EKM is functionality that exists in SQL Server to allow you to store your keys in a secure repository away from your database or application servers. Traditionally this repository would have been a piece of hardware known as a Hardware Security Module (HSM) which would sit in a rack in your server room. These days we’re much more likely to use an HSM backed cloud service such as Azure Key Vault.
The advantages are twofold. Firstly, security can be greatly improved as the ability to manage keys in a central ...
