Microsoft Defender for Cloud
Cloud and workloadsDiscover sensitive data in cloud resources
In brief
The article now presents prerequisites as a linked checklist and uses simpler wording for reviewing sensitive data findings, recommendations, and alerts. The publication date and authoring metadata were also updated.
What Defender admins need to know
Administrators can use the revised checklist and links to prepare sensitive data discovery and investigate results more easily.
Summaries are generated from the documentation change itself.
Documentation change
View on Microsoft LearnThe comparison below shows only the changed extract. Use the full-page view for complete context.
Discover sensitive data in cloud resources
Use sensitive data discovery in Microsoft Defender for Cloud to find cloud resources that expose sensitive information. This article shows you how to open sensitive data findings in the Data and AI security dashboard and investigate related recommendations and alerts. If you plan to follow these steps, complete the prerequisites in the next sectionPrerequisites first.
Prerequisites
BeforeComplete these steps before you can discover sensitive data in your cloud resources, complete the following prerequisites:start:
Enable Defender cloud security posture management (Defender CSPM). For setup instructions, seeEnable Defender CSPM.Enable sensitive data discovery. For setup instructions, seeEnable sensitive data discovery.Enable Defender for Storage. For setup instructions, seeEnable Defender for Storage.Enable Defender for Databases. For setup instructions, seeEnable Defender for Databases.Register each relevant Azure subscriptionRegister each Azure subscription to the Microsoft.Security resource provider.For setup instructions, see Register resource provider.
View resources with sensitive data
Resources with sensitive data are at risk of unauthorizedmight be exposed to unwanted access. Use this procedurethese steps to identifyfind those resources and investigatereview the related findings.results.
Sign in to the Azure portal.
Review each record found and select View details to see more information about the resource.
Select the resource name to
view allsee its recommendations andalerts associated with that resource.alerts.Remediate recommendations. For guidance, see Implement security recommendations.
@@ -2,28 +2,29 @@ title: Discover sensitive data in cloud resources description: Learn how to discover resources with sensitive data types in the Data and AI security dashboard in Microsoft Defender for Cloud. ms.topic: how-to-ms.date: 06/02/2026+ms.date: 07/03/2026+ms.custom: msecd-doc-authoring-1013 #customer intent: As a security administrator, I want to discover sensitive data so that I can protect it. ai-usage: ai-assisted --- # Discover sensitive data in cloud resources -Use sensitive data discovery in Microsoft Defender for Cloud to find cloud resources that expose sensitive information. This article shows you how to open sensitive data findings in the Data and AI security dashboard and investigate related recommendations and alerts. If you plan to follow these steps, complete the prerequisites in the next section first.+Use sensitive data discovery in Microsoft Defender for Cloud to find cloud resources that expose sensitive information. This article shows you how to open sensitive data findings in the Data and AI security dashboard and investigate related recommendations and alerts. If you plan to follow these steps, complete the [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) first. ## Prerequisites -Before you can discover sensitive data in your cloud resources, complete the following prerequisites:+Complete these steps before you start: -- Enable Defender cloud security posture management (Defender CSPM). For setup instructions, see [Enable Defender CSPM](tutorial-enable-cspm-plan.md).-- Enable sensitive data discovery. For setup instructions, see [Enable Defender CSPM plan components](tutorial-enable-cspm-plan.md#enable-the-components-of-the-defender-cspm-plan).-- Enable Defender for Storage. For setup instructions, see [Enable Defender for Storage](tutorial-enable-storage-plan.md).-- Enable Defender for Databases. For setup instructions, see [Enable Defender for Databases](tutorial-enable-databases-plan.md).-- Register each relevant Azure subscription to the Microsoft.Security resource provider. For setup instructions, see [Register resource provider](/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/resource-providers-and-types#register-resource-provider).+- [Enable Defender CSPM](tutorial-enable-cspm-plan.md).+- [Enable sensitive data discovery](tutorial-enable-cspm-plan.md#enable-the-components-of-the-defender-cspm-plan).+- [Enable Defender for Storage](tutorial-enable-storage-plan.md).+- [Enable Defender for Databases](tutorial-enable-databases-plan.md).+- [Register each Azure subscription](/azure/azure-resource-manager/management/resource-providers-and-types#register-resource-provider) to the Microsoft.Security resource provider. ## View resources with sensitive data -Resources with sensitive data are at risk of unauthorized access. Use this procedure to identify those resources and investigate the related findings.+Resources with sensitive data might be exposed to unwanted access. Use these steps to find those resources and review the results. 1. Sign in to the [Azure portal](https://portal.azure.com/). @@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ Resources with sensitive data are at risk of unauthorized access. Use this proce 1. Review each record found and select **View details** to see more information about the resource. -1. Select the resource name to view all recommendations and alerts associated with that resource.+1. Select the resource name to see its recommendations and alerts. 1. Remediate recommendations. For guidance, see [Implement security recommendations](implement-security-recommendations.md).