Secrets Management and DevOps: A Risk-based Approach to Eliminating Hardcoded Secrets

In some of the more recent high-profile attacks, the attackers were very methodically looking for specific vulnerabilities: a kind found hidden deep within code, otherwise known as hardcoded secrets. In the software development space, hardcoded secrets involve the practice of including or embedding information used for authentication (passwords, tokens, keys, etc.) to connect to services or systems directly into applications. This practice is used by many developers for ease of authentication, instead of retrieving credentials and keys from an external source or at application’s runtime.

Unfortunately, the way most organizations combat this threat is a partial solution at best. Organizations need to approach this problem from multiple angles, using complementary security techniques and utilize a risk-based methodology that considers not only the secrets themselves but how they might be exposed to attackers.

Read this report to learn:

• Why hardcoded secrets are so concerning
• Techniques for tackling hardcoded secrets head on
• How to take a risk-based approach to secrets management