Configure Azure Disk Encryption

Azure Disk Encryption (ADE) is a vital security feature that allows you to protect your Azure Virtual Machine (VM) data by encrypting the disk volumes. It leverages the industry-standard BitLocker feature of Windows and the DM-Crypt feature for Linux, which ensures that your data is inaccessible to unauthorized users. Here’s how you can configure Azure Disk Encryption for your VMs.

Prerequisites

Before you proceed with the configuration, ensure that you have:

• A running Azure VM that supports Azure Disk Encryption.
• An Azure Key Vault to safeguard the encryption keys and secrets.
• Adequate permissions to the VM and Key Vault, such as the Contributor role.
• Azure PowerShell or Azure CLI installed on your local machine or through Azure Cloud Shell.

Configuring ADE with Azure PowerShell

1. Set up the Azure Key Vault:

   The first step is to create or use an existing Key Vault to control and manage the disk encryption keys and secrets.

   $resourceGroupName = ‘<YourResourceGroupName>’
   $keyVaultName = ‘<YourKeyVaultName>’
   $location = ‘<YourAzureRegion>’

   New-AzKeyVault -Name $keyVaultName -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName -Location $location
2. Grant Azure Disk Encryption access to the Key Vault:

   Azure Disk Encryption must have permissions to access the Key Vault. This is done by setting an access policy.

   Set-AzKeyVaultAccessPolicy -VaultName $keyVaultName `
   -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName `
   -PermissionsToKeys wrapKey,unwrapKey,get `
   -PermissionsToSecrets set,delete,get,list `
   -ServicePrincipalName <AzureDiskEncryptionServicePrincipal>
3. Enable encryption on the VM:

   After setting up the Key Vault, you can enable encryption on your Azure VM’s OS and data disks.

   $vmName = ‘<YourVMName>’
   Set-AzVMDiskEncryptionExtension -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName `
   -VMName $vmName `
   -AadClientId ‘<AzureADServicePrincipal>’ `
   -AadSecret ‘<AzureADServicePrincipalSecret>’ `
   -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultUrl “https://$keyVaultName.vault.azure.net” `
   -DiskEncryptionKeyVaultId (Get-AzKeyVault -VaultName $keyVaultName).ResourceId
4. Verify the disk encryption status:

   Once you have enabled disk encryption, verify the status:

   Get-AzVMDiskEncryptionStatus -ResourceGroupName $resourceGroupName -VMName $vmName

Configuring ADE with Azure CLI

1. Configure the Azure Key Vault:

   Similar to PowerShell, first ensure you have a Key Vault configured for your encryption keys.

   az keyvault create –name $keyVaultName –resource-group $resourceGroupName –location $location
2. Update the Key Vault access policy:

   Set the necessary permissions for Azure Disk Encryption to access the Key Vault.

   az keyvault set-policy –name $keyVaultName `
   –key-permissions wrapKey unwrapKey get `
   –secret-permissions set delete get list `
   –spn $AzureDiskEncryptionServicePrincipal
3. Enable VM disk encryption:

   Apply encryption to your VM using the CLI commands:

   az vm encryption enable –resource-group $resourceGroupName `
   –name $vmName `
   –aad-client-id $AzureADServicePrincipal `
   –aad-client-secret $AzureADServicePrincipalSecret `
   –disk-encryption-keyvault $keyVaultName
4. Check the encryption status:

   Confirm that encryption is applied:

   az vm encryption show –resource-group $resourceGroupName –name $vmName

Monitoring and Compliance

Once Azure Disk Encryption is enabled, you should regularly monitor the status and compliance of your encrypted disks. Azure offers built-in tools such as Azure Security Center or Azure Monitor, which can be used to create alerts for non-compliant resources or track the status of your encryption settings.

Conclusion

Configuring Azure Disk Encryption is a multi-step process that involves setting up a Key Vault, granting appropriate permissions, and enabling encryption on the VM disks. For the AZ-104 Microsoft Azure Administrator exam, understanding these steps and how to implement them using both PowerShell and Azure CLI will be important. Always keep monitoring and compliance in mind to ensure your encrypted disks remain secure and within organizational standards.