Secrets Detection

Secrets are a necessary part of software development, facilitating connections to systems and services crucial to an application’s functionality. Careless development practices may put these credentials at risk of exposure  – secrets detection seeks to mitigate that. 

What is Secrets Detection?

Secrets detection identifies sensitive information within a development pipeline to prevent it from being compromised or leaked. It represents a proactive approach to protecting credentials such as passwords and API keys, redacting them before they become publicly-available. 

Traditional security software isn’t normally designed to detect secrets, which usually require either specialized software or a holistic security tool. 

Why is Secrets Detection Critical for Security?

Each exposed secret is a vulnerability. Detecting secrets before exposure is essential for several reasons.

Leaked Secrets are an Attack Vector

Threat actors increasingly use automated tools to search online repositories for exposed credentials. They know those credentials are their key to accessing sensitive assets and facilitating anything from a data breach to a ransomware infection. 

Software Ecosystems are Increasingly Complex

A single cloud-native application may have hundreds or even thousands of dependencies. Manually tracking secrets exposure across these components is nearly impossible, which is exactly what threat actors are counting on. 

People Make Mistakes

The rapid pace of modern software development creates a perfect storm for secrets exposure. As they push for greater agility and efficiency, developers may accidentally commit secrets to shared repositories or hard-code them into an application.

Common Types of Secrets Found in Codebases

Code may contain any of the following pieces of sensitive information: 

• API keys for authentication with external services
• Temporary or persistent authentication tokens for protected assets
• Credentials such as usernames, passwords, or connection strings
• Encryption keys
• Developer tokens for services such as GitHub

Best Practices for Implementing Secrets Detection

Go Beyond Code

Secret scanning cannot simply focus on an organization’s codebase. Instead, it should cover every potential source of exposure, including:

• Version history documentation
• Code repositories
• Deliver pipelines
• Containers
• Configuration files
• Cloud resources
• Productivity software such as Confluence
• Source Management Control (SCM) software and other development tools

Integrate Detection Into Your CI/CD Pipeline

Incorporate automated secrets detection to block code changes that contain sensitive credentials. Combine this with contextual, real-time alerts for security engineers.

Implement Secure Secrets Management

Rotate secrets every 30-90 days, and mandate rapid rotation in the event of suspected exposure. This is usually best facilitated through a solution that allows for secure, centralized management and storage. 

Educate and Empower Your Team

Ensure developers understand the risk of hardcoded secrets and provide them with the necessary tools to obfuscate or otherwise protect secrets within your Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC).

FAQ

How do you Automate Secrets Detection in CI/CD Pipelines?

Pre-commit hooks combined with automated code scanning represents one of the most effective ways to automatically safeguard against secret exposure. 

What qualifies as a secret?

A secret is any piece of information or pattern that may serve as a credential for a known cloud provider, third-party service, or database. 

What are the risks of exposed secrets in code?

Exposed secrets provide threat actors with easy access to confidential systems and data, potentially allowing them to: 

• Exfiltrate personally-identifiable information or trade secrets
• Execute an account takeover
• Lock critical assets with ransomware
• Compromise or disrupt business operations

This, in turn, can result in lost revenue, reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and potential legal consequences. 

How are hardcoded secrets exploited by attackers?

Hardcoded secrets are the development equivalent of leaving a key under one’s welcome mat. An attacker who knows where to look can simply let themself into your system, potentially bypassing security controls and authentication processes.