Azure HSM Key Vault Features and Configuration Options

Azure HSM Key Vault is a secure and scalable solution for storing and managing sensitive data. It integrates with Azure Key Vault to provide a seamless experience.

With Azure HSM Key Vault, you can store and manage your encryption keys in a highly secure and isolated environment. This ensures that your sensitive data remains protected at all times.

One of the key features of Azure HSM Key Vault is its ability to use Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) to store and manage encryption keys. HSMs are tamper-evident and provide an additional layer of security.

Azure HSM Key Vault also supports multiple key types, including RSA, elliptic curve cryptography, and symmetric keys. This allows you to choose the key type that best suits your needs.

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Before we dive into the world of Azure HSM key vault, let's make sure you have the necessary foundation. To get started, you'll need a subscription to Microsoft Azure, which can be obtained through a free trial if you don't already have one.

To access and manage your Azure HSM, you'll need the Azure CLI version 2.25.0 or later. You can check the version by running az --version, and if you need to install or upgrade, see the Install the Azure CLI documentation for further instructions.

A managed HSM in your subscription is also a crucial requirement. To provision and activate a managed HSM, follow the steps outlined in the Quickstart: Provision and activate a managed HSM using Azure CLI guide.

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To get started with Azure HSM Key Vault, you'll need to have a key in Azure Managed HSM.

You'll also need a certificate with a public key from your PFX/P12 file in Base64 encoding format.

The Azure Key Vault setting dialog is where you'll input the required information to reconfigure an existing Identify tenant to work with a Managed HSM Key.

In this dialog, you'll need to choose the "Key" mode and a base-64 certificate.

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To reconfigure an existing tenant, you can use the same dialog as for setting up a new tenant, but with the added requirement of choosing the "Key" mode and a base-64 certificate.

The Azure Key Vault setting dialog is a crucial step in getting started with Azure HSM Key Vault.

HSM management is a crucial aspect of Azure Key Vault. You cannot export keys generated or imported into Managed HSM, so it's essential to follow best practices for key portability and durability.

To manage your HSM, you need to provision and activate an Azure Managed HSM instance. This involves generating a private key and a public key, or importing them to the Azure Managed HSM instance.

Before adding or importing a key, you need to have a Managed HSM instance. You can use the local Azure CLI to provision and activate an Azure Managed HSM.

To activate a Managed HSM, you need to generate public certificates using OpenSSL. This can be done using the following command: `openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout cert_0.key -x509 -days 365 -out cert_0.cer`

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You need to generate multiple certificates, one for each Managed HSM instance. You can download these certificates and save them to a folder, such as C:\certs.

Once you have generated the certificates, you can activate the Managed HSM by running a command. This command may take a while to finish, but after it's complete, you'll have an active, ready-to-use Managed HSM instance.

Here's a summary of the steps to activate a Managed HSM:

By following these steps, you can effectively manage your HSM and ensure the security and integrity of your data.

To configure an Azure Managed HSM, you need to provision and activate it. Provisioning involves creating a Managed HSM instance.

You'll need to generate a private key and a public key, or import them to the Azure Managed HSM instance. Generating a private key and a public key can be done using OpenSSL, specifically with the command `openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout cert_0.key -x509 -days 365 -out cert_0.cer`.

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To activate the Managed HSM, you'll need to download the generated certificates and save them to a folder, such as `C:\certs`. Then, run the command to activate the Managed HSM, which may take a while to finish.

After activation, you'll have an active, ready-to-use Managed HSM.

Here's a step-by-step guide to provisioning and activating an Azure Managed HSM:

Security and Compliance is a top priority when it comes to protecting sensitive data in the cloud. Microsoft Azure offers a convenient and cost-effective solution, but you still need to follow security, privacy, and compliance rules.

You may think you're covered with cloud-vendor-specific encryption solutions, but they can actually compromise rapid data mobility across all clouds. This means you'll need to have a plan in place for seamless data transfer between clouds.

Purge (Permanently Delete) is a crucial step in managing your keys securely. To purge a key, you'll use the az keyvault key purge command.

You can't purge a key if the managed HSM has purge protection enabled. This is a security feature that prevents accidental key deletion.

The key will automatically be purged when the retention period has passed, so you don't need to worry about manually deleting it.

A security domain quorum is a crucial aspect of protecting your sensitive data. It's a group of trusted individuals who together hold the keys to your security domain, making it virtually impossible for a single person to compromise the security of your data.

To establish a quorum, you should implement a split-secret threshold to divide the key that encrypts the security domain among multiple persons. This is known as a quorum.

A quorum of at least three persons is recommended, but you can choose a higher number if you need more security. However, be aware that a higher quorum size imposes further administrative overhead.

The maximum quorum size for a managed HSM is 10. You should carefully choose the quorum size based on your organization's needs and periodically review and update it as necessary.

Here are some key roles that should be part of your security domain quorum:

It's essential to keep records of security domain holders and document every hand-off or change of possession. Your policy should enforce a rigorous adherence to quorum and documentation requirements.

Security domain holders should have separate roles and be geographically separated within your organization to prevent a single point of failure.

You can avoid cloud vendor encryption lock-in and ensure data mobility by using Thales Trusted Cyber Technologies' advanced encryption and centralized key management solutions.

This allows you to efficiently and securely spread workloads and data across multiple cloud vendors, including Microsoft Azure, with centralized, independent encryption management.

With this solution, you can take secure advantage of Azure Key Vault with a centralized key management solution that spans multiple clouds.

Data access logging to industry-leading SIEM applications helps identify attacks faster.

Advanced encryption, including privileged user access controls, reduces or eliminates risks arising from compromised credentials.

Thales TCT technology also enables Vaultless Tokenization with Dynamic Data Masking, allowing you to architect applications for the cloud with built-in security.

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