This week’s focus is on building secure identity foundations using Microsoft Entra ID. You’ll begin by exploring core identity concepts such as users, roles, and access models (RBAC and ABAC), and then move into authentication strategies like MFA and Conditional Access. You’ll also dive into identity governance-including provisioning, deprovisioning, and access reviews-to ensure that user access is secure, minimal, and auditable. These lessons provide practical insights into securing access in both cloud-native and hybrid environments. By the end of the week, you’ll gain the confidence to implement robust identity and access policies using Entra ID to protect your organization’s digital assets.

Welcome to Week 3! In this module, you’ll address one of the most critical areas in cloud security: securing privileged access. You’ll start by understanding the risks of privileged accounts and learn to implement controls like Just-in-Time (JIT) and Just-Enough-Access (JEA) to enforce the principle of least privilege. You’ll also explore Microsoft’s Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions and discover how to secure secrets with Azure Key Vault. Finally, you’ll learn how to audit privileged access activities and detect anomalous behavior through logging and monitoring tools. By the end of the week, you’ll know how to design and implement layered defenses to safeguard high-value accounts and sensitive credentials across your cloud environment.

This final week focuses on compliance and governance strategies for secure cloud operations. You’ll begin by identifying key regulatory standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2, then map them to Azure security controls and compliance tools. You’ll also learn how to build a governance framework that aligns with business needs, and explore how to automate compliance tasks like policy enforcement, reporting, and auditing. The week wraps up with an overview of Azure’s compliance offerings and how they support continuous regulatory readiness. By the end of the week, you’ll be able to confidently apply Microsoft tools to maintain compliance, reduce risk, and streamline governance in your Azure environment.