Microsoft Cybersecurity Architect (SC-100)Design a Zero Trust strategy and architectureMedium
A global manufacturing company is implementing a Zero Trust architecture. They have numerous legacy applications hosted on-premises that need to be securely accessed by remote employees and partners without exposing them directly to the internet. The company wants to avoid using a traditional VPN for all access. Which Azure service should the company integrate to provide secure, Zero Trust-compliant access to these internal applications?
- AAzure Front Door
- BAzure AD Application Proxy
- CAzure Firewall
- DAzure Application Gateway
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. Azure AD Application Proxy
Azure AD Application Proxy provides secure remote access to on-premises web applications and other internal resources without requiring a VPN, aligning with Zero Trust principles by pre-authenticating users against Azure AD and controlling access.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Azure Front Door is a global, scalable entry-point that uses the Microsoft global edge network to create fast, secure, and widely scalable web applications, primarily for public-facing services.
- C. Azure Firewall is a managed, cloud-based network security service that protects your Azure Virtual Network resources, but doesn't specifically provide reverse proxy for on-premises apps like Application Proxy.
- D. Azure Application Gateway is a web traffic load balancer that enables you to manage traffic to your web applications, typically for applications already in Azure.
Azure AD Application Proxy
A feature of Azure Active Directory that enables secure remote access to on-premises web applications and other internal resources. It acts as a reverse proxy, allowing users to access internal apps from anywhere without a VPN, while enforcing Azure AD authentication and conditional access policies.
- Secure remote access to on-premises apps
- No VPN required
- Integrates with Azure AD and Conditional Access
- Acts as a reverse proxy
Memory trick: App Proxy is the bridge for your internal apps to the cloud.