Summary

This article offers an in-depth exploration of how to implement and manage secrets, keys, and certificates within Azure DevOps—a vital skill for those preparing for the AZ-400 exam.

We start with an examination of Azure Key Vault, a powerful tool engineered to protect your sensitive data. Here, we cover the secure handling of secrets, keys, and certificates and detail how to configure access policies that ensure robust control over permissions. Monitoring and logging practices are also discussed to help you maintain a high security standard within your environment.

Following this, we delve into best practices that frequently surface in exam scenarios. The session examines the integration of secret management within DevSecOps workflows using GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, and Azure Key Vault. We outline strategies for both GitHub Actions and Azure Pipelines to ensure your secrets are securely stored and accessed across various environments. Important techniques discussed include:

• Regular secret rotation
• Adherence to the principle of least privilege
• Continuous monitoring of access logs

The focus then shifts to service connections in Azure Pipelines. Service connections play a vital role by allowing pipelines to communicate securely with external and internal services without repeatedly entering credentials. We review different types of service connections—such as Azure Resource Manager (ARM), GitHub, and Container Registries—and explain when and how each should be used.

To further clarify the process, we present a step-by-step guide on creating a service connection in Azure Pipelines. This includes choosing the appropriate service type, providing the necessary authentication details, and configuring an Azure Resource Manager (ARM) service connection to manage Azure resources directly from the pipelines. We also cover how to set up a GitHub service connection to facilitate smooth CI/CD processes with your repositories.

We then demonstrate how to integrate these service connections into build and release pipelines to access external services both securely and efficiently. The article wraps up with best practices for managing service connections, emphasizing the need for regular permission reviews, timely updates, and strict adherence to the principle of least privilege to mitigate security risks.

By following these guidelines, you will gain effective strategies for managing secrets and configuring service connections in Azure DevOps, ultimately enhancing your overall DevSecOps practices.