Ephemeral Workload Secrets: A CISO's Guide to Securing Non-Human Identities

The Growing Threat Landscape for Non-Human Identities

Is your organization a sitting duck for cyberattacks, even with robust firewalls and intrusion detection systems? The harsh reality is that non-human identities (NHIs), such as machine identities and workload identities, are rapidly becoming prime targets for malicious actors.

NHIs are increasingly in the crosshairs of cybercriminals. These identities, which include service accounts, APIs, and cloud workloads, often have privileged access to sensitive data and systems. A successful breach of an NHI can be far more damaging than a compromised human account.

• Consider a scenario in healthcare: a compromised API used for patient data exchange could lead to a massive data breach, exposing sensitive medical records.
• In the retail sector, a compromised workload identity could disrupt supply chain operations, causing significant system outages and financial losses.
• Traditional security measures, designed primarily for human users, often fall short when it comes to adequately protecting NHIs. This gap in security leaves organizations vulnerable to sophisticated attacks.

One of the biggest vulnerabilities lies in the use of long-lived credentials. Static credentials, such as passwords and API keys that rarely change, provide a persistent attack vector for cybercriminals.

• Once compromised, these credentials can be used repeatedly to gain unauthorized access over extended periods.
• Credential sprawl, where numerous NHIs each have their own set of long-lived credentials, further complicates the problem. Rotating and revoking these credentials becomes a logistical nightmare.
• The risk is amplified when hardcoded credentials are embedded in code or configuration files. Bad actors know that if they find them, there’s a very good chance they’re still valid. Why You Should Be Using Ephemeral Credentials

Stringent access controls are mandated by regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. Long-lived credentials make it harder to comply with these regulations.

• It's difficult to demonstrate secure secrets management and meet auditing requirements when credentials are static and infrequently rotated.
• According to AWS prescriptive guidance, application secrets should be either ephemeral or retrieved from a secrets-management service. WKLD.03 Use ephemeral secrets or a secrets-management service
• Organizations must prioritize robust secrets management practices to avoid hefty fines and reputational damage.

Now that we've established the growing threat landscape, let's delve into the dangers of static credentials and why ephemeral secrets are essential.

What are Ephemeral Workload Secrets?

Are you tired of playing whack-a-mole with static credentials? Ephemeral workload secrets offer a dynamic and more secure approach to managing access for your non-human identities.

Ephemeral credentials are temporary, short-lived access tokens or secrets. They are automatically set to expire after a specific period or usage. Instead of permanent keys, these credentials are generated on-demand. This just-in-time approach minimizes the risk of unauthorized access.

• Imagine a scenario where a microservice needs to access a database. Instead of using a static username and password, it requests an ephemeral credential that grants access for, say, 15 minutes.
• Once that time is up, the credential automatically expires, rendering it useless to any potential attacker, as explained by Akeyless.
• This approach drastically reduces the window of opportunity for malicious actors.

There are numerous advantages to using ephemeral secrets for your workloads.

• The short lifespan inherently reduces the risk of exposure. Even if a credential is compromised, it will expire quickly, limiting the damage an attacker can inflict.
• Ephemeral secrets enhance your security posture through tightly controlled access. Access is granted only when needed and for a limited time.
• They also simplify secrets management and rotation. You no longer need to worry about manually rotating static credentials. The ephemeral nature handles that automatically.

While all three types of credentials provide access, they differ significantly in their lifecycles and management.

• Ephemeral credentials cannot be refreshed; they are discarded after expiry. Once they're gone, they're gone.
• Short-lived credentials are temporary, but they can be refreshed, extending their validity. Think of a session token that can be renewed.
• Long-lived credentials are permanent and do not expire (or expire after a very long time). This makes them the riskiest option.

Ephemeral credentials eliminate the risks associated with persistent access, forcing a more secure approach to authentication, as mentioned earlier.

Now that we understand what ephemeral secrets are, let's explore how they can be implemented in practice.

Use Cases for Ephemeral Secrets in Cloud Environments

Did you know that a single compromised credential can give attackers access to your systems for weeks, even months? Ephemeral secrets can drastically reduce that risk.

In microservices architectures, ephemeral secrets ensure each service authenticates independently.

