AWS Security vs Azure Security: Cloud Security Comparison

With the increasing demand for IT resources and the number of startups, cloud computing is gaining much attraction. Businesses do not prefer to host their servers on-premises anymore, instead they leverage resources over the internet along with the features of scalability, flexibility, adaptability, and ease of use. Alongside this comes a pressing concern about safety. Data security is the prime concern in today’s setup. Whether you are a market leader or a startup, security is always the first thing investigated and is inevitably important. Cloud security ensures that both data and the workload are safe within the cloud. Here are some amazing online certification courses in Cloud Computing provided by KnowledgeHut. Let’s dive deep into AWS vs. Azure security.

What is Azure Security?

Azure is a cloud computing service platform developed and provided by Microsoft. Their utmost priority is the security of its users, services, and data. Here are some advanced features of Azure security:

1. Azure Security Center: Azure Security Center is a set of security tools provided by Microsoft. It is a one-stop dashboard for resource security health. It continuously monitors the health of your resources. Not only does it monitor, but it also suggests recommended steps for resolving any security errors and threats. This helps organizations take proactive steps.
2. Azure Active Directory (AD): Active Directory is primarily used for authentication of a user. Before the concept of AD came into the picture, authentication would be local to a system. It used to be very difficult to manage this, especially for an organization with many employees. It also did not allow multi-device login for the employees. Passwords would have to be managed manually by the employees. It would become a question of security. After the development of AD, a lot of these problems were solved. Active Directory allows organizations to create a service account for each user which works across multiple applications. Azure AD provides an Active Directory over the Azure cloud for its users. It facilitates single sign-on and multifactor authentication which adds another security layer. Even if passwords are compromised, multifactor authentication allows data protection.
3. Azure Key Vault: Any key vault is used to store and manage sensitive information such as certificates, passwords, tokens, API keys, etc. Azure Key Vault is a software locker in the Azure cloud that allows users to store and manage information securely. For example, if your web application wants to access the database, it needs DB connection information. Azure Key Vault can be used to store this. It also makes key management easy for an organization by centralizing the keys at one location.
4. Network Security Groups (NSG) & Azure Application Gateway: Network Security Groups (NSG) is a feature by which Azure provides a virtual firewall over the cloud. It filters inbound and outbound network traffic in virtual resources. Multiple network rules can be specified in NSG. It can be associated with subnets or VMs. Each rule requires source, destination, port, and protocol. Azure Application Gateway is a network load balancer that allows the management of traffic for web applications. General load balancers operate in layer 4 of the OSI model, whereas Azure Application Gateway operates in layer 7 of the OSI model, which provides advanced decision-making capabilities for the load balancer.
5. Azure's Commitment to Data Encryption: Data can be categorized according to its state as Data at rest and Data in transit. Data at rest refers to the statically stored data such as in a hard disk. Data in transit refers to the data being transferred between programs and threads. Azure ensures data encryption in all layers with no user interactions.

What is AWS Security?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a leading cloud service provider, and security is a priority for them. AWS follows all the tools and practices to protect its infrastructure and its users' data and applications. Here’s an overview of the AWS security portfolio:

• AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM): IAM refers to a framework for ensuring that only appropriate people have access to the AWS resources in an organization. With IAM, you can also specify specific permissions.
• Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC): VPC is like a private network lab over the internet provided by AWS. It creates isolation for the resources to maintain security. Using software, AWS Cloud provides network services such as switches, routers, etc. (also known as Software Defined Networks). Multitenancy is also managed by AWS VPC.
• AWS Key Management Service (KMS): AWS KMS is used to encrypt data on AWS. It stores and manages those encryption keys.
• AWS Shield & AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF): AWS Shield is a managed service to protect applications from DDoS attacks. It detects as well as mitigates these attacks. It protects the infrastructure level of the OSI model. AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall) is the service for detecting, spotting, and stopping malicious web traffic.
• AWS Guard Duty: AWS Guard Duty facilitates threat detection to protect the AWS account. It also helps in preventing Cryptocurrency attacks. Leveraging machine learning, Guard Duty continuously monitors for malicious or unauthorized activity.
• AWS Security Hub: AWS Security Hub helps to manage security across several AWS accounts in a single place. This makes management easy for any organization. It aggregates alerts and insights from various AWS services.

Difference Between Azure Security vs AWS Security

Azure Security and AWS Security are both all-around frameworks for securing cloud resources, but they do have some differences. Let’s discuss them below:

Service	AWS	Azure
Identity and Access Management (IAM)	AWS IAM is the AWS service used to control access to cloud resources.	Azure IAM and Azure Active Directory (AD) are used to control access to the cloud resources.
Network Security	Amazon VPC, Security Groups, and Network ACLs are used to provide network security to the cloud resources.	Azure Network Security Groups (NSG) and Azure Application Gateway are used to provide network security to the cloud resources.
DDoS Protection	AWS Shield is used to provide DDoS protection to the cloud resources.	Azure DDoS Protection is used to provide DDoS protection to the cloud resources.
Encryption	AWS Key Management Service (KMS) provides data encryption services.	Azure Key Vault provides data encryption services.
Web Application Firewall (WAF)	AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) secures web traffic.	Azure Application Gateway secures web traffic.
Monitoring and Detection	Amazon Guard Duty and AWS Security Hub are used for threat detection and monitoring.	Azure Security Center is used for threat detection and monitoring.
Compliance	AWS Config and AWS Organizations are used for compliance management.	Azure Policy and Blueprints are used for compliance management.
Logging and Auditing	AWS CloudTrail is used for auditing and AWS CloudWatch is for logging.	Azure Monitor and Azure Security Center are used for logging and auditing.
Security Assessments	AWS Trusted Advisor offers security assessments.	Azure Security Center provides security assessments.

