Manage account keys by using Azure Key Vault

Azure Key Vault is a tool that can be used to securely store and manage account keys. This article will delve into how you can manage account keys by using Azure Key Vault while preparing for the DP-420: Designing and Implementing Native Applications Using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB exam.

Introduction to Azure Key Vault

Azure Key Vault is a cloud service that provides a secure storage service for storing secrets like keys, passwords, and certificates. It helps maintain control over cryptographic keys and secrets that your cloud applications use and coordinates their distribution.

Managing Account Keys with Azure Key Vault

It is crucial to ensure that your account keys are managed securely. A common best practice is storing your keys in Azure Key Vault. With Azure Key Vault, you get centralized key management making it easier to control and manage the keys. Moreover, it’s more secure as Azure Key Vault uses hardware security modules (HSMs) which are FIPS 140-2 Level 2 validated.

Creating a Key Vault

Before you can manage keys, you need to create a Key Vault in your Azure environment. You can do this via the Azure Portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell. Below is an example of how you can create a Key Vault using Azure CLI:

# Create a resource group
az group create --name myResourceGroup --location "West US"
# Create a Key Vault
az keyvault create --name myKeyVault --resource-group myResourceGroup --location "West US"

Be sure to replace “myResourceGroup” and “myKeyVault” with the specific names you want to use.

Storing Cosmos DB Keys in Azure Key Vault

Once you have a Key Vault setup, you can store your Cosmos DB keys. This is done by creating secrets in the Key Vault. The Azure CLI can be used to create a secret as shown below:

# Create a secret that stores the Cosmos DB key
az keyvault secret set --name mySecret --vault-name myKeyVault --value "Your_Cosmos_DB_Key"

Replace “mySecret”, “myKeyVault”, and “Your_Cosmos_DB_Key” with your specific secret name, your Key Vault name, and your Cosmos DB key, respectively.

Accessing Keys Stored in the Key Vault

To access the keys stored in the Key Vault from your application, you first need to grant your application an identity and then use this identity to access the key. Azure provides a service, Managed Service Identity (MSI), that creates an automatically managed identity for your application. You can then use this identity to authenticate and access Azure services.

Setting up MSI for an application involves:

• Enabling MSI on the application
• Granting the necessary permissions for the application’s identity to access secrets from the Key Vault

The steps to do these can vary depending on the type of application and where it is hosted. More detailed steps can be found in the Azure documentation.

In conclusion, Azure Key Vault provides a secure, centralized, and easy-to-use way to manage your Cosmos DB keys. Using this service helps enhance the security of your applications and data. Remember to consider Azure Key Vault as a key management tool when preparing for your DP-420 exam.

Practice Test

True or False: Azure Key Vault can be used to manage cryptographic keys, certificates, and secrets used by cloud applications and services.

• True)
• False)

Answer: True

Explanation: True, Azure Key Vault is designed to handle such sensitive information, ensuring they’re kept safe and accessible only to authorized services and applications.

Which Azure service would you use to manage account keys?

• A. Azure Active Directory
• B. Azure Key Vault
• C. Azure Functions
• D. Azure Logic Apps

Answer: B. Azure Key Vault

Explanation: Azure Key Vault is used to securely store and tightly control access to tokens, passwords, certificates, API keys, and other secrets.

True or False: There is no way to rotate Azure Cosmos DB account keys programmatically.

• True)
• False)

Answer: False

Explanation: You can rotate Azure Cosmos DB account keys programmatically via the Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, and SDKs.

Which roles or permissions are needed to manage keys in Azure Key Vault?

• A. Key Vault Contributor
• B. Key Vault Reader
• C. Key Vault Secrets User
• D. All of the above

Answer: A. Key Vault Contributor

Explanation: The Key Vault Contributor role allows for managing key vaults, including creating and deleting key vaults, but not getting secrets or keys from a key vault.

True or False: Secret stored in Azure Key Vault are transmitted through network in plain text.

• True)
• False)

Answer: False

Explanation: The data stored in Azure Key Vault is encrypted before sending over network which adds an additional layer of security and data protection.

What kind of data should you store in Azure Key Vault?

