Azure Key Vault

Azure Key Vault is a cloud service for securely storing and accessing secrets. A secret is anything that you want to tightly control access to, such as API keys, passwords, certificates, or cryptographic keys.

What is Azure Key Vault?

Azure Key Vault enables you to:

  • Securely store and manage secrets: This includes API keys, passwords, connection strings, and other sensitive information.
  • Manage TLS/SSL certificates: Key Vault helps you provision, import, manage, and deploy your public and private TLS/SSL certificates.
  • Store and control cryptographic keys: Key Vault allows you to store and control cryptographic keys used to encrypt your data.
  • Audit logs and monitoring: Track all operations performed on your Key Vault for security and compliance purposes.
  • Integration with Azure services: Seamlessly integrate Key Vault with other Azure services like Azure App Service, Azure Functions, and Azure Kubernetes Service.

Key Concepts

Understanding these core concepts is crucial for effectively using Azure Key Vault:

  • Vault: A logical container for secrets, keys, and certificates. Each vault has its own access policies.
  • Secrets: A key-value pair that stores sensitive information.
  • Keys: Cryptographic keys managed by Key Vault, supporting various cryptographic operations.
  • Certificates: Digital certificates, including their private keys, managed and secured by Key Vault.
  • Access Policies: Permissions assigned to identities (users, applications, managed identities) to perform specific operations on Key Vault objects.
  • HSMs (Hardware Security Modules): For enhanced security, Key Vault can leverage FIPS 140-2 Level 2 validated HSMs.

Getting Started

Follow these steps to begin using Azure Key Vault:

  1. Create an Azure Key Vault: You can create a Key Vault through the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell.
  2. Configure Access Policies: Grant permissions to users and applications that need to access secrets, keys, or certificates.
  3. Store Secrets, Keys, or Certificates: Upload or generate your sensitive information into the Key Vault.
  4. Integrate with Applications: Use the Key Vault SDKs or REST API to retrieve secrets programmatically from your applications.

Common Scenarios

1. Managing Application Secrets

Store database connection strings, API keys, and other sensitive configuration values in Key Vault. Your application can then authenticate to Key Vault and retrieve these secrets at runtime, rather than embedding them directly in code or configuration files.


# Example: Retrieving a secret using Azure CLI
az keyvault secret show --vault-name "myKeyVault" --name "mySecretName" --query value -o tsv

2. Securely Storing Certificates

Key Vault simplifies certificate lifecycle management. You can import existing certificates or purchase new ones directly through Key Vault partners. Key Vault handles renewals, ensuring your applications always have valid certificates.

3. Encryption Key Management

Use Key Vault to manage cryptographic keys used for encrypting data at rest. This provides a centralized and secure way to manage your encryption keys, with granular control over their usage.

Further Reading

Explore these resources for more in-depth information: