Azure Key Vault Tutorial

Introduction

Azure Key Vault is a cloud service that provides a secure store for secrets, such as API keys, passwords, certificates, and cryptographic keys. It allows you to safeguard and manage cryptographic keys and secrets used by cloud applications and services.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

• An Azure subscription. If you don't have one, you can create a free account.
• Azure CLI installed on your local machine.

Step 1: Create a Key Vault

First, you'll need to create a Key Vault in Azure. Open your terminal and use the Azure CLI to create a Key Vault:

Replace <your-key-vault-name>, <your-resource-group>, and <your-location> with your desired Key Vault name, resource group, and location.

Step 2: Store a Secret

To store a secret in your Key Vault, use the following command:

Replace <your-key-vault-name>, <secret-name>, and <secret-value> with your Key Vault name, the name of your secret, and the value of your secret.

Step 3: Retrieve a Secret

To retrieve a secret from your Key Vault, use the following command:

The output will display the value of the secret:

{"value": "your-secret-value"}

Step 4: Delete a Secret

If you no longer need a secret, you can delete it using the following command:

Best Practices

Here are some best practices for using Azure Key Vault:

• Use separate Key Vaults for development, testing, and production environments.
• Restrict access to your Key Vault using Azure Active Directory (AAD) roles and policies.
• Regularly rotate secrets and keys to enhance security.
• Monitor access and usage of your Key Vault using Azure Monitor and Azure Security Center.

Conclusion

Azure Key Vault is a powerful tool for securely managing your secrets and cryptographic keys in the cloud. By following this tutorial, you should have a good understanding of how to create, store, retrieve, and delete secrets in Azure Key Vault, as well as some best practices to keep in mind.