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Creating Key Vault in Microsoft Azure Portal for Secret Management

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Introduction

Managing secrets, keys, and certificates securely is a critical aspect of cloud security. Microsoft Azure provides a robust solution for this through Azure Key Vault. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to create a Key Vault in the Azure Portal and manage your secrets effectively.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

  • An active Azure subscription. Follow along the article to get started with a Free Azure Subscription.
  • Appropriate permissions (Contributor, Admin, etc) to create resources in the Azure Portal.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Sign in to Azure Portal

  1. Open your web browser and navigate to the Azure Portal.
  2. Sign in with your Azure account credentials.

Step 2: Create a Key Vault

  1. In the Azure Portal, click on the Create a resource button.
Create a new resource
  1. In the search bar, type Key Vault and select Key Vault from the results.
  2. Click on the Create button.
Create a new resource

Step 3: Configure Key Vault Basics

  1. In the Basics tab, provide the following information:
    • Subscription: Select your Azure subscription.
    • Resource Group: Select an existing resource group or create a new one.
    • Key Vault Name: Enter a unique name for your Key Vault.
    • Region: Select the region where you want to create the Key Vault.
Fill basics tab form
  1. Click on the Next: Access configuration button.

Step 4: Configure Access Policies

Choose Azure RBAC as the permission model which is recommended. Previosly, Vault Access Policy was used which is still there but recommended is Azure RBAC.

Azure RBAC

Step 5: Configure Networking

Based on your organization policies and security guidelines, choose this accordingly. For demo and testing purpose, I will go ahead with All Network Access.

Configure Networking

Step 6: Review and Create

  1. Review the configuration settings in the Review + create tab.
  2. Click on the Create button to create the Key Vault.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can create and manage a Key Vault in Microsoft Azure Portal, ensuring secure management of your secrets, keys, and certificates. Azure Key Vault provides a centralized and secure solution for managing sensitive information, enhancing your cloud security posture.