Azure PCI Data Detection

Learn how to detect PCI data in Azure environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for PCI-DSS compliance.

data exposure

PCI-DSS

azure

Why It Matters

The core goal is to identify every location where payment card information is stored within your Azure environment, so you can remediate unintended exposures before they become breaches. Scanning for PCI data in Azure is a priority for organizations subject to PCI-DSS, as it helps you prove you've discovered and accounted for all cardholder data assets—mitigating the risk of unauthorized access and potential data exposure.

Primary Risk: Data exposure of payment card information

Relevant Regulation: PCI-DSS Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

A thorough scan delivers immediate visibility, laying the foundation for automated policy enforcement and ongoing compliance.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • Azure subscription owner or contributor
  • SQL Database reader permissions
  • Storage Account reader access

External Tools

  • Azure CLI or PowerShell
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • API credentials

Prior Setup

  • Azure subscription configured
  • Service principal created
  • Networking rules configured
  • Resource groups identified

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 Recognition (NER) techniques, Cyera automatically identifies payment card data patterns, credit card numbers, and related PCI information in Azure databases, storage accounts, and data lakes, ensuring you stay ahead of accidental exposures and meet PCI-DSS audit requirements in real time.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Configure your Azure environment

Ensure your Azure subscription has the necessary permissions and create a service principal with the minimum required privileges to access SQL databases, storage accounts, and other data services.

az login && az account set --subscription "your-subscription-id"

2
Enable scanning workflows

In the Cyera portal, navigate to Integrations → DSPM → Add new. Select Azure, provide your tenant ID, client ID, and client secret, then define the scan scope to include SQL databases, storage accounts, and Cosmos DB instances.

3
Integrate with third-party tools

Configure webhooks or streaming exports to push scan results into your SIEM or Azure Security Center. Link findings to existing ticketing systems like Azure DevOps or ServiceNow for remediation tracking.

4
Validate results and tune policies

Review the initial detection report, prioritize databases with large volumes of payment card data, and adjust detection rules to reduce false positives. Schedule recurring scans to maintain visibility and compliance.

Architecture & Workflow

Azure SQL Databases

Primary source of structured payment data

Cyera Connector

Pulls metadata and samples data for classification

Cyera Back-end

Applies AI-powered detection models and risk scoring

Reporting & Remediation

Dashboards, alerts, and compliance playbooks

Data Flow Summary

Enumerate Resources → Send to Cyera → Apply AI Detection → Route Findings

Best Practices & Tips

Performance Considerations

  • Start with critical production databases
  • Use sampling for very large tables
  • Schedule scans during off-peak hours

Tuning Detection Rules

  • Maintain allowlists for test card numbers
  • Adjust confidence thresholds for credit card patterns
  • Configure alerts for high-risk findings

Common Pitfalls

  • Forgetting Azure Data Lake storage accounts
  • Over-scanning development environments
  • Neglecting to rotate service principal credentials

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🔧 Fix: Review and remediate exposed PCI data 🛡️ Prevent: Implement PCI data protection controls