Tutorial / Cram Notes
Types of Managed Identities
There are two types of managed identities:
- System-assigned managed identities are enabled directly on an Azure service instance. When the service instance is deleted, Azure automatically cleans up the credentials and the identity in Azure AD.
- User-assigned managed identities are created as a standalone Azure resource. After creating a user-assigned managed identity, it can be attached to one or more Azure service instances. These identities are maintained separately from the lifecycle of the services that use them.
Creating and Managing System-Assigned Managed Identities
To create and manage a system-assigned managed identity on an Azure service like a virtual machine or a web app, follow these steps:
- Enable Managed Identity
- Navigate to the Azure portal and select the Azure resource, like a VM or App Service.
- Find the ‘Identity’ panel within the resource settings.
- In the ‘System assigned’ tab, set the status to ‘On’ and then save the changes.
- Assigning Roles
- After the identity is created, you need to assign it the appropriate roles so it can access other resources. This can be done by using Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
- Navigate to the resource you want your managed identity to access, such as an Azure Storage account.
- Click on ‘Access control (IAM)’ and then ‘Add a role assignment.’
- Choose a role and assign it to the managed identity for your resource.
- Accessing Azure Resources
The application running on the service instance can now access Azure resources using its managed identity. This is done through Azure AD Authentication without having to manage credentials.
Creating and Managing User-Assigned Managed Identities
To create a user-assigned managed identity, use the Azure portal, Azure CLI, or Azure PowerShell:
- Create The Identity
- In the Azure portal, go to ‘Managed Identities’ and select ‘Add’.
- Fill in the name and subscription, resource group, and region.
- Click on ‘Create’.
- Attach to Azure Services
- Navigate to the service you want to assign the identity to.
- Under ‘Settings’, find ‘Identity’, and then in the ‘User assigned’ tab, add the managed identity you created.
- Assigning Roles
Same as with system-assigned identities, assign roles to the managed identity to grant it access to other Azure resources.
Benefits of Managed Identities
- Eliminating the need for developers to manage credentials.
- Providing an identity that can be used to authenticate to any service that supports Azure AD authentication.
- Reducing the risk associated with credential leakage.
Monitoring and Auditing
It’s important to monitor and audit the usage of managed identities:
- Activity Logs – The Azure Activity Log provides data about the operations on each Azure resource, including those done with managed identities.
- Audit Logs – In Azure AD, you can view audit logs to see when and how the managed identity is being used.
Comparison Between System-Assigned and User-Assigned Managed Identities
| Feature | System-Assigned | User-Assigned |
|---|---|---|
| Lifecycle | Tied to the Azure resource | Independent of any Azure resource |
| Assignability | Can only be assigned to one resource | Can be assigned to multiple resources |
| Creation/Deletion | Automatic with resource creation/deletion | Manually created/deleted |
| Complexity | Simpler to set up | More complex, but flexible |
| Use Cases | Good for resources that only need one identity | Useful for scenarios where one identity is used by multiple resources |
Important Considerations
- Managed identities should be given the least privilege necessary to perform their intended tasks.
- Regular audits and reviews of role assignments for managed identities can help ensure that they only have necessary permissions.
Conclusion
Managed identities for Azure resources simplify the process of securing credentials for applications that need to access other Azure services. By following the steps outlined above and understanding the differences between system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities, you can securely manage your application’s identity and access in Azure, enhancing your security posture according to best practices highlighted by the AZ-500 Microsoft Azure Security Technologies exam.
Practice Test with Explanation
True or False: A managed identity in Azure can be used to automatically manage the credentials for authenticating to Azure services.
- True
Managed identities in Azure provide an identity for applications to use when connecting to resources that support Azure Active Directory (AD) authentication, automatically managing the credentials.
True or False: Managed identities can be used with both Azure VMs and Azure App Services.
- True
Managed identities can be used within Azure Virtual Machines (VMs), Azure App Services, and other Azure services that support managed identities.
Which Azure service allows you to control which resources a managed identity can access?
- A) Azure Active Directory
- B) Azure Policy
- C) Azure Key Vault
- D) Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Azure RBAC is used to manage access to Azure resources, including the resources a managed identity can access.
True or False: You must manually rotate the keys or secrets associated with a managed identity in Azure.
- False
Azure automatically rotates the credentials associated with a managed identity, relieving the user from manual management and rotation.
What are the two types of managed identities in Azure?
- A) System-assigned and User-assigned
- B) Azure-assigned and Developer-assigned
- C) Resource-assigned and Group-assigned
- D) Role-assigned and Policy-assigned
Azure offers two types of managed identities, System-assigned, which is tied to a single resource, and User-assigned, which can be shared across multiple resources.
True or False: User-assigned managed identities can be associated with multiple Azure services at the same time.
- True
User-assigned managed identities are standalone Azure resources that can be associated with one or more Azure services.
