Azure Key Vault: Secrets Management for Applications

Stop putting secrets in config files. Azure Key Vault centralizes secret management with proper access control and auditing.

Create Key Vault

az keyvault create --name myappkv --resource-group myapp-rg --location westeurope

Add Secrets

az keyvault secret set --vault-name myappkv --name "DatabasePassword" --value "secret123"

Access from .NET

// In Program.cs
config.AddAzureKeyVault(
    new Uri("https://myappkv.vault.azure.net/"),
    new DefaultAzureCredential()
);

// Access as config
var password = Configuration["DatabasePassword"];

Best Practices

• Use Managed Identity for Azure services
• Enable soft-delete and purge protection
• Rotate secrets regularly
• Audit access logs

References

• Key Vault Documentation