Microsoft’s managed service for storing and controlling access to keys, secrets, and certificates for applications running on Azure and in hybrid environments.
Azure Key Vault provides centralized storage and access control for secrets, encryption keys, and certificates in Azure environments, with deep integration into Azure RBAC and Managed Identity. The structural limitation for workload authentication is that workloads must authenticate to Azure before they can retrieve a secret, typically via Managed Identity or a service principal, which means the bootstrap credential problem is shifted rather than eliminated. Aembit eliminates the bootstrap by attesting the workload’s identity cryptographically and issuing short-lived credentials at the moment of access. For use cases where Azure Key Vault remains in the stack — encryption key management, certificate lifecycle, or Azure-native integrations that require static secrets — Aembit integrates with Key Vault as a credential provider, governing which workloads can access which secrets and under what conditions.
For workload and agent authentication, Aembit replaces Azure Key Vault because:
– Workloads must authenticate to Azure (via Managed Identity, service principal, or certificate) before they can retrieve a secret from Key Vault. Aembit attests the workload’s runtime identity directly and issues credentials at access time, with no stored credential required at any step.
– Secrets retrieved from Key Vault are held by the application after retrieval. Aembit credentials are short-lived and injected at the network layer, so the application never holds them.
– Key Vault does not enforce conditional access policies based on workload posture, geographic context, or time of day. Aembit enforces these at the moment of access.
– Key Vault requires application code to call the retrieval API and handle the response. Aembit’s injection model requires no code changes in the application.
– Key Vault audit logs (via Azure Monitor) record access events but do not attest workload identity at a cryptographic level. Aembit’s attestation-based logs provide the workload identity evidence that SOC 2 and NIST SP 800-207 require.
Aembit integrates with Azure Key Vault as a credential provider. Organizations that already have Key Vault deployed get:
– Governed access to Key Vault. Aembit attests the requesting workload’s identity before issuing credentials that allow Key Vault retrieval, so access is gated by cryptographic workload attestation rather than a stored Azure credential.
– Conditional enforcement. Aembit’s access policies can restrict which workloads can retrieve which Key Vault secrets, under what posture conditions, and within what time windows.
– A unified audit trail. Aembit logs which attested workload retrieved Key Vault credentials, when, and under what policy, providing the workload-level attribution that Azure Monitor logs alone do not supply.
– Preservation of existing integrations. Teams can govern new workloads through Aembit while Azure-native Key Vault integrations (certificate rotation, disk encryption key management) continue running unchanged.
Resources:
Credential provider (Azure Key Vault): docs.aembit.io/user-guide/access-policies/credential-providers/azure-key-vault/
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