n the context of software security, secrets are any type of information that permits access to systems or data – such as passwords, API keys, and access tokens. Secrets are widespread within modern IT environments, since users frequently rely on them to log into applications or services or unlock encrypted information.
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Unfortunately, it’s not only legitimate users who can access secrets. Sometimes, attackers manage to locate secrets, especially if the secrets are stored in an insecure location, like a software code repository. When secrets fall into the wrong hands, they could lead to breaches that compromise an organization’s IT resources.
This is why secrets detection is an important part of modern cybersecurity strategies. By helping businesses to identify secrets that they may not be managing securely, secrets detection allows organizations to find and protect sensitive access information before attackers have a chance to abuse it.
Secrets detection: A definition
Secrets detection is the practice of finding sensitive secrets – meaning passwords, API keys and any other type of information used to grant access to an IT resource – within code repositories or other locations that lack adequate security controls.
Secrets detection automates the process of identifying secrets. This means that it allows teams to search through all of their software development environments quickly and with no manual effort beyond the small amount of time necessary to configure and deploy secrets detection tools.
Secrets detection example
For example, imagine that a developer creates the following Bash script to connect to a database:
#!/bin/bash
# Use the password in a simulated command
echo “Connecting to the database with the password…”
psql -h localhost -U admin -d database_name -W “top secret password”
This script uses a hardcoded password (“top secret password” in this example) to establish the connection to the database by feeding the password directly into the database connection command. This is insecure because anyone who is able to view the script would have access to the database password. A better approach would be to have the database prompt the user for the password interactively or (if that’s not possible because the login needs to be fully automated) to use a hashed password to log in.
A secrets detection tool could identify this risk by scanning the file, locating the line that includes the hardcoded password, and flagging it as insecure because it is a plain-text password available in an unencrypted file.
The importance of secrets detection
The ability to detect secrets automatically is valuable to businesses for two key reasons:
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