Public Preview: Azure Key Vault
Published date: January 08, 2015
Azure Key Vault offers an easy, cost-effective way to safeguard keys and other sensitive data that is used by cloud applications and services. Included are the following features:
- Enhance data protection and compliance: Protect cryptographic keys and sensitive data, such as passwords with keys stored in Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). For added assurance, import or generate your keys in HSMs certified to FIPS 140-2 level 2 and Common Criteria EAL4 standards, so that keys stay within the HSM boundary. Key Vault is designed so that Microsoft doesn’t see or extract your key information.
- All the control, none of the work: Provision new vaults and keys in minutes and centrally manage keys, sensitive data, and policies. You maintain control over your encrypted data—simply grant permission for your own and third-party applications to use keys as needed. Enable developers to easily manage keys that are used for development and testing, and then migrate seamlessly to production keys that are managed by security operations.
- Boost performance and achieve global scale: Improve performance and reduce latency of cloud applications by storing cryptographic keys in the cloud (versus on-premises). Key Vault rapidly scales to meet the cryptographic needs of your cloud applications and match peak demand.