Cybersecurity definition
What is Secrets Sprawl?
By Cyber Tool Stack Editorial TeamUpdated
Definition
The accumulation of API keys, passwords, and certificates scattered across source code, config files, chat messages, and CI/CD systems instead of a managed vault, each one a potential credential an attacker could find and reuse.
Where Secrets Sprawl fits in the security landscape
These beginner lessons use this term while explaining the surrounding security control.
Related cybersecurity terms
HSMHardware Security ModuleA dedicated, tamper-resistant hardware device that generates, stores, and uses cryptographic keys, so the keys themselves never have to leave secure hardware even when software using them is compromised.TokenizationReplacing a piece of sensitive data, like a credit card number, with a nonsensitive placeholder token that has no exploitable value on its own, while the real value is kept in a separate, tightly controlled vault.