How does an Azure VM access its system-assigned managed identity credentials?
- A) By reading from the Azure metadata service
- B) Via environment variables
- C) Through Azure Active Directory
- D) By using the Azure management portal
Azure services like VMs can access system-assigned managed identity credentials using Azure Instance Metadata Service (IMDS).
True or False: Managed identities for Azure resources are limited to use within the Azure cloud and cannot be used for accessing resources outside of Azure.
- True
Managed identities are designed for managing credentials within the Azure environment and cannot be used directly to access external resources outside of Azure.
What must you use to restrict access to a specific scope using a managed identity?
- A) Azure Policy
- B) Azure Blueprints
- C) Azure Service Bus
- D) Azure Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Scopes for permission levels are set using Azure RBAC, which can be used to restrict the resources that managed identities can access.
True or False: When a system-assigned managed identity is deleted, its associated credentials are also deleted.
- True
Since a system-assigned managed identity is tightly bound to its associated Azure resource, deleting the resource will also delete the managed identity and its credentials.
Which of the following operations can be performed by a managed identity?
- A) Access resources that support Azure AD authentication without storing credentials in code.
- B) Automatically deploy new Azure VMs.
- C) Act as a tenant administrator.
- D) Generate API keys for Azure services.
Managed identities are used to securely access resources that support Azure AD authentication, without the need to embed credentials in code.
True or False: Managed identities are available at no extra cost in Azure.
- True
Managed identities are a feature of Azure AD and do not incur additional costs when used with Azure resources.
Interview Questions
What is a managed identity in Azure Active Directory (Azure AD)?
A managed identity is an automatically managed identity in Azure AD that is used to authenticate to services that support Azure AD authentication.
What are the benefits of using managed identities in Azure?
Managed identities simplify the authentication process for applications and services by eliminating the need for storing and managing credentials.
Managed identities can also be used to access resources across subscriptions and tenants without requiring additional configuration or authentication steps.
How does a managed identity work?
A managed identity is associated with an Azure resource, such as a virtual machine or an Azure function.
The managed identity is used to authenticate to other Azure services or resources, which can grant the managed identity access based on its associated permissions.
What are the different types of managed identities in Azure?
Azure provides two types of managed identities system-assigned managed identity and user-assigned managed identity.
System-assigned managed identities are automatically created when a supported Azure resource is created.
User-assigned managed identities are created and managed separately from the Azure resources they are associated with.
What are some best practices for using managed identities in Azure?
Use managed identities instead of service principal credentials to authenticate to Azure resources.
Restrict the permissions of the managed identity to only the resources it needs to access.
Enable just-in-time access to limit the exposure of the managed identity.
Can a managed identity be used to authenticate to non-Azure resources?
No, managed identities can only be used to authenticate to Azure resources that support Azure AD authentication.
How does a system-assigned managed identity differ from a user-assigned managed identity?
A system-assigned managed identity is automatically created and managed by Azure for a supported resource, while a user-assigned managed identity is created and managed separately by the user.
How can a user-assigned managed identity be created?
A user-assigned managed identity can be created using the Azure portal, Azure CLI, PowerShell, or Azure Resource Manager templates.
What happens when a managed identity is deleted?
When a managed identity is deleted, it can no longer be used to authenticate to Azure resources.
Any permissions granted to the managed identity will also be revoked.
What is the difference between an Azure AD application and a managed identity?
An Azure AD application is a representation of an application in Azure AD that can be used to authenticate to Azure resources.
A managed identity is a built-in Azure AD identity that is used to authenticate to Azure resources.
How does a managed identity provide a more secure authentication mechanism than using a service principal?
Managed identities eliminate the need for storing and managing credentials, reducing the risk of credentials being compromised.
Managed identities also support just-in-time access, which limits the exposure of the identity and reduces the risk of unauthorized access.
Can a managed identity be used to authenticate to resources in a different Azure AD tenant?
Yes, managed identities can be used to authenticate to resources in a different Azure AD tenant if the tenant has been added as a guest in the original tenant.
What happens if a managed identity’s permissions are too broad?
If a managed identity’s permissions are too broad, it can be used to access resources that it should not have access to, increasing the risk of a security breach.
It is important to restrict the permissions of the managed identity to only the resources it needs to access.
Can a managed identity be used to authenticate to Azure AD B2C?
No, managed identities cannot be used to authenticate to Azure AD B2C.
Great post on creating and managing managed identities for Azure resources!
How can you ensure that your managed identities are secure?
Thanks for the detailed guide!
Can someone explain the difference between system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities?
How do I assign a managed identity to an Azure VM?
Great blog post! I found the step-by-step instructions really helpful.
Can anyone explain the difference between system-assigned and user-assigned managed identities in Azure?
What are the security implications of using managed identities?