By IT Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
IT teams rely on effective secrets management to control credentials like passwords and API keys. The process often centers on utilizing a repository and security best practices so bad actors can’t access confidential or proprietary information. Depending on their needs and setup, IT teams may rely on role-based access control (RBAC), certificates management, and credentials encryption as part of those practices, as well as identity and access management (IAM).
Secrets management extends to nonhuman identities within an organization, such as those controlled by AI agents and service accounts designed to handle queries, backups, and other background operations. These entities often have credentials that allow them to access sensitive parts of an enterprise.
An IT team deploying secrets management tools can centralize secrets (for example, consolidating all API and encryption keys, along with authorization tokens, in a set number of secure vaults). Secrets management also enables effective activity monitoring, access controls, and regularly rotating out keys and other secrets as necessary.
This standardization process can aid in the prevention of “secret sprawl,” when sensitive information is distributed haphazardly across too many files and vaults for an IT team to effectively track.
