Azure Password Detection
Learn how to detect passwords in Azure environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for PCI-DSS compliance.
Why It Matters
The core goal is to identify every location where passwords are stored within your Azure environment, so you can remediate unintended exposures before they become breaches. Scanning for passwords in Azure is a priority for organizations subject to PCI-DSS, as it helps you prove you've discovered and accounted for all sensitive authentication assets—mitigating the risk of unauthorized access.
A thorough scan delivers immediate visibility, laying the foundation for automated policy enforcement and ongoing compliance.
Prerequisites
Permissions & Roles
- Azure Security Reader or Contributor
- Key Vault Access Policy or RBAC permissions
- Ability to configure Azure Security Center
External Tools
- Azure CLI or PowerShell
- Cyera DSPM account
- API credentials
Prior Setup
- Azure subscription provisioned
- Azure Active Directory configured
- Resource groups organized
- Network security rules configured
Introducing Cyera
Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that discovers, classifies, and continuously monitors your sensitive data across cloud services. By leveraging advanced AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques, Cyera automatically identifies password patterns, credential structures, and authentication tokens in Azure storage accounts, Key Vaults, and application configurations, ensuring you stay ahead of accidental exposures and meet PCI-DSS audit requirements in real time.
Step-by-Step Guide
Ensure proper IAM roles are assigned and create a service principal with the minimum required privileges for scanning storage accounts and Key Vaults.
In the Cyera portal, navigate to Integrations → DSPM → Add new. Select Azure, provide your tenant ID and service principal details, then define the scan scope across subscriptions and resource groups.
Configure webhooks or streaming exports to push scan results into your SIEM or Azure Security Center. Link findings to existing ticketing systems like Jira or ServiceNow.
Review the initial detection report, prioritize storage accounts with exposed passwords, and adjust detection rules to reduce false positives. Schedule recurring scans to maintain visibility.
Architecture & Workflow
Azure Resource Manager
Source of metadata for storage and Key Vault resources
Cyera Connector
Pulls metadata and samples data for classification
Cyera Back-end
Applies detection models and risk scoring
Reporting & Remediation
Dashboards, alerts, and playbooks
Data Flow Summary
Best Practices & Tips
Performance Considerations
- Start with incremental or scoped scans
- Use sampling for very large storage accounts
- Tune sample rates for speed vs coverage
Tuning Detection Rules
- Maintain allowlists for test environments
- Adjust confidence thresholds
- Match rules to your risk tolerance
Common Pitfalls
- Forgetting Azure Files and Table Storage
- Over-scanning temporary or development resources
- Neglecting to rotate service principal credentials