February 18, 2023

Using the Azure PKI Solution for IoT Security

finger pointing at iot

Introduction to PKI

Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is a set of policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. The purpose of PKI is to facilitate secure electronic communications by authenticating users and devices.

Organizations that use PKI can be assured that their messages are confidential and tamper-proof because each message is encrypted with a unique key that only the intended recipient can decrypt. In addition, PKI provides a way to verify the sender of a message by authenticating the digital signature attached to the message.

Digital certificates are at the core of PKI. A digital certificate is an electronic document used to prove the ownership of a public key. Certificates are issued by a Certification Authority (CA), which is a trusted third party that verifies the identity of certificate applicants and issues them certificates. Organizations can choose to either run their own CA or outsource this function to a commercial CA.

PKI can be used for both symmetric and asymmetric encryption. With symmetric encryption, both the sender and receiver share the same secret key. Asymmetric encryption uses two different keys—a public key that anyone can use to encrypt a message and a private key that only the intended recipient can use to decrypt it.

Azure offers several solutions for PKI, including Azure Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS), Azure Key Vault, and Managed Microsoft Certificate Services.

What is Azure PKI?

Azure PKI is a public key infrastructure (PKI) service that enables you to create and manage digital certificates for your cloud-based applications. With Azure PKI, you can issue and renew certificates, publish certificate revocation lists (CRLs), and monitor the status of your certificates. You can also use Azure PKI to generate self-signed certificates for your development and test environments.

The Benefits of Azure PKI

Azure PKI is a cloud-based public key infrastructure (PKI) service that provides a scalable, secure, and highly available platform for deploying digital certificates. Azure PKI enables you to deploy certificate-based authentication and encryption solutions in your organisation with ease.

The benefits of Azure PKI include:

Reduced cost and complexity

Azure PKI simplifies the deployment and management of digital certificates, saving you time and money.

Increased security

With Azure PKI, you can take advantage of features such as two-factor authentication and certificate pinning to increase the security of your data and applications.

Flexibility and scalability

Azure PKI is designed to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes. You can easily scale up or down as your needs change.

How to Use Azure PKI

If you’re looking to use Azure PKI for your organisation, there are a few things you’ll need to do first. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about using Azure PKI, from setting it up to implementing it within your organisation.

First, you’ll need to set up an account with Azure. You can do this by signing up for a free trial, or by purchasing a subscription. Once you have an account, you’ll need to create a resource group. This is where all of your Azure resources will be stored and managed.

Next, you’ll need to create a key vault. This is where your cryptographic keys and certificates will be stored. To do this, you’ll need to provide a name for your key vault, choose a location, and select the pricing tier that best fits your needs.

Once your key vault has been created, you can begin adding keys and certificates to it. To do this, you’ll need to generate a new key pair or certificate signing request (CSR). You can do this through the Azure portal or using the Azure CLI.

Once you have your keys and certificates added to your key vault, you can begin using them for authentication and encryption. To do this, you’ll need to assign them to specific users or applications within your organisation. You can do this through the Azure portal or using the Azure CLI.

Configuring Azure PKI

Azure PKI provides a cloud-based solution for managing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and permits enterprises to outsource the creation, management, and revocation of digital certificates used for authentication and encryption. It offers a variety of features including:

  • Certificate enrolment through CMPv2 or SCEP
  • Automated certificate life cycle management
  • Integration with Active Directory Domain Services for certificate mapping
  • Support for multiple root CAs and policy management
  • REST API for certificate management

To configure Azure PKI, follow these steps:
1. Log in to the Azure portal and select your subscription.
2. Select All services > Security Center.
3. In the left pane, select Policy & compliance > Policies.

If you don’t have any custom policies already defined, the list of available policies is displayed. If you have custom policies defined, click Add policy at the top of the list to add a new policy.

4. In the New blade, enter a name and description for your policy, then click Create Policy. Your new policy appears in the list of available policies.
5. From the Policy blade, click Assignments to open the Assignments blade.
6 .In Assignments Blade , Click Edit assignments button on top
7 .On Edit Assignments window, Click Add assignment button on top right corner
8 .Select specific Assignment type “Subscription” from the Type dropdown menu then click the Save button on

Summary

In conclusion, using the Azure PKI Solution can be a great way to manage your public key infrastructure. It is user-friendly and secure, making it an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes.

With its easy-to-use interface and robust security features, you can be sure that your data will always remain safe and secure. Whether you’re just getting started with PKI or have been using it for years, the Azure PKI Solution is a great option to consider!

 

WRITTEN BY
Louise José