Vault

Vault is a HashiCorp tool for secrets management that provides secure storage, access, and lifecycle management for sensitive data including passwords, API keys, certificates, and other secrets. It offers a centralized solution for managing secrets in dynamic infrastructure environments.

Key Characteristics

• Secrets Management: Secure storage and access to sensitive data
• Dynamic Secrets: Generation of secrets on-demand
• Encryption as a Service: Provides encryption and decryption services
• Identity-Based Access: Access control based on identity and policies

Advantages

• Security: Strong security model with encryption
• Centralization: Centralized secrets management
• Automation: Automated secrets lifecycle management
• Audit Trail: Comprehensive audit logging

Disadvantages

• Complexity: Complex to configure and manage
• Operational Overhead: Requires operational management
• Performance: May introduce latency for secret access
• Learning Curve: Requires understanding of security concepts

Best Practices

• Implement proper access controls and policies
• Use short-lived tokens and dynamic secrets when possible
• Regularly rotate master keys and certificates
• Monitor and audit all secret access

Use Cases

• Application secrets management
• Database credential management
• Certificate management
• API key management