Azure AI Foundry

Overview

Azure AI Foundry is Microsoft's comprehensive platform for building, deploying, and scaling production-grade AI agents and applications. Integration with Akto enables you to import Azure AI Foundry agents seamlessly into Akto, providing comprehensive security monitoring for your AI agents, multi-agent workflows, and API interactions running on the Azure platform.

What the Connector Does

The Azure AI Foundry connector automatically:

• Discovers AI Agents: Imports all AI agents deployed through Azure AI Foundry Agent Service

• Monitors Agent Execution: Captures agent interactions, including prompts, responses, and API calls

• Analyzes Traffic: Sends agent traffic data to Akto for comprehensive security analysis, including:

  • Prompt injection detection

  • Sensitive data exposure

  • Policy violations

  • Runtime threat detection

• Multi-Agent Workflow Visibility: Tracks interactions across multi-agent workflows and stateful processes

• Unified Security Dashboard: Provides centralized monitoring of all Azure AI Foundry agents alongside your other AI infrastructure

Azure AI Foundry APIs Queried by Akto

The following table lists the Azure AI Foundry API endpoints queried by Akto and the data collected from each endpoint.

API Endpoint	What Akto Ingests
AZURE_PROJECT_URL/assistants?api-version=v1&limit=100	List of AI agents
AZURE_PROJECT_URL/threads?api-version=v1&agent_id={id}&limit=100	Conversation sessions
AZURE_PROJECT_URL/threads/{thread_id}/messages?api-version=v1&limit=100	Chat messages from users and AI agents

Prerequisites

Before setting up the Azure AI Foundry connector, ensure you have:

1. Active Azure Subscription – With Azure AI Foundry resources provisioned

2. Azure AI Foundry Agent Service – At least one agent deployed and running in Agent Service

3. Azure Credentials – One of the following authentication methods:

   • Service Principal (Client ID + Client Secret)

   • Managed Identity

   • Azure AD authentication token

4. Network Access – The connector service must have access to:

   • Azure AI Foundry API endpoints

   • Akto Data Ingestion Service

   • Your deployed agents' endpoints

5. Permissions – Required Azure permissions:

   • Cognitive Services User role on AI Foundry resources

   • Read access to agent configurations

   • Access to Application Insights (for telemetry)

Steps to Connect

Method 1: Import via Akto Dashboard (Recommended)

Step 1: Navigate to AI Agent Connectors

1. Log in to your Akto dashboard

2. Go to Quick Start > AI Agent Connectors

3. Select Azure AI Foundry from the connector list

Step 2: Get Your Azure Project URL

Before configuring the connector, locate your Azure AI Foundry Project URL:

1. Navigate to Azure AI Foundry portal

2. Select your project

3. Go to Settings > Project details

4. Copy the Project connection string or Endpoint URL

   • Format: https://your-project.openai.azure.com

   • Or: https://your-resource.cognitiveservices.azure.com

Step 3: Configure Agent Endpoint

Fill in the following information for your Azure AI Foundry agent:

Basic Configuration:

Field	Description	Example
Agent Name	Friendly name for your agent	"Customer Support Agent"
Azure Project URL	Your Azure AI Foundry project endpoint	https://your-project.openai.azure.com
Agent Endpoint URL	Your Azure AI Foundry agent API endpoint	https://your-agent.azurecontainerapps.io/v1/chat/completions
Authentication Type	Select authentication method	Service Principal, Managed Identity, or Bearer Token

Authentication Details:

For Service Principal authentication:

• Tenant ID: Your Azure AD tenant ID

• Client ID: Service principal application ID

• Client Secret: Service principal secret key

For Bearer Token authentication:

• API Key/Token: Your Azure AI Foundry API key or bearer token

Advanced Settings (Optional):

• Request Headers: Add custom headers (e.g., api-version: 2024-02-15-preview)

• Request Timeout: Timeout in seconds (default: 30)

• Enable Streaming: Track streaming responses

Step 4: Test Connection

1. Use the default test request provided:

   {
     "messages": [
       {"role": "user", "content": "Why is the sky blue?"}
     ],
     "max_tokens": 100,
     "temperature": 0.7
   }

2. Click Test Connection to verify the agent responds correctly

3. Review the test response to ensure proper configuration

Step 5: Import Agent

1. Click Import to add the agent to Akto

2. The connector will automatically begin monitoring agent traffic

3. View the agent in Akto Argus > Agents section

Step 6: Verify Monitoring

1. Navigate to Akto Argus > Agents

2. Find your Azure AI Foundry agent in the list

3. Click on the agent to view:

   • Recent interactions

   • Security findings

   • Performance metrics

   • Traffic patterns

Method 2: Azure Container Apps Integration

For agents deployed on Azure Container Apps, you can integrate directly with Application Insights for automatic traffic capture.

