Azure Managed Identity, on the other hand, is a feature of Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) that provides an identity for applications running in Azure services. It eliminates the need for developers to manage credentials by allowing Azure services to automatically manage the identities of the applications they host.
With Azure Managed Identity:
Authentication: Managed identities authenticate with Azure AD without requiring explicit credentials, such as usernames or passwords.
Authorization: Managed identities can be assigned permissions within Azure resources, such as Azure Key Vault or Azure Storage, allowing them to securely access these resources.
Lifecycle Management: Azure automatically handles the lifecycle of managed identities, including provisioning, rotation, and revocation, reducing the administrative overhead for developers.
Security: Managed identities enhance security by eliminating the need to hardcode credentials or manage service principals manually, reducing the risk of credential compromise.
By leveraging Azure Managed Identity, applications can securely access Azure services and resources without the complexities associated with managing traditional credentials. This improves security posture and simplifies development and operations in the cloud.
Azure Key Vault is a cloud service provided by Microsoft Azure for securely storing and managing sensitive information such as cryptographic keys, secrets, certificates, and connection strings. It helps in safeguarding cryptographic keys and other secrets that are used by cloud applications and services. Azure Key Vault eliminates the need for developers to store security-sensitive information in their code or configuration files, thus enhancing security and compliance.
Azure Key Vault offers features like:
Key Management: It allows you to create, import, and manage cryptographic keys used for encryption, decryption, signing, and verification.
Secrets Management: It enables secure storage and management of application secrets, such as database connection strings, API keys, and passwords.
Certificate Management: It supports the storage and management of X.509 certificates, providing capabilities for secure storage, issuance, renewal, and revocation of certificates.
Integration with Azure Services: Azure Key Vault seamlessly integrates with various Azure services, allowing them to securely access keys, secrets, and certificates without exposing them directly.
Access Control and Monitoring: It offers robust access control mechanisms and auditing features to track access to secrets and keys, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.
