Add Key pair based authentication for Snowflake Connector in Power BI

[animvin]

Feature Request: Add Key Pair-Based Authentication for Snowflake Connector in Power BI

Description:

We request the addition of key pair-based authentication to the Snowflake Connector in Power BI to address current challenges with existing authentication methods.

• Microsoft Entra ID-based authentication requires setting up additional infrastructure and services solely for authentication, which increases complexity and operational overhead.
• Snowflake's recent enforcement of MFA for password-based authentication makes it difficult to configure and maintain connections on Power BI Gateway, as MFA is not compatible with automated workflows.

Key pair-based authentication would provide a secure, lightweight, and efficient alternative, eliminating the need for extra infrastructure while simplifying the configuration process for Power BI Gateway. This feature would enhance usability and align with modern security practices.

[Steve_H]

I second the motion. We won't have very good options soon to connect from Power BI to Snowflake if we don't use Key Pair Authentication. See: https://www.snowflake.com/en/blog/blocking-single-factor-password-authentification/ Here is a basic schedule for Snowflake MFA enforcement: 1. April 2025: MFA becomes default authentication policy for human users. MFA enforced for human users unless they have a custom authentication policy. Service users not affected. 2. August 2025: MFA enforced for all human users, even if have a custom authentication policy. Service users not affected. 3. November 2025: MFA enforced for all human and service users.

[david-ri]

This is very much a 'must do'. When Snowflake disabled legacy service (username+password) accounts, we will be unable to use PowerBI Service with Snowflake, and will need to look for alternative BI tools

[kevinconseil]

Yes this will be very annoying if nothing is done