• A. Certificates
• B. Cryptographic keys
• C. Secrets
• D. All of the above

Answer: D. All of the Above

Explanation: Azure Key Vault is designed to secure and manage secrets, keys and certificates.

True or False: Azure Key Vault should not be used for storing large volumes of data like video files.

• True)
• False)

Answer: True

Explanation: Azure Key Vault is not designed for storing large volumes of data. It’s intended for small, sensitive data like keys, secrets, and certificates.

Which feature of Azure Key Vault allows you to recover deleted keys or secrets?

• A. Key rotation
• B. Key recovery
• C. Soft delete
• D. None of the above

Answer: C. Soft delete

Explanation: Soft delete in Azure Key Vault allows recovery of deleted vaults and deleted key vault objects.

True or False: Azure Key Vault supports importing and exporting keys.

• True)
• False)

Answer : True

Explanation : Azure Key Vault supports importing and exporting of cryptographic keys, allowing users to generate, import, use, and manage keys in flexible ways.

Which Azure service can be used together with Azure Key Vault for event-driven automation?

• A. Azure Functions
• B. Azure Logic Apps
• C. Azure Redis Cache
• D. All of the above

Answer: A. Azure Functions

Explanation: Azure Functions can be used together with Azure Key Vault to trigger an event, like key rotation, whenever a specific event happens, such as time-based schedule.

Interview Questions

What is Azure Key Vault?

Azure Key Vault is a cloud service that works as a secure storage for secrets. Here, a secret could be anything that is considered as sensitive and need secure storage such as API keys, .pfx files, SQL connection strings or credentials.

How do Azure Key Vault and Cosmos DB work together?

Azure Key Vault can be used to securely store connection strings, keys, or any secret required to connect and manipulate Cosmos DB. Instead of storing the details in code, you can reference the keys stored in the Azure Key Vault.

What type of keys does Azure Key Vault support?

Azure Key Vault supports three types of keys: software-protected keys, hardware security module (HSM)-protected keys, and preview (beta version) keys.

Can you rotate keys in Azure Key Vault?

Yes, Azure Key Vault supports key rotation and auditing. Through automation, you can securely rotate your keys and secrets which improves security and complies with data protection standards.

Can Azure Key Vault be integrated with Azure Active Directory?

Yes, Azure Key Vault is integrated with Azure Active Directory (Azure AD), providing role-based access control and allowing for application and user identities.

How does Azure manage access to the Key Vault?

Azure uses access policies for Key Vault access management. These can be set in the Azure portal, and are used to specify what actions are allowed with the keys in the vault.

Can the Azure Key Vault be used for storing Cosmos DB account keys?

Yes, the Azure Key Vault is commonly used for securely storing Cosmos DB account keys.

Can you delete a key vault in Azure?

Yes, you can delete an Azure Key Vault. However, care must be taken because the deletion process also deletes all keys, secrets and certificates stored in the vault.

Can Cosmos DB application retrieve secrets from key vault without a secret?

An application generally requires Managed Service Identity (MSI) to retrieve secrets from key vault without storing any secret inside the application.

Can you restore an Azure Key Vault?

Yes, you can restore an Azure Key Vault only in the instance of the soft-delete feature being enabled prior to deletion. The deleted vault can be recovered for up to 90 days.

How can you manage multiple Azure subscriptions with Azure Key Vault?

Azure Key Vault can be used with various subscriptions. It provides flexibility and control over who gets access to the keys, secrets, and certificates. You will need to manage the keys separately for each subscription.

What consistency level does Azure Cosmos DB provide while creating or updating a key vault?

In Azure Cosmos DB, the operation to create or update a key vault is performed with session consistency.

How to rotate Cosmos DB keys using Azure Key Vault?

Azure provides built-in functionality to rotate Cosmos DB keys. The primary key of the Cosmos DB account can be regenerated and then updated in Azure Key Vault. This entire operation can be automated using Azure Functions.

Is Azure Key Vault subject to regional availability?

No, Azure Key Vault is globally available and not subject to the regional restrictions that apply to some Azure services.

Can application insights track the performance of Azure Key Vault operations?

Yes, applications insights can help monitor the performance, failures, and dependencies of Azure Key Vault operations.