This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Core Infrastructure and Security Blog articles.
First published on TECHNET on Jan 21, 2019
Hi there! Stanislav Belov here, and you are reading the next issue of the Infrastructure + Security: Noteworthy News series!
As a reminder, the Noteworthy News series covers various areas, to include interesting news, announcements, links, tips and tricks from Windows, Azure, and Security worlds on a monthly basis.
| Microsoft Azure |
| Azure Backup for virtual machines behind an Azure Firewall This blog post primarily talks about how Azure Firewall and Azure Backup can be leveraged to provide comprehensive protection to your data. The former protects your network, while the latter backs up your data to the cloud. Azure Firewall, now generally available, is a cloud-based network security service that protects your Azure Virtual Network resources. It is a fully stateful firewall as a service with built-in high availability and unrestricted cloud scalability. With Azure Firewall you can centrally create, enforce, and log application and network connectivity policies across subscriptions and virtual networks. It uses a static public IP address for your virtual network resources, allowing outside firewalls to identify traffic originating from your virtual network. |
| AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals Now Available This exam is designed for candidates looking to demonstrate foundational knowledge of cloud services and how those services are implemented with Microsoft Azure. The exam is intended for those of you who don't have a technical background but have an interest in the cloud, such as those involved in selling or purchasing cloud-based solutions and services; those you with a technical background who have a need to validate your foundational level knowledge around cloud services; and those of you who are simply interested in exploring the world of cloud-based solutions to determine if it's the building block you need to change your career. |
| Windows Server |
| Windows Admin Center 1809.5 is now generally available! Windows Admin Center version 1809.5 is a cumulative update to our 1809 GA release in September which includes various quality and functional improvements and bug fixes throughout the product. |
| Windows Client |
| Windows 10 Tip: Microsoft Forms Your family has a weekend free and you're trying to figure out what to do during that precious time together. But instead of asking each person individually or using social media, it might be easier – and more efficient – to gauge the group's preferences through a survey or a quiz. Now you can easily create either or both with Microsoft Forms, a simple, lightweight tool. |
| Introducing new advanced security and compliance offerings for Microsoft 365 When we first introduced Microsoft 365 bringing together Office 365, Windows 10, and Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS), our vision was two-fold: 1) deliver a great experience for customers to empower employee creativity and teamwork, and 2) provide the most secure and easy to manage platform for a modern workplace. We've been thrilled with the response, as customers like BP, Gap, Walmart, and Lilly have contributed to triple-digit seat growth since its launch. |
| Security |
| Automating Security workflows with Microsoft's CASB and MS Flow As Cloud Security is becoming an increasingly greater concern for organizations of all sizes, the role and importance of Security Operations Centers (SOC) continues to expand. While end users leverage new cloud apps and services daily, Security professionals that keep track of security incidents remain a scarce resource. Consequently, SOC teams are looking for solutions that help automate processes where possible, to reduce the number of incidents that require their direct oversight and interaction. |
| Active Directory Kill Chain Attack & Defense This document was designed to be a useful, informational asset for those looking to understand the specific tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) attackers are leveraging to compromise active directory and guidance to mitigation, detection, and prevention. And understand Active Directory Kill Chain Attack and Modern Post Exploitation Adversary Tradecraft Activity. |
| Windows Defender ATP has protections for USB and removable devices Knowing that removable device usage is a concern for enterprise customers in both of these types of scenarios we've worked on how removable devices can be protected with Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Windows Defender ATP). |
| Step 3. Protect your identities: top 10 actions to secure your environment The "Top 10 actions to secure your environment" series outlines fundamental steps you can take with your investment in Microsoft 365 security solutions. In "Step 3. Protect your identities," you'll learn how to define security policies to protect individual user identities against account compromise and protect your administrative accounts. |
| Improve your regulatory compliance Azure Security Center helps streamline the process for meeting regulatory compliance requirements, using the Regulatory compliance dashboard. In the dashboard, Security Center provides insights into your compliance posture based on continuous assessments of your Azure environment. The assessments performed by Security Center analyze risk factors in your hybrid cloud environment in accordance with security best practices. |
| Vulnerabilities and Updates |
| Windows Security change affecting PowerShell The recent (1/8/2019) Windows security patch CVE-2019-0543, has introduced a breaking change for a PowerShell remoting scenario. It is a narrowly scoped scenario that should have low impact for most users. The breaking change only affects local loopback remoting, which is a PowerShell remote connection made back to the same machine, while using non-Administrator credentials. |
| DSC Resource Kit Release January 2019 We recently released the DSC Resource Kit! This release includes updates to 14 DSC resource modules. |
| Support Lifecycle |
| Windows 7 support will end on January 14, 2020 Microsoft made a commitment to provide 10 years of product support for Windows 7 when it was released on October 22, 2009. When this 10-year period ends, Microsoft will discontinue Windows 7 support so that we can focus our investment on supporting newer technologies and great new experiences. The specific end of support day for Windows 7 will be January 14, 2020. After that, technical assistance and automatic updates that help protect your PC will no longer be made available for the product. Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 sometime before January 2020 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available. |
| Extended Security Updates for SQL Server and Windows Server 2008/2008 R2: Frequently Asked Questions (PDF) On January 14, 2020, support for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will end. That means the end of regular security updates. Don't let your infrastructure and applications go unprotected. We're here to help you migrate to current versions for greater security, performance and innovation. |
| Products reaching End of Support for 2018 Products reaching End of Support for 2019 Products reaching End of Support for 2020 |
| Microsoft Premier Support News |
| Check out Microsoft Services public blog for new Proactive Services as well as new features and capabilities of the Services Hub, On-demand Assessments, and On-demand Learning platforms. |