Reasons to Choose Azure Security Over AWS Security

While both Azure and AWS offer comprehensive security features, there might be different reasons for an organization to choose Azure Security over AWS Security. There can be a lot of reasons for Azure security vs AWS security. Some of these reasons include:

1. Integration with Microsoft Products: Organizations subscribed to Microsoft products (Office 365, Windows Server, and Dynamics), find it easier to use Azure due to the consistent ecosystem.
2. Azure Active Directory (AD): For organizations using Windows Server Active Directory, integration with Azure AD can be more streamlined. 
3. Azure Security Center: It is a centralized security management system that gives advanced threat protection across all of Azure resources.
4. Azure Blueprints: It is a service in Azure that provides an option to create templates of your resources and use that template to create additional resources repeatedly.
5. Enterprise Agreement Advantage: Organizations already having an Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft might choose Azure.
6. Azure Sentinel: Azure SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) provides real-time threat detection and mitigation. It also integrates with Office 365, so it’s useful for organizations employing Office 365.
7. Advanced Data Encryption: Azure offers services for encrypting data at rest as well as data in transit.
8. Support and Training: Microsoft provides comprehensive documentation and tutorials around their services, enabling organizations to onboard at a better speed. Here is an amazing Microsoft Certified Solutions Architect by KnowledgeHut course that provides even better insights.

Job Opportunities with AZ-500 Certification

The AZ-500 certification, titled "Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate," verifies a candidate's knowledge and skills in Microsoft Azure. Here are some of the opportunities you might be qualified for with an AZ-500 certification:

1. Azure Security Engineer: As an Azure Security Engineer, you will be responsible for implementing and managing security solutions for applications, data, and networks in an Azure environment.
2. Cloud Security Consultant: As a Cloud Security Consultant, you will be responsible for guiding organizations on best practices in cloud security.
3. Cloud Security Architect:  As a Cloud Security Architect, you will be responsible for designing secure cloud infrastructure and applications on Azure, incorporating best practices and guidelines. Here is a comprehensive training by KnowledgeHut's Microsoft Certified Solutions Architect to prepare you for the same.
4. DevSecOps Engineer: DevSecOps is a combination of development, security, and operation. As a DevSecOps Engineer, you will be responsible for adhering to security right from the development phase throughout the deployment.
5. Cloud Security Trainer: If you are interested in teaching, becoming a trainer or educator in Azure Security can be a very good option, especially as more organizations are moving to the Cloud.
6. Freelance Azure Security Consultant: Many certified professionals opt to work as freelance consultants, providing expertise on specific projects or short-term assignments.

In addition to these roles, the AZ-500 certification can serve as a valuable certificate for various other IT roles where Azure knowledge is required. As the demand for cloud security professionals continues to grow, having an AZ-500 certification can give you an edge in the job market.

Job Opportunities with AWS Security Certification

The AWS Certified Security – Specialty certification demonstrates an individual's expertise in securing the AWS platform. Here are some potential opportunities you might be qualified for with an AWS security certification:

1. AWS Security Engineer: As an AWS Security Engineer, you will be responsible for implementing, managing, and monitoring security solutions for applications, data, and networks in an AWS environment.
2. Cloud Security Architect: As a Cloud Security Architect, you will be responsible for designing secure cloud infrastructure and applications on AWS, incorporating best practices and guidelines.
3. AWS Security Operations Engineer:  As an AWS Security Operations Engineer, you will be responsible for managing and monitoring AWS infrastructure's security operations.
4. DevSecOps Engineer: As a DevSecOps Engineer, you will be responsible for integrating security into the DevOps pipeline on AWS focusing on security best practices.
5. Technical Support for AWS Security Products: As a Technical Support Engineer, you will be responsible for aid and guidance on AWS security services and tools, helping customers to manage security.
6. AWS Security Trainer or Educator: You can offer training programs or workshops focusing on AWS security best practices and tools, either in educational institutions or for businesses transitioning to cloud.
7. Freelance AWS Security Consultant: You can offer consulting services to various businesses, guiding them on how to secure their AWS environments.

Remember that while the certification proves your knowledge and skills in AWS security, practical experience, soft skills, and knowledge in networking areas (like networking, databases, etc.) also play a significant role in securing a good job. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, both AWS and Azure focus highly on data privacy, have various compliance certifications, and offer flexibility with third-party tool integrations, ensuring that businesses can maintain security. The decision always depends on organizational needs, priorities, and existing infrastructure. While AWS has been the market leader for cloud, Azure's integration with Microsoft products makes it a better choice for many organizations. You can refer to the above table for AWS vs Azure security comparison to know more.