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Azure Key Vault is designed to safeguard cryptographic keys and other secrets used by cloud applications and services. Rather than storing sensitive information in application code or source control, Key Vault can store these securely and control access to them.
Secrets in Azure Key Vault can include passwords, connection strings, and any other piece of information that should not be exposed. You manage secrets by setting and retrieving them via Azure CLI, PowerShell, or the Azure Portal.
Example:
To create a secret in the Azure Key Vault, you can use the Azure CLI command:
az keyvault secret set –vault-name ‘YourKeyVaultName’ –name ‘ExampleSecret’ –value ‘MyPassword’
Keys in Azure Key Vault are cryptographic keys that enable encryption and digital signatures. Keys can be managed the same way as secrets using Azure CLI, PowerShell, or the Azure Portal.
Example:
Creating a key using PowerShell might look like this:
Add-AzKeyVaultKey -VaultName ‘YourKeyVaultName’ -Name ‘ExampleKey’ -Destination ‘Software’
Certificates are utilized for establishing identity and enabling secure communications. Azure Key Vault makes handling certificates easy by automating tasks like renewal and deployment.
Example:
To add a new certificate to Azure Key Vault:
az keyvault certificate create –vault-name ‘YourKeyVaultName’ -n ‘ExampleCertificate’ -p “$(az keyvault certificate get-default-policy)”
Access to the Key Vault is controlled through access policies and Azure role-based access control (RBAC). You can set specific permissions for keys, secrets, and certificates to specific users or applications, ensuring that only authorized entities can access them.
Access Policies:
RBAC:
Understanding and implementing these practices are essential for securing Azure applications and protecting sensitive information as part of the competencies measured by the AZ-500 exam.
Explanation: Azure Key Vault provides a secure store for secrets, including SSH keys, which can be used for securing access to virtual machines.
Answer: C. Azure Key Vault
Explanation: Azure Key Vault is the service designed to securely store and manage sensitive information such as secrets, keys, and certificates, including database connection strings.
Explanation: The Azure platform does not automatically rotate storage account keys. Users need to rotate these keys manually or set up a rotation policy.
Answer: D. Network Security Group Management
Explanation: Network Security Group Management is not a feature of Azure Key Vault. The Key Vault is specifically designed for managing secrets, keys, and certificates.
Explanation: Azure Key Vault allows the setting of expiration dates for secrets to ensure they are rotated or updated as required by security policies.
Answer: C. Azure Key Vault
Explanation: Azure Key Vault offers the option to use Hardware Security Module (HSM)-backed keys for enhanced security.
Explanation: Access to Azure Key Vault can be controlled using Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) by assigning roles and configuring access policies.
Answer: B. Hardware-based cryptographic key storage
Explanation: Azure Managed HSM (Hardware Security Module) is a fully managed service that provides hardware-based, high-performance cryptographic key storage.
Explanation: Azure Key Vault stores cryptographic keys and secrets used for encryption, but it does not encrypt virtual machine disks directly. Azure Disk Encryption is used for this purpose in conjunction with keys stored in Key Vault.
Answer: B. Azure Key Vault Certificate Renewal
Explanation: Azure Key Vault allows for the automatic renewal of certificates, ensuring that certificates are replaced before they reach expiration without manual intervention.
Explanation: Azure Key Vault has its own set of access policies. Users need specific permissions to manage secrets given by Key Vault access policies, not just the Contributor role on the subscription or resource group.
Answer: D. None of the above
Explanation: All actions performed on Azure Key Vault can be logged through Azure Monitor, which helps to track audit trails and ensures compliance with governance and regulatory requirements.
Secrets are sensitive or private application data, such as passwords, connection strings, or API keys, that are securely stored in Azure Key Vault.
You can manage secrets in Azure Key Vault using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, Azure PowerShell, Azure SDKs, or Key Vault REST API.
A certificate is a digitally signed statement that binds the value of a public key to the identity of the certificate owner. In Azure Key Vault, certificates are used to secure communication between clients and services.
You can import a certificate to Azure Key Vault using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell. You can also use Key Vault REST API or SDKs.
A key in Azure Storage is a secret value that is used to encrypt and decrypt data. Keys are used to secure data in Blob storage and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1.
Storage account keys are used to authorize access to data in Blob storage and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1.
You can manage storage account keys in Azure Storage using the Azure portal, Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or Azure Storage SDKs.
A storage encryption key is a 256-bit key that is used to encrypt and decrypt data in Blob storage and Azure Data Lake Storage Gen1.
Storage encryption keys are managed by Azure Storage on behalf of the user. By default, Azure Storage manages the storage encryption keys using Microsoft-managed keys.
You can bring your own key (BYOK) for storage encryption in Azure Storage using Azure Key Vault. You can use Azure Key Vault to store and manage your encryption keys, and then configure your storage account to use these keys for data encryption.
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