Virtual Network (VNet). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

NS-2: Secure cloud services with network controls

Features

Description: Service native IP filtering capability for filtering network traffic (not to be confused with NSG or Azure Firewall). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Use private endpoints for Azure SignalR Service

Disable Public Network Access

Description: Service supports disabling public network access either through using service-level IP ACL filtering rule (not NSG or Azure Firewall) or using a 'Disable Public Network Access' toggle switch. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: To completely deny all public traffic, you should first configure the public network rule to allow no request type. Then, you should configure rules that grant access to traffic from specific VNets. This configuration enables you to build a secure network boundary for your applications.

Reference: Configure network access control

Microsoft Defender for Cloud monitoring

Azure Policy built-in definitions - Microsoft.SignalRService:

Name
(Azure portal)
Description Effect(s) Version
(GitHub)
Azure SignalR Service should use private link Azure Private Link lets you connect your virtual network to Azure services without a public IP address at the source or destination. The private link platform handles the connectivity between the consumer and services over the Azure backbone network. By mapping private endpoints to your Azure SignalR Service resource instead of the entire service, you'll reduce your data leakage risks. Learn more about private links at: https://aka.ms/asrs/privatelink. Audit, Disabled 1.0.0

Identity management

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Identity management.

IM-1: Use centralized identity and authentication system

Features

Azure AD Authentication Required for Data Plane Access

Description: Service supports using Azure AD authentication for data plane access. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Authorize access with Azure Active Directory for Azure SignalR Service

Local Authentication Methods for Data Plane Access

Description: Local authentications methods supported for data plane access, such as a local username and password. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Feature notes: Avoid the usage of local authentication methods or accounts, these should be disabled wherever possible. Instead use Azure AD to authenticate where possible.

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Authenticate via Azure SignalR Service Access Key

IM-3: Manage application identities securely and automatically

Features

Managed Identities

Description: Data plane actions support authentication using managed identities. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Authorize request to SignalR resources with Azure AD from managed identities

Service Principals

Description: Data plane supports authentication using service principals. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Authorize request to SignalR resources with Azure AD from Azure applications

IM-7: Restrict resource access based on conditions

Features

Conditional Access for Data Plane

Description: Data plane access can be controlled using Azure AD Conditional Access Policies. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Feature notes: AAD conditional access is a general AAD feature so customers can just follow the corresponding AAD documentation to configure it, there is no service-specific documentation for this feature.

Also for Azure SignalR Service, conditional access only makes sense in server-side API calls (for example, when calling REST APIs to send messages to clients). This feature is not applicable to client connection authentication because client doesn't use AAD to do the authentication.

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

IM-8: Restrict the exposure of credential and secrets

Features

Service Credential and Secrets Support Integration and Storage in Azure Key Vault

Description: Data plane supports native use of Azure Key Vault for credential and secrets store. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Key Vault secret reference in URL template settings

Privileged access

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Privileged access.

PA-1: Separate and limit highly privileged/administrative users

Features

Local Admin Accounts

Description: Service has the concept of a local administrative account. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Feature notes: Avoid the usage of local authentication methods or accounts, these should be disabled wherever possible. Instead use Azure AD to authenticate where possible.

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: How to rotate access key for Azure SignalR Service

PA-7: Follow just enough administration (least privilege) principle

Features

Azure RBAC for Data Plane

Description: Azure Role-Based Access Control (Azure RBAC) can be used to managed access to service's data plane actions. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Azure built-in roles for SignalR resources

Data protection

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Data protection.

DP-1: Discover, classify, and label sensitive data

Features

Sensitive Data Discovery and Classification

Description: Tools (such as Azure Purview or Azure Information Protection) can be used for data discovery and classification in the service. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

DP-2: Monitor anomalies and threats targeting sensitive data

Features

Data Leakage/Loss Prevention

Description: Service supports DLP solution to monitor sensitive data movement (in customer's content). Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

DP-3: Encrypt sensitive data in transit

Features

Data in Transit Encryption

Description: Service supports data in-transit encryption for data plane. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Feature notes: Azure SignalR Service supports TLS 1.2 for encrypting data in-transit by default and there is no need for customer to configure it.

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

DP-6: Use a secure key management process

Features

Key Management in Azure Key Vault

Description: The service supports Azure Key Vault integration for any customer keys, secrets, or certificates. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Key Vault secret reference in URL template settings

DP-7: Use a secure certificate management process

Features

Certificate Management in Azure Key Vault

Description: The service supports Azure Key Vault integration for any customer certificates. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Azure Key Vault to create and control the certificate lifecycle, including creation, importing, rotation, revocation, storage, and purging of the certificate. Ensure the certificate generation follows defined standards without using any insecure properties, such as: insufficient key size, overly long validity period, insecure cryptography. Setup automatic rotation of the certificate in Azure Key Vault and the Azure service (if supported) based on a defined schedule or when there is a certificate expiration. If automatic rotation is not supported in the application, ensure they are still rotated using manual methods in Azure Key Vault and the application.

Reference: Configure a custom domain for Azure SignalR Service

Asset management

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Asset management.

AM-2: Use only approved services

Features

Azure Policy Support

Description: Service configurations can be monitored and enforced via Azure Policy. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True False Customer

Configuration Guidance: Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud to configure Azure Policy to audit and enforce configurations of your Azure resources. Use Azure Monitor to create alerts when there is a configuration deviation detected on the resources. Use Azure Policy [deny] and [deploy if not exists] effects to enforce secure configuration across Azure resources.

Reference: Azure Policy built-in definitions for Azure SignalR

Logging and threat detection

For more information, see the Microsoft cloud security benchmark: Logging and threat detection.

LT-1: Enable threat detection capabilities

Features

Microsoft Defender for Service / Product Offering

Description: Service has an offering-specific Microsoft Defender solution to monitor and alert on security issues. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
False Not Applicable Not Applicable

Configuration Guidance: This feature is not supported to secure this service.

LT-4: Enable logging for security investigation

Features

Azure Resource Logs

Description: Service produces resource logs that can provide enhanced service-specific metrics and logging. The customer can configure these resource logs and send them to their own data sink like a storage account or log analytics workspace. Learn more.

Supported Enabled By Default Configuration Responsibility
True True Microsoft

Configuration Guidance: No additional configurations are required as this is enabled on a default deployment.

Reference: Resource logs for Azure SignalR Service

Next steps