Discover Hidden Secrets in Your Code
Scan your repositories for exposed secrets, credentials, and sensitive information before they become vulnerabilities.
What are secrets?
Secrets are passwords for your code and infrastructure, typically used to authenticate to databases and SaaS services. It’s almost impossible to build software applications without them. They often take many forms:
API keys & tokens
Common among SaaS providers (ex: Stripe) as the preferred method to authenticate to their API and SDKs.
sk_test_4eC39HqLyjWDarjt...
Database URLs
Databases (ex: Postgres) prefer a username and password authentication method, which is often included in the connection url.
psql://:@ho...
Encryption keys & certs
A key used in combination with an algorithm to transform plaintext into ciphertext (encryption) and vice versa (decryption).
tLyTq|MqJx.{m,e7fR;4Z+ox...
SSH keys
Pairs of public and private keys used to establish an encrypted communication channel with a remote server. x2: channel with a remote server.
ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EA...
Privileged credentials
Similar to SSH keys, credentials are username and password pairings used to authenticate to an internal or external system.
username : password
Configuration
Key value pairings used to configure code on execution. While they aren't sensitive, they are used in the same way other secrets are.
ENABLE_EXPERIMENT_V2: true
Understanding Secrets Sprawl
Secrets sprawl occurs when sensitive credentials and authentication tokens become scattered across multiple locations in your development ecosystem, creating security vulnerabilities and compliance risks.
89%
of breaches involve exposed secrets
250K+
secrets detected daily
24hrs
average detection time
$4.2M
average breach cost
Common Sources of Secrets Sprawl
Application & Git
Hardcoded credentials in source code, configuration files, and commit history.
Risk Level: Critical
Infrastructure
API keys and access tokens scattered across cloud service configurations.
Risk Level: High
CI/CD Pipelines
Exposed secrets in build logs, environment variables, and deployment scripts.
Risk Level: Critical
Development Environments
Local configuration files and development environments with unencrypted secrets.
Risk Level: Medium
Prevention best practices
The basics to prevent secrets sprawl
Protect your code at different stages and secure your applications ensuring robust mobile app security throughout the development lifecycle.
Implement Secrets Managment
Use dedicated secrets management tools and vaults
to centralize and secure sensitive information.
Store secrets safely and privately
Store passwords, API keys, OAuth tokens and certificates in a
secure and encrypted environment, if you select a manager check the security standards.
Detect the leak before it happens
Integrate automated scanning tools and real-time analysis of code and repositories to detect secret exposures as they occur.
Manage who sees each secret
Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to determine who can view
and modify certain secrets.
Find out everything in real time
Configurable alerts to notify developers or managers when exposed secrets are detected in the code. Secrets expiration notifications to keep them updated.
What’s my risk exposure?
Answer the following questions to calculate your security risk score.
Provide details about your current practices, including secrets management, repository scanning, access control, and monitoring, to identify areas for improvement and reduce your exposure to risk.
Manage credentials securely
Preventing Secrets Sprawl
Secrets sprawl—the uncontrolled spread of sensitive credentials such as API keys, tokens, and passwords—has emerged as a critical challenge in modern software development. According to recent industry data, over 10 million secrets were identified in public code repositories in 2023, a 67% increase from the previous year. As codebases and cloud footprints grow, so does the difficulty of maintaining strict control over embedded credentials.
The implications of secrets sprawl are significant. Organizations face greater risk of unauthorized access, data breaches, and substantial financial costs. IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach report cites an average breach cost of USD 4.45 million, with compromised credentials often serving as a primary vector. Beyond monetary losses, there are compliance risks, reputational damage, and erosion of customer trust. As dev teams integrate microservices, adopt CI/CD pipelines, and manage sprawling infrastructures, maintaining oversight of secrets becomes increasingly complex.
Automated scanning
Implementing tools like ByteHide Secrets in CI/CD workflows reduces the average detection time of exposed credentials from weeks to hours.
Centralized secrets management
Platforms like ByteHide Secrets enable secure storage, rotation, and access controls, reducing the likelihood of secrets leaking into codebases.
Incident response readiness
Rapid revocation of compromised secrets, combined with a well-defined response plan, limits damage and helps maintain compliance with regulations.
Beyond tooling, policies such as enforcing the principle of least privilege, conducting routine code audits, and providing developers with training are essential. With a comprehensive strategy—automated detection, centralized management, and rapid incident response—organizations can mitigate secrets sprawl and protect critical infrastructure.
Meet ByteHide
One single platform to identify, manage and automate exposed code secrets without cybersecurity knowledge needed.
Secrets Rotation
Integration with CI/CD systems to update rotated secrets in applications, thus improving security and reducing the risk of human error in deployment environments.
End-to-End Encryption
Advanced encryption to ensure that secrets are protected both in transit and at rest. We use robust cryptographic algorithms to maintain confidentiality and data integrity.
Local Encrypted Vault
Encrypted local storage of secrets for environments without internet access. Provides an additional layer of security and accessibility in isolated environments.
AI-Powered Detection
Utilize artificial intelligence algorithms to detect patterns and potential secret leaks. Continuous system improvement through machine learning to identify emerging threats.
Multiple Environments
Flexible configuration of multiple environments, ensuring centralized and efficient management of secrets in different phases of the software lifecycle.
Compliance & Regulatory Impact
Data Protection
Ensure compliance with data protection regulations by preventing unauthorized access to information.
GDPR Article 32Data Protection
Meet industry security standards for protecting customer data and maintaining system integrity.
ISO 27001Financial Security
Maintain compliance with financial industry regulations for protecting sensitive financial data.
PCI DSSFortify your Secrets, minimize your effort
One single platform to identify, manage and automate exposed code secrets without cybersecurity knowledge needed.
Secrets Rotation
Integration with CI/CD systems to update rotated secrets in applications, thus improving security and reducing the risk of human error in deployment environments.
End-to-end encryption
Advanced encryption to ensure that secrets are protected both in transit and at rest. We use robust cryptographic algorithms to maintain confidentiality and data integrity.
Local Encrypted Vault
Encrypted local storage of secrets for environments without internet access. Provides an additional layer of security and accessibility in isolated environments.
AI-Powered Detection
Utilize artificial intelligence algorithms to detect patterns and potential secret leaks. Continuous system improvement through machine learning to identify emerging threats.
Multiple Environments
Flexible configuration of multiple environments, ensuring centralized and efficient management of secrets in different phases of the software lifecycle.
No technical knowledge
AI secret detection
End-to-End encryption
Regulatory compliance
Multiple enviroments
App secrets rotation
Advanced authentication
