7.6 Ensure that Network Watcher is 'Enabled' for Azure Regions that are in use

Information

Enable Network Watcher for physical regions in Azure subscriptions.

Rationale:

Network diagnostic and visualization tools available with Network Watcher help users understand, diagnose, and gain insights to the network in Azure.

Impact:

There are additional costs per transaction to run and store network data. For high-volume networks these charges will add up quickly.

NOTE: Nessus has not performed this check. Please review the benchmark to ensure target compliance.

Solution

Opting out of Network Watcher automatic enablement is a permanent change. Once you opt-out you cannot opt-in without contacting support.
To manually enable Network Watcher in each region where you want to use Network Watcher capabilities, follow the steps below.
Remediate from Azure Portal

Use the Search bar to search for and click on the Network Watcher service.

Click Create.

Select a Region from the drop-down menu.

Click Add.

Remediate from Azure CLI

az network watcher configure --locations <region> --enabled true --resource-group <resource_group>

Default Value:

Network Watcher is automatically enabled. When you create or update a virtual network in your subscription, Network Watcher will be enabled automatically in your Virtual Network's region. There is no impact to your resources or associated charge for automatically enabling Network Watcher.

See Also

https://workbench.cisecurity.org/benchmarks/16820

Item Details

Category: CONFIGURATION MANAGEMENT, CONTINGENCY PLANNING, PLANNING, PROGRAM MANAGEMENT, SYSTEM AND SERVICES ACQUISITION, SYSTEM AND COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTION

References: 800-53|CM-7, 800-53|CP-6, 800-53|CP-7, 800-53|PL-8, 800-53|PM-5, 800-53|PM-7, 800-53|SA-8, 800-53|SC-7, CSCv7|11.2, CSCv7|12.1

Plugin: microsoft_azure

Control ID: db0fd72a4629e9ea5744684e8d5d17e15aa41bcd9a7ba4a9685db7c0e12fddb1