Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines

Using Console

Using CLI

To enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines in Azure, follow the below steps using Azure CLI:

Open the Azure CLI and login to your Azure account using the command:
```
az login
```
Once you are logged in, set the subscription to the one you want to work with using the command:
```
az account set --subscription <subscription_id>
```
Next, enable the Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines using the command:
```
az security vm enable-defense --name <virtual_machine_name> --resource-group <resource_group_name>
```
Replace <virtual_machine_name> with the name of the virtual machine you want to enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud and <resource_group_name> with the name of the resource group where the virtual machine is located.
Wait for a few minutes for the changes to take effect. Once the changes are applied, you can verify the status of Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines using the command:
```
az security vm show --name <virtual_machine_name> --resource-group <resource_group_name> --query 'defenderStatus.status'
```
This command will return the status of Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines for the specified virtual machine.

That’s it! You have successfully enabled Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines in Azure using Azure CLI.

Using Python

To enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines in Azure using Python, follow these steps:

Install the Azure SDK for Python using the following command:

pip install azure-mgmt-compute

Authenticate with Azure using the Azure CLI or by providing your credentials directly in the code.
Use the following Python code to enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines:

from azure.mgmt.compute import ComputeManagementClient
from azure.mgmt.compute.models import VirtualMachineExtension

# Replace the values in the following variables with your own values
subscription_id = '<your-subscription-id>'
resource_group_name = '<your-resource-group-name>'
vm_name = '<your-vm-name>'
location = '<your-vm-location>'
workspace_id = '<your-workspace-id>'
workspace_key = '<your-workspace-key>'

# Create a ComputeManagementClient object
compute_client = ComputeManagementClient(credentials, subscription_id)

# Create a VirtualMachineExtension object
extension = VirtualMachineExtension(
    location=location,
    publisher='Microsoft.Azure.Security',
    virtual_machine_extension_type='IaaSAntimalware',
    type_handler_version='1.15',
    auto_upgrade_minor_version=True,
    settings={
        "AntimalwareEnabled": True,
        "RealtimeProtectionEnabled": True,
        "ScheduledScanSettings": {
            "isEnabled": True,
            "day": "1",
            "time": "120",
            "scanType": "Quick"
        },
        "Exclusions": {
            "Extensions": ".log;.bak",
            "Paths": "/var/log;/var/lib/docker"
        },
        "AdvancedThreatProtection": {
            "isEnabled": True
        }
    },
    protected_settings={
        "storageAccountName": "<your-storage-account-name>",
        "storageAccountKey": "<your-storage-account-key>",
        "workspaceConfig": {
            "workspaceId": workspace_id,
            "workspaceKey": workspace_key
        }
    }
)

# Create the extension on the virtual machine
compute_client.virtual_machine_extensions.create_or_update(
    resource_group_name,
    vm_name,
    'IaaSAntimalware',
    extension
)

Replace the values in the variables with your own values.
Run the Python code to enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines in Azure. This will create an extension on the virtual machine that enables Microsoft Defender for Cloud and configures it with the specified settings.

Azure Introduction

Azure Pricing

Azure Threats

Azure Misconfigurations

Enable Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Virtual Machines

More Info:

Risk Level

Address

Compliance Standards

Triage and Remediation

Remediation

Azure Introduction

Azure Pricing

Azure Threats

Azure Misconfigurations

​More Info:

​Risk Level

​Address

​Compliance Standards

​Triage and Remediation