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ConsolidatedCompute, Security & InfraAzure

Azure Security Center Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Legacy names Azure Security Center, Azure Defender

Cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) combining Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), DevSecOps security, and Cloud Workload Protection (CWPP) across Azure, AWS, GCP, and hybrid environments.

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Naming timeline

  1. Azure Security Center

    · General Availability

    Launched as Azure's unified infrastructure security management and posture monitoring service.

  2. Azure Security Center & Azure Defender

    · Ignite 2020 CWPP Rebrand

    Azure Security Center Standard tier (cloud workload protection) was rebranded to Azure Defender while posture management remained Azure Security Center.

  3. Microsoft Defender for CloudCurrent name

    · Ignite 2021 CNAPP Consolidation

    Unified Azure Security Center and Azure Defender into Microsoft Defender for Cloud with multi-cloud support for AWS and GCP.

What is Azure Security Center called now?

Azure Security Center was consolidated into Microsoft Defender for Cloud, with the latest change on 2 November 2021 (Ignite 2021 CNAPP Consolidation). Earlier names covered by this entry also include Azure Defender. Cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) combining Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), DevSecOps security, and Cloud Workload Protection (CWPP) across Azure, AWS, GCP, and hybrid environments. Only the customer-facing name changed; the underlying technical identifiers remain backward compatible.

Also known as

  • ASC
  • MDC
  • Azure Security Center Standard

Technical identifiers

Technical identifiers unchanged. Only the customer-facing product name changed; the APIs, CLI commands, IAM roles and Terraform resources below keep their legacy identifiers for backward compatibility.

ARM Resource Providers (Microsoft.*)Microsoft.Security/pricings Microsoft.Security/assessments Microsoft.Security/securityConnectors Microsoft.Security/alerts
Azure CLI (az) / PowerShellaz security Get-AzSecurityPricing
Entra ID / Azure RBAC RolesSecurity Admin Security Reader
Terraform Resources (azurerm_*)azurerm_security_center_subscription_pricing azurerm_security_center_contact azurerm_security_center_setting azurerm_security_center_auto_provisioning

The ARM namespace (Microsoft.Security), CLI command group (az security), RBAC roles (Security Admin / Security Reader), and Terraform resources (azurerm_security_center_*) remain unchanged.

Notes & disambiguation

  • Originally launched in 2016 as Azure Security Center (with its paid workload protection tier rebranded from Azure Security Center Standard to Azure Defender at Microsoft Ignite in September 2020).
  • On November 2, 2021 at Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft consolidated and renamed both Azure Security Center and Azure Defender into Microsoft Defender for Cloud (with individual workload plans renamed from Azure Defender for X to Microsoft Defender for X, such as Defender for Servers, Defender for Containers, and Defender for Storage).
  • Underlying Azure Resource Manager (ARM) APIs (Microsoft.Security), Azure CLI commands (az security), built-in RBAC roles (Security Admin, Security Reader), and Terraform resources (azurerm_security_center_*) retain their legacy identifiers.

Sources & official documentation

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