2.1.2. Manage Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

💡 First Principle: Azure RBAC is the fundamental mechanism for enforcing the principle of least privilege, ensuring that identities are granted only the minimum necessary permissions to perform their intended functions, thereby minimizing the attack surface.

Scenario: You need to assign permissions to a new team member who will manage Virtual Machines. You want to ensure they can manage VMs but cannot delete them or modify network settings.

At its First Principle, Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Azure is about enforcing the "principle of least privilege": granting only the minimum necessary permissions for users, groups, and applications to perform their intended functions. This fundamental practice significantly reduces the attack surface and limits the potential impact of a security breach.

This task delves into the practical application of RBAC. You'll explore how to:

• Create Custom Roles: Define precise permission sets when built-in roles are too broad or restrictive.
• Configure Azure Built-in Roles: Leverage predefined roles for common tasks to streamline access management.
• Assign Roles: Apply roles to users, groups, and service principals at appropriate scopes.
• Interpret Access Assignments: Understand the cumulative effect of all role assignments to determine effective permissions.

Mastering these concepts is crucial for the AZ-104 exam, as it assesses your ability to implement secure and scalable access control solutions.

Visual: Azure RBAC Core Components

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⚠️ Common Pitfall: Assigning broad roles like "Owner" or "Contributor" at a high scope (like a subscription) for convenience. This grants excessive permissions and violates the principle of least privilege.

Key Trade-Offs:

• Granularity (Custom Roles) vs. Simplicity (Built-in Roles): Custom roles provide precise control but add management overhead. Built-in roles are simpler to manage but may be less granular.

Reflection Question: How does enforcing the "principle of least privilege" through RBAC fundamentally reduce security risk and simplify compliance by ensuring users only have necessary access?