[Deprecated] Ensure Auto provisioning of 'Log Analytics agent for Azure VMs' is Set to 'On'

From Azure Console

1. Go to Microsoft Defender for Cloud
2. Under Management, select Environment Settings
3. Select a subscription
4. Select Settings & monitoring
5. Set Log Analytics agent/Azure Monitor Agent to On

Repeat the above for any additional subscriptions.

Using Azure Command Line Interface

Use the below command to set Automatic provisioning of monitoring agent to On.

az account get-access-token --query "{subscription:subscription,accessToken:accessToken}" --out tsv | xargs -L1 bash -c 'curl -X PUT -H "Authorization: Bearer $1" -H "Content-Type: application/json" https://management.azure.com/subscriptions/subscriptionID/providers/Microsoft.Security/autoProvisioningSettings/default?api-version=2017-08-01-preview -d@"input.json"'

Where input.json contains the Request body json data as mentioned below.

{
    "id": "/subscriptions/<subscriptionID>/providers/Microsoft.Security/autoProvisioningSettings/default",
    "name": "default",
    "type": "Microsoft.Security/autoProvisioningSettings",
    "properties": {
        "autoProvision": "On"
    }
}

Additional Information

• Excluding any of the entries in input.json may disable the specific setting by default
• Microsoft has recently changed APIs to get and Update Automatic Provisioning Settings. This recommendation is updated accordingly.

References

1. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security-center/security-center-data-security
2. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security-center/security-center-enable-data-collection
3. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt704062.aspx
4. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt704063.aspx
5. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/securitycenter/autoprovisioningsettings/list
6. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/securitycenter/autoprovisioningsettings/create
7. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/benchmark/azure/security-controls-v3-logging-threat-detection#lt-5-centralize-security-log-management-and-analysis
8. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/benchmark/azure/security-controls-v3-logging-threat-detection#lt-3-enable-logging-for-security-investigation
9. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/security/benchmark/azure/security-controls-v3-incident-response#ir-2-preparation--setup-incident-notification

Multiple Remediation Paths

Azure

SERVICE-WIDE (RECOMMENDED when many resources are affected): Assign Azure Policy initiatives at management group/subscription scope and trigger remediation tasks.

az policy assignment create --name <assignment-name> --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id> --policy-set-definition <initiative-id>
az policy remediation create --name <remediation-name> --policy-assignment <assignment-id>

ASSET-LEVEL: Apply the resource-specific remediation steps above to the listed non-compliant resources.

PREVENTIVE: Embed Azure Policy checks into landing zones and IaC workflows to block or auto-remediate drift.

References for Service-Wide Patterns

• Azure Policy overview: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/policy/overview
• Azure Policy remediation: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/policy/how-to/remediate-resources
• Azure Policy initiative structure: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/policy/concepts/initiative-definition-structure

Operational Rollout Workflow

Use this sequence to reduce risk and avoid repeated drift.

1. Contain at Service-Wide Scope First (Recommended)

• Azure: assign policy initiatives at management group/subscription scope and run remediation tasks.

az policy assignment create --name <assignment-name> --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id> --policy-set-definition <initiative-id>
az policy remediation create --name <remediation-name> --policy-assignment <assignment-id>

2. Remediate Existing Affected Assets

• Execute the control-specific Console/CLI steps documented above for each flagged resource.
• Prioritize internet-exposed and production assets first.

3. Validate and Prevent Recurrence

• Re-scan after each remediation batch.
• Track exceptions with owner and expiry date.
• Add preventive checks in IaC/CI pipelines.