Step 1: Enable Application Insights

Ensure your Azure Container App has Application Insights enabled:

# Using Azure CLI
az containerapp create \
  --name your-agent-app \
  --resource-group your-rg \
  --environment your-env \
  --enable-dapr \
  --instrumentation-key <app-insights-key>

Step 2: Configure Akto Data Forwarder

Deploy the Akto data forwarder as a sidecar container in your Container App:

containers:
  - name: akto-forwarder
    image: aktosecurity/data-forwarder:latest
    env:
      - name: AKTO_INGESTION_URL
        value: "https://your-akto-ingestion-service.com"
      - name: SOURCE_TYPE
        value: "AZURE_AI_FOUNDRY"
      - name: APP_INSIGHTS_CONNECTION_STRING
        secretRef: app-insights-connection

Step 3: Stream Logs to Akto

Application Insights will automatically capture all agent requests and responses, forwarding them to Akto for analysis.

Data Collection

Agent Metadata Captured

The connector automatically fetches:

• Agent Configurations: All AI agents deployed in Azure AI Foundry

• Model Information: LLM models and versions being used (GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Azure OpenAI models)

• Deployment Details: Container App configurations, scaling settings

• Integration Points: Connected services (Microsoft 365, Teams, custom APIs)

Execution Data Collected

For each agent interaction, the connector captures:

• Input Data: User prompts, queries, and conversation context

• Output Data: Agent responses and generated content

• API Calls: External API interactions and tool usage

• Multi-Agent Communication: Messages exchanged between agents in workflows

• Timing Information: Execution duration, latency metrics

• Error Logs: Failures, exceptions, and retry attempts

• Memory State: Agent memory and context retention

Real-Time Monitoring

• Execution data is captured in real-time as agents process requests

• Historical analysis available in the Akto dashboard

• Sensitive data automatically detected and can be masked based on guardrail policies

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Problem: "Failed to connect to Azure AI Foundry agent"

Solutions:

• Verify the agent endpoint URL is correct and accessible

• Check that the agent is deployed and running in Azure Container Apps

• Ensure network connectivity from Akto to Azure

• Verify firewall rules allow outbound HTTPS connections

Authentication Errors

Problem: "Authentication failed" or "Invalid credentials"

Solutions:

• Service Principal: Verify Client ID, Client Secret, and Tenant ID are correct

• Bearer Token: Ensure the API key or token is valid and not expired

• Managed Identity: Verify the managed identity has proper permissions

• Check Azure AD permissions for the service principal

• Regenerate credentials if necessary

Permission Denied

Problem: "Access denied to agent resources"

Solutions:

• Grant Cognitive Services User role to your service principal:

  az role assignment create \
    --assignee <service-principal-id> \
    --role "Cognitive Services User" \
    --scope /subscriptions/<subscription-id>/resourceGroups/<rg>/providers/Microsoft.CognitiveServices/accounts/<resource-name>

• Verify resource group permissions

• Ensure subscription is active

No Data Appearing

Problem: Connector is active but no agent traffic appears in Akto

Solutions:

• Verify agents are actively processing requests

• Check Application Insights is properly configured

• Ensure data forwarder is running (for Container Apps integration)

• Review Akto ingestion service logs

• Verify the DATA_INGESTION_SERVICE_URL is correct

• Check network connectivity between Azure and Akto

Streaming Response Issues

Problem: Streaming responses not being captured

Solutions:

• Enable streaming support in connector configuration

• Verify Application Insights captures streaming data

• Check that the agent endpoint supports streaming

• Review data forwarder configuration

Related Resources

• Azure AI Foundry Agent Service - Official Microsoft documentation

• Get Started with AI Agents on Azure - Sample implementations

• Azure AI Foundry Quickstart - Microsoft Learn guide

• Building Conversational AI Agents - Best practices guide

Get Support for your Akto setup

There are multiple ways to request support from Akto. We are 24X7 available on the following:

1. In-app intercom support. Message us with your query on intercom in Akto dashboard and someone will reply.

2. Join our discord channel for community support.

3. Contact [email protected] for email support.

4. Contact us here.