Windows Azure Training Kit includes a comprehensive set of technical content to help you learn how to use Windows Azure. In this release of the training kit we have delivered 41 Hands on Labs covering a wide variety of bug fixes and screen shot updates for Visual Studio 2012. The August 2012 update...

Your cloud applications can now take advantage of the same identity system that powers Office 365, Dynamics CRM Online and Windows Intune. More than 250,000 companies and organizations use Windows Azure Active Directory today to authenticate billions of times a week. With a new developer preview you...

Microsoft has added Windows Azure platform to the Cloud Security Alliance's Security, Trust and Assurance Registry (STAR) registry. Cloud service providers post information about their security features. The CSA is a member-driven organization, chartered with promoting the use of best practices for...

While writing the series of posts, I kept running into more best practices. So here are a few more items you should consider in securing your Windows Azure application. Here are some tools, coding tips, and best practices: Running on the Operating System Getting the latest security patches...

Several Windows Azure services help you extend your application security into the cloud. Three services can help you in providing identity mapping between various providers, connections between an on premises data center, and abilities for applications (where ever they reside) to send messages to...

Claims-based identity is a simple but powerful way of handling identity and access for your web sites and web services, whether you work on-premises or you are targeting the cloud. You can create more secure applications by reducing custom implementations and using a single simplified identity model...

So which security threats are mitigated by the Windows Azure environment and which security threats must be mitigated by the developer? The paper, Security Best Practices for Developing Windows Azure Applications , describes what you should consider as key threats that your an application running...

When you are building out your cloud application, security should be front and center in your Windows Azure planning and execution. In part1 one I described the threat landscape and that your application should employ defense in depth. In part 2, I explained that security was a shared responsibility...

In Windows Azure Security Best Practices -- Part 1: The Challenges, Defense in Depth , I described the threat landscape and introduces the plan for your application to employ defense in depth . In this part, I explain that security with Windows Azure is a shared responsibility, and Windows Azure provides...

Every conversation I have with developers about moving their application to the cloud revolve around two main issues. One is business. What are the economies of scale around moving your app to the cloud? And close on its heals, come the questions around security. “How secure is the cloud...

In a series of blog posts, I’ll provide a look into how you can secure your application in Windows Azure . This seven-part series describes the threats, how you can respond, what processes you can put into place for the lifecycle of your application, and prescribes a way for you to implement best...

Windows Identity Foundation (WIF) v3.5 Extension for SAML 2.0 Protocol enables .NET developers to build applications for the enterprise and government that require SAML 2.0 Protocol support and interoperate with identity services on a wide variety of platforms. The community preview was announced...

Learn how to authenticate against Microsoft SharePoint Online in client applications using the SharePoint client-side object models. The paper reviews SharePoint 2010 authentication methods, provide details for some of the operation of SharePoint 2010 with claims-mode authentication, and describe an...

The April Update of the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit includes a comprehensive set of technical content to help you learn how to use Windows Azure, SQL Azure, and the Windows Azure AppFabric. You can download the kit from Windows Azure Platform Training Kit - April Update . April Update ...

The Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL ) process guidance illustrates the way Microsoft applies the SDL to its products and technologies. A new update has been released on Microsoft Download. In a recent post on their blog, the team wrote, “We believe our SDL tools and processes add...

ISV StorSimple provides a hybrid storage solution that combines on-premises storage with a scalable, on-demand cloud storage model. StorSimple integrates with several cloud storage providers, including Windows Azure. Dr Iam Howells, CMO for StorSimple, talks with Developer Evangelist Wes Yanaga about...

Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, .NET Developer Platform, has announced the first release of Windows Azure AppFabric Caching service and a release of a new version of the Access Control Service. The announcement was made at his keynote during MIX11. The Windows Azure AppFabric Caching is a...

Windows Azure, as an application hosting platform, must provide confidentiality, integrity, and availability of customer data. It must also provide transparent accountability to allow customers and their agents to track administration of services, by themselves and by Microsoft. A white paper on Windows...

The latest update for the Identity Training Kit and Course include refactoring instructions to match the look and feel of the newest Windows Azure AppFabric portal and for Windows 7 SP1 . The February 2011 release of the Identity Developer Training Kit contains hands-on labs and resources. The identity...

Last weekend, my team used WebMatrix to write a Website that included user registration, admin pages, user sign up/profile pages, and some dynamic content. We did the project over a weekend at GiveCamp . GiveCamp is a weekend event where people who know technology work with non-profits who have technology...

MSDEV presents a series of videos on security of your application on Windows Azure. Graham Calladine, Security Architect with Microsoft Services, describes the issues, the shared responsibility, and what you need to do to secure your application. Each video is between 15 and 45 minutes. The Windows...

ACS (Azure Access Control Service) that is part of Windows Azure AppFabric recently added support for the OAuth 2.0 protocol . OAuth is an open protocol that is being developed by members of the identity community to to allow third party applications access to data without providing passwords. A sample...

The Microsoft Solution Accelerators team is pleased to announce the release of new resources that you can use in combination with the Microsoft Security Compliance Manager tool: the Windows Server 2008 R2 Security Baseline and the Office 2010 Security Baseline, and setting packs for Windows 7 and Internet...

A white paper that answers many of the customer frequently asked questions about Windows Azure is now available for download. The white paper provides details on how Windows Azure provides confidentiality, integrity, and availability of customer data. It also provides detail on how we provide accountability...

Support for identity providers such as Google, Facebook, LiveID and OpenID is being added to Windows Azure AppFabric . The Access Control Service (ACS) allows you to integrate Single Sign On and centralized authorization into your web application. It works with most modern platforms, and integrates with...