Note
We’ve renamed Microsoft Cloud App Security. It’s now called Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. In the coming weeks, we’ll update the screenshots and instructions here and in related pages. For more information about the change, see this announcement. To learn more about the recent renaming of Microsoft security services, see the Microsoft Ignite Security blog.
Defender for Cloud Apps exposes much of its data and actions through a set of programmatic APIs. Those APIs will enable you to automate workflows and innovate based on Defender for Cloud Apps capabilities.
To access the Defender for Cloud Apps API, you have to create an API token and use it in your software to connect to the API. This token will be included in the header when Defender for Cloud Apps makes API requests.
The API access requires OAuth2.0 authentication. For more information, see OAuth 2.0 Authorization Code Flow.
In general, you’ll need to take the following steps to use the APIs:
- Create an AAD application
- Get an access token using this application
- Use the token to access the Defender for Cloud Apps API
You can access the Defender for Cloud Apps API with Application Context or User Context.
Note
The legacy method of accessing the Defender for Cloud Apps API is still supported. However, it is on a deprecation path, so we recommend using the methods described on this page.
Application context (recommended)
Used by apps that run without a signed-in user present. For example, apps that run as background services or daemons.
Steps that need to be taken to access Defender for Cloud Apps API with application context:
- Create an AAD Web-Application.
- Assign the desired permission to the application. For example, Read Alerts or Upload Discovery Report.
- Create a key for this application.
- Get the token using the application with its key.
- Use the token to access the Defender for Cloud Apps API.
For more information, see Get access with application context.
User context
Used to perform actions in the API on behalf of a user.
Steps to take to access the Defender for Cloud Apps API with application context:
- Create an AAD Native-Application.
- Assign the desired permission to the application. For example, Read Alerts or Upload Discovery Report.
- Get the token using the application with user credentials.
- Use the token to access the Defender for Cloud Apps API.
For more information, see Get access with user context.