Azure PII Exposure Remediation

Learn how to fix PII exposure in Azure environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for GDPR compliance and data protection.

data exposure

GDPR

azure

Why It Matters

The core goal is to remediate exposed personally identifiable information (PII) across your Azure environment, ensuring compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations. Fixing PII exposure requires immediate action to revoke inappropriate access, apply proper classification, and implement protective measures before data breaches occur or regulatory penalties are imposed.

Primary Risk: Data exposure leading to privacy violations

Relevant Regulation: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

Swift remediation protects your organization from regulatory fines, maintains customer trust, and establishes proper data governance practices for long-term compliance.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • Global Administrator or Security Administrator
  • Azure RBAC Owner or Contributor on affected resources
  • Microsoft Purview Data Administrator

External Tools

  • Azure CLI or PowerShell
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • Microsoft Purview (optional)

Prior Setup

  • Azure subscription with affected resources
  • Initial PII discovery completed
  • Incident response plan activated
  • Legal and compliance teams notified

Introducing Cyera

Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that uses advanced AI including Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Named Entity Recognition (NER) to automatically identify and classify PII across Azure environments. Cyera's AI-powered remediation workflows help you quickly revoke inappropriate access, apply proper data labels, and implement protective policies to fix PII exposure at scale while maintaining operational efficiency.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Assess exposure scope and impact

Review the PII exposure findings from your discovery scan. Document affected resources, access permissions, and potential regulatory impact. Prioritize based on data sensitivity and public accessibility.

az storage account list --query "[?allowBlobPublicAccess==true]"

2
Revoke inappropriate access immediately

Use Cyera's automated remediation to remove public access from storage accounts and databases containing PII. Apply least-privilege RBAC roles and remove overly permissive assignments.

3
Apply data classification and protection

Implement Microsoft Purview sensitivity labels or use Cyera's classification engine to properly tag PII. Configure Azure Policy to enforce protection requirements and prevent future exposure.

4
Implement ongoing monitoring and controls

Set up continuous monitoring with Cyera to detect new PII exposure risks. Configure alerts for policy violations and establish automated remediation workflows for common exposure scenarios.

Architecture & Workflow

Azure Resources

Storage accounts, databases, and services with PII

Cyera AI Engine

NLP and NER models for PII identification and classification

Azure Policy Engine

Governance rules and automated remediation actions

Microsoft Purview

Data governance and compliance reporting

Remediation Flow Summary

Identify Exposure → Revoke Access → Apply Protection → Monitor Compliance

Best Practices & Tips

Immediate Actions

  • Disable public access first, ask questions later
  • Document all changes for audit trails
  • Notify affected stakeholders promptly

Long-term Controls

  • Implement data loss prevention policies
  • Regular access reviews and certifications
  • Automated compliance monitoring

Common Pitfalls

  • Overlooking service-to-service access patterns
  • Forgetting to update backup and disaster recovery
  • Missing cross-subscription resource dependencies

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🛡️ Prevent: Set up proactive PII protection policies 🔍 Detect: Implement continuous PII discovery