What Azure feature is used to enforce security policies on Azure resources?

Azure Policy is designed specifically to enforce security policies on Azure resources. It enables organizations to define rules and effects for their Azure environment and ensure that resources comply with governance standards. By implementing Azure Policy, administrators can create and manage policies that automatically trigger actions such as auditing, enforcing compliance, or denying resource creation if they do not meet defined criteria.

For example, a company may wish to enforce that all storage accounts must have encryption turned on. By applying an Azure Policy, the organization can automatically ensure that any new storage account created adheres to this rule, and even assess existing storage accounts for compliance, allowing for easier governance and management of resources.

This capability extends beyond simple compliance; it assists organizations in maintaining a consistent security posture across their Azure environments and can automatically remediate non-compliant resources as necessary. Consequently, Azure Policy stands out as the vital feature for ensuring that security policies are not just theoretical but are actively enforced in the cloud infrastructure.