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What Is Microsoft’s Recommended Method for Automated Storage Account Key Management?
Learn why Azure Key Vault is Microsoft’s recommended solution for automating storage account key rotation for AZ-500 exam. Understand how Key Vault’s native integration provides secure, automated key management without custom scripting or manual intervention.
Question
You need to periodically rotate access keys on your Azure Storage accounts. What is Microsoft’s recommended approach for automating this task?
A. Azure Automation
B. Azure PowerShell
C. Azure Key Vault
D. Azure CLI
Answer
C. Azure Key Vault
Explanation
The correct answer is C. Azure Key Vault. Microsoft has built native integration between Azure Key Vault and Azure Storage accounts specifically designed to automate the rotation of storage account access keys, making this the recommended approach for production environments.
While you can rotate storage account keys manually or with PowerShell, Microsoft recommends always using the native integration for storage account key rotation feature they’ve built into Key Vault.
Azure Key Vault’s Storage Account Key Management
Azure Key Vault provides a comprehensive managed service for storage account key rotation that eliminates the complexity and security risks associated with manual or custom automation approaches. This feature is designed to handle the entire key lifecycle automatically.
How the Native Integration Works
- Automatic Key Generation: Key Vault can automatically generate new storage account keys on a predefined schedule (such as every 30, 60, or 90 days) without requiring custom scripts or manual intervention.
- Seamless Key Rotation: The service handles the rotation process by generating a new key, updating applications that reference the key through Key Vault, and then invalidating the old key. This ensures zero-downtime rotation.
- Version Management: Each rotated key is stored as a new version within Key Vault, providing a complete audit trail and the ability to roll back if necessary.
- Secure Storage: The keys are stored securely within Key Vault’s hardware security modules (HSMs), providing enterprise-grade protection.
Key Vault Integration Benefits
- Centralized Management: Storage account keys are managed alongside other secrets, certificates, and keys in a single, secure location.
- Access Control: Fine-grained access policies can be applied to control who can access or rotate the keys using Azure RBAC and Key Vault access policies.
- Monitoring and Auditing: All key access and rotation activities are logged in Azure Monitor, providing comprehensive audit trails for compliance requirements.
- Application Integration: Applications can retrieve the current key from Key Vault using managed identities, eliminating the need to store keys in application configuration files.
Why Other Options Are Less Optimal
Azure Automation (A): While capable of executing key rotation scripts, it requires custom development, maintenance, and doesn’t provide the integrated security features of Key Vault.
Azure PowerShell (B): This is a manual or script-based approach that lacks the automated scheduling, secure storage, and seamless integration features of the Key Vault solution.
Azure CLI (D): Similar to PowerShell, this requires custom scripting and doesn’t provide the comprehensive key management capabilities built into Key Vault.
The Key Vault approach represents Microsoft’s best practice for production environments where security, reliability, and compliance are critical requirements.
Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 certification exam assessment practice question and answer (Q&A) dump including multiple choice questions (MCQ) and objective type questions, with detail explanation and reference available free, helpful to pass the Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 exam and earn Microsoft Certified Azure Security Engineer Associate AZ-500 certification.