Configuration Compliance imported data for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Integration
Summarize
Summary of Configuration Compliance Imported Data for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Integration
Configuration Compliance enables the import of policies, tests, authoritative sources, and test results from third-party integrations, specifically Microsoft Defender for Cloud. The data is organized into modules for easy access and viewing, facilitating compliance management within your organization.
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Key Features
- Terminology Updates: Terms have been updated in version 14.9 for clarity; for example, 'Test Result Group' is now 'Remediation Task Group.'
- Test Groups: Test groups are collections of configuration tests related to authoritative documents. They can be modified and are populated through scheduled jobs like 'Policy Definitions Integration.'
- Tests: Configuration tests govern asset management and are retrieved through the 'Assessment Metadata Integration' job. These tests help categorize assets based on their results.
- Authoritative Sources: Configuration Compliance uses authoritative sources linked to industry standards (e.g., ISO 27001) to generate vulnerability alerts. These are obtained via the 'Compliance Standards & Controls Integration.'
- Assets: The Assessment integration imports essential resource tags and cloud attributes that assist in filtering and managing compliance assignments.
- Test Results: Test results are not calculated but imported through the 'Assessment Integration.' This integration updates test results based on status changes from the last successful run.
- CI Lookup Rules: Configuration Compliance employs CI Lookup Rules to match imported data with items in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), aiding in remediation efforts.
Key Outcomes
By utilizing this integration, ServiceNow customers can ensure that their configuration compliance data is accurate and up-to-date, enhancing their ability to manage vulnerabilities and adhere to industry standards. The structured approach to importing and organizing data allows for efficient compliance assessments and remediation processes.
Configuration Compliance imports policies, tests, authoritative sources, and test results from third-party integrations and stores them in modules for viewing.
| Terminology prior to v14.9 | Terminology v14.9 onwards |
|---|---|
| Test Result Group | Remediation Task |
| Group Rules | Remediation Task Rules |
| Policy | Test group |
Test groups
A group of configuration tests constitutes a test group. Test groups are related to authoritative documents and test records, and they can be modified to meet the needs of your organization. One configuration test can belong to multiple test groups.
Tests
Tests are libraries of data records that organize scans of computing assets. Configuration tests define how assets must be governed.
A Configuration Compliance test is the mechanism third-party integration applications use to group assets by test results type.
Starting with v15.0 of Configuration Compliance, the test group to which a test belongs to populates in the Test Groups column of the Tests list.
Authoritative sources
Configuration Compliance uses authoritative sources and citations when generating vulnerability alerts for tests. Authoritative sources usually map to sections of published industry standards, such as ISO 27001 and PCI DSS 3.2.1.
These source records contain references to information about known software and hardware configuration issues from experts in the field of computer security. They define requirements for security policies and procedures.
Assets
- Resource tags: All cloud resource tags are imported as host tags as part of the Assessment integration. The cloud tags for any cloud resource type are stored here, whether the resource is a host or
not.
- Tag storage is not case-sensitive. If a Tokyo tag is created, then a TOKYO tag cannot be stored in the Host tag table. Tokyo and TOKYO are considered to be the same host tag. Whichever tag was imported first wins.
- Using host tags as a group key in a group rule can have unexpected results. Host tags are intended for use only in the condition builder.
- Cloud attributes for assets: Following are the cloud attributes that the integrations retrieve from Microsoft Defender for Cloud:
- Cloud Account
- Cloud Region
- Cloud Resource Type
- Cloud Service Provider
Test results
Configuration Compliance does not calculate the test results, but imports them as part of a third-party integration. Once they are viewable in Configuration Compliance, they are remediated using Remediation Tasks.
If the Microsoft Defender for Cloud integration is installed, the scheduled job, Assessment Integration, retrieves the test results. You can view this scheduled job by navigating to .
The Assessment Integration import is the only integration that uses the Start Time parameter in the Integration Details tab. All other Configuration Compliance imports bring in all available data regardless of Start Time.
When the Assessment Integration import is complete, an event is started to trigger end-of-import calculations.
The Assessment Integration pulls the data assessments only if there is a status change from the last successful integration run for the last one day by default. So, if the assessment fails continuously for the past few days, the integration will not fetch the assessment as there is no status change for the assessment. To keep the test results up to date with the defender assessments, a new Comprehensive Assessment Integration is added which pulls the data from the past seven days. It runs weekly and pulls all the test results, which are not passed.
CI lookup rules for identifying CIs from Microsoft Defender for Cloud integrations
When data is imported from a third-party integration, Configuration Compliance automatically uses resource data to search for matches in the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), using CI Lookup Rules. These rules are used to identify the configuration items (CIs) and add them to the test result record to aid in remediation. Base system CI lookup rules are available for Resource ID, Name, and S3 Bucket. For more information on CI lookup rules, see CI lockup rules for Microsoft Defender for Cloud Integration for Security Operations.