Integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog: Keeping API Secret Safe

APIs often require various keys, tokens, and other sensitive information to authenticate requests. Keeping these secrets secure is paramount for developers and organizations alike.

Apidog’s vault secret feature, integrated with Azure Key Vault, provides an effective and secure solution for managing API secrets. This step-by-step guide will walk you through the process of integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog to safeguard your API keys and API tokens while testing and managing APIs.

What is Azure Key Vault?

Azure Key Vault is a cloud-based service from Microsoft Azure designed to securely store and manage sensitive information, such as secrets, encryption keys, and certificates. It helps organizations control access to critical assets like passwords, API keys, and digital certificates, ensuring that these resources are protected in cloud applications and services.

Azure Key Vault supports two main types of containers:

• Vaults: Can store both software-backed and hardware security module (HSM)-backed keys, secrets, and certificates.
• Managed HSM Pools: Specifically designed for HSM-backed keys, providing a higher level of security for cryptographic operations.

Key Features of Azure Key Vault

1. Secure Key Management: Azure Key Vault allows you to securely store and manage cryptographic keys and small secrets (such as passwords) used by cloud applications and services. It ensures that keys are stored in hardware security modules (HSMs) for added security.
2. Encryption of Keys and Secrets: Azure Key Vault enables encryption of sensitive data using securely stored keys, improving protection for your applications and data in the cloud.
3. Built-in Security and Compliance: The service is backed by robust security measures, with Microsoft's commitment to investing $20 billion in cybersecurity over five years. Azure also employs over 8,500 security and threat intelligence experts across 77 countries to ensure data protection.
4. Industry-Leading Compliance Certifications: Azure Key Vault operates within one of the largest compliance certification portfolios in the industry, ensuring that organizations meet regulatory requirements.
5. Scalability and Integration: Azure Key Vault seamlessly integrates with Azure services and supports scalability for enterprise-level applications, ensuring that both small and large-scale enterprises can benefit from its security features.

Why Use Azure Key Vault?

• Centralized Storage: Reduces the risk of secret exposure by storing sensitive information securely outside of application code.
• Secure Access Control: Uses authentication via Microsoft Entra ID and authorization through Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) or Key Vault access policies to protect secrets.
• Monitoring and Auditing: Offers logging and monitoring tools, allowing organizations to track access and usage of keys and secrets.
• Simplified Administration: Azure Key Vault automates key lifecycle management, provides high availability through data replication, and scales with demand.

Benefits of Using Azure Key Vault with Apidog

Integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog provides several key advantages when managing API secrets and API tokens.

1. Centralized Secret Management

With Azure Key Vault, you can centralize the management of your API secrets, reducing the risk of accidental leaks and ensuring that your sensitive data is stored securely.

• No Hardcoding Secrets: Secrets are not stored in your application code or configuration files, reducing the chance of accidental exposure.
• Centralized Access: Developers and services can retrieve secrets from a centralized location, streamlining workflows.

2. Enhanced Security

Azure Key Vault provides advanced security features, such as hardware-backed HSMs and compliance with FIPS 140-2 standards, ensuring that your secrets are protected at the highest levels.

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Define who can access specific secrets, keys, and certificates based on roles within Azure.
• Audit Logs: Monitor and audit access to secrets, helping track any suspicious activity.

3. Simplified API Testing Workflow

By securely integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog, you can automate the retrieval of secrets during API testing, making it faster and more efficient. There’s no need for manual intervention to manage sensitive information during testing.

Step-by-Step Guide to Integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog

Integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog allows you to securely store your API secrets, ensuring they never need to be embedded in application code. Apidog’s Vault Secret feature can then retrieve these secrets during API testing, streamlining your workflows without compromising security.

Azure Key Vault - Apidog Docs

Azure Key Vault - Apidog Docs

Apidog

Prerequisites

Ensure you have the following before you start:

• Apidog Enterprise Plan with Vault support.
• Access to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory).
• Basic understanding of OAuth 2.0 and OIDC (OpenID Connect) authentication methods.

Step 1: Configure Microsoft Entra ID for OIDC

To begin integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog, log in to the "Microsoft Entra ID portal" and navigate to "App registrations". From there, click on "New registration" to create a new application. Provide a name for your application, such as: Vault Integration, and then click "Register" to complete the creation of the application. This step sets up the foundation for linking your Azure Key Vault with Apidog, allowing you to securely manage API secrets and tokens.

Step 2: Integrate Azure Key Vault with Apidog

Once your application is registered, navigate to the "Overview" page in App registrations and copy the "Application (client) ID". Paste this ID into the "Client ID" field in Apidog.

Then, click on "Endpoints" in the Microsoft Entra ID portal. Copy the "OAuth 2.0 authorization endpoint (v2)" and paste it into the "Auth URL" field in Apidog, followed by copying the "OAuth 2.0 token endpoint (v2)" and pasting it into the "Access Token URL" field in Apidog.

Next, go to the "Authentication" page within the application settings in App registrations, click "Add a platform", and select "Single-page application". Copy the "Callback URL" in Apidog and paste it into the "Redirect URIs" section.

Afterward, return to the home page of the Microsoft Entra ID management portal, navigate to "Enterprise Applications", and click on the application you just registered. Finally, on the "Users and groups" page, add the users or groups who should have access to the key vault.

Step 3: Test the Connection in Apidog

To test the connection in Apidog, first navigate to the "Vault Secrets" section.

Here, choose Azure Key Vault as the vault provider, and enter the name of your Azure Key Vault. Once the name is entered, click on "Test Connection". This will prompt the OAuth 2.0 login window to appear. Log in using your Microsoft Entra ID credentials. If the connection is successful, you will see a confirmation message saying "Succeeded" in Apidog, indicating that the integration with your Azure Key Vault has been successfully established.

Step 4: Fetch Secrets from Azure Key Vault to Apidog

Once the connection to your Azure Key Vault is established, you can proceed to fetch secrets from Azure Key Vault to Apidog.

First, locate the secret you want to use in Azure Key Vault; for example, a secret named "foo".

Next, in Apidog, navigate to the Vault Secret section and input the required metadata for your secret. After entering the metadata, click on the Fetch Secrets button, and the secret value will be displayed.

To view the secret's value, simply click the eye icon on the right, which will reveal its contents for your use in API requests.

Step 5: Use Vault Secrets in Apidog

Once your secrets are successfully linked to Apidog, you can easily use them in your API requests and scripts. To include a secret as a variable in an API request, simply use the following syntax:

{{vault:key}}

For instance, if you've linked a secret named test/foo, you can reference it in your request like so:

{{vault:test/foo}}

This will allow Apidog to dynamically fetch the secret value at the time of request execution, ensuring that sensitive data is handled securely.

Additionally, you can access these secrets programmatically in your scripts by using the following code:

await pm.vault.get("key");

This code retrieves the secret value, allowing you to securely use it in your scripts or API calls without exposing it in your code, making it both efficient and secure to integrate sensitive data into your workflows.

By following this step-by-step guide, you have now established a secure and efficient workflow for managing API secrets, tokens, and other sensitive information. This integration not only enhances the security of your API testing and development but also streamlines the process, saving you time and reducing the risks associated with hardcoding sensitive data. With Azure Key Vault and Apidog working together, you can confidently manage your secrets while maintaining robust security standards across your APIs.

Conclusion

Integrating Azure Key Vault with Apidog provides a secure and efficient way to manage API secrets during development and testing. By using the steps outlined above, you can ensure that sensitive data like API keys and tokens are encrypted and managed securely, without compromising the security of your APIs. This integration is especially valuable for teams looking to streamline their development workflows while maintaining high-security standards.