Security for SQL Server on an Azure VM

VM support in the cloud may be new for those just migrating to Azure and knowing what to secure can be overwhelming. This can be simplified by enabling advanced data security on the VMs in your Azure tenant inside the Azure portal. This service will perform advanced threat protection. It uses the Azure Log Analytics agent to review and report on any security vulnerabilities. It then documents these vulnerabilities and suggests how to resolve them in Azure Security Center in the Azure portal. Along with accessing this information in the portal, notifications are recommended to keep you on top of any security vulnerabilities.

The Azure Security Center, upon a newly created VM, would detect if port 3389 for Remote Desktop connection, or if the default port for SQL Server, 1433, was configured open and report it as a possible security risk. The user could then update the configuration and secure the default ports.

When creating an Azure VM,...