• This approach greatly reduces the risk of credential leakage. If one microservice is compromised, the attacker's access is limited to that specific service and for a short time.
• Ephemeral secrets also enable secure service-to-service communication. Each interaction can be authenticated with temporary credentials, ensuring that only authorized services can exchange data.
• For example, in a financial services application, each microservice handling transactions, user authentication, and fraud detection can use unique, short-lived credentials to access shared resources.

Serverless functions benefit significantly from ephemeral secrets by providing secure access to resources without the need for static keys.

• Ephemeral credentials enable functions to access databases, APIs, and other services securely. These credentials are valid only for the duration of the function invocation.
• Integrating with cloud secrets managers like AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, or GCP Secret Manager allows functions to retrieve these credentials dynamically, enhancing security and simplifying management, as recommended by WKLD.03 Use ephemeral secrets or a secrets-management service.
• For instance, in a healthcare application, a serverless function processing patient data can retrieve temporary credentials to access the database, ensuring that no static keys are stored within the function code.

CI/CD pipelines are another prime use case for ephemeral secrets. They provide dynamic access to resources during build and deployment, minimizing the risk of exposure during the development lifecycle.

• By using ephemeral credentials, you can ensure that only authorized processes have access to sensitive resources during the build and deployment phases. This reduces the risk of hardcoded credentials ending up in your codebase.
• Integrating with popular CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitLab CI, or GitHub Actions enables automated credential management, ensuring that access is granted only when needed and for a limited time.

Dev->>CI: Triggers build/deployment
CI->>SM: Requests ephemeral secret
SM->>CI: Issues temporary credential
CI->>Target: Authenticates with ephemeral secret
Target->>CI: Grants access
CI->>Target: Performs build/deployment tasks
CI->>SM: Revokes credential (on completion or expiry)

Ephemeral secrets enhance security, compliance, and operational efficiency in cloud environments. Let's now explore how to choose the right secrets management strategy for your organization.

Implementing Ephemeral Secrets: Practical Examples

Are you ready to see how ephemeral secrets work in the real world? Let's dive into practical examples of implementing them across different environments.

Kubernetes offers built-in mechanisms for managing workload identities. One common approach involves leveraging service accounts to provide an identity for pods. These service accounts can then be associated with specific roles and permissions.

• Projected volumes allow you to inject tokens and other secrets directly into pods. This ensures that the credentials are only available to the container at runtime.
• The Kubernetes API server automatically rotates the tokens injected via projected volumes. This minimizes the risk of a compromised token being used indefinitely.
• For example, a financial application running in Kubernetes can use service accounts and projected volumes to securely access a database, ensuring that each pod has its own short-lived credentials.

Pod->>K8sAPI: Request token via Service Account
K8sAPI->>SecretStore: Fetch secret
SecretStore-->>K8sAPI: Return secret
K8sAPI->>Pod: Inject token via Projected Volume
Pod->>Pod: Use token for authentication

In AWS, IAM roles are a cornerstone of secure access management. Workloads running on EC2 instances or within containers can assume IAM roles to obtain temporary credentials. The Security Token Service (STS) is used to generate these short-lived tokens.

• By assuming an IAM role, a workload can gain access to AWS resources without needing long-lived API keys. The STS generates temporary credentials that are valid for a limited time.
• You can further limit the scope of permissions granted by an IAM role. This ensures that the workload only has access to the specific resources it needs.
• Consider a retail application that needs to access S3 buckets for product images. By using IAM roles and STS, the application can obtain temporary credentials with read-only access to the relevant buckets.

Workload->>IAM: Request temporary credentials
IAM->>STS: Authenticate and authorize
STS->>Workload: Issue temporary credentials
Workload->>AWSResource: Access AWS resource with temporary credentials

Azure offers managed identities as a way to authenticate to Azure services. These identities eliminate the need for developers to manage credentials. Azure AD (Azure Active Directory) handles the issuance and management of tokens.

• Managed identities provide an automatically managed identity in Azure AD. Applications running on Azure VMs or within Azure Container Instances can use these identities to authenticate to other Azure services.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) allows you to define granular permissions for managed identities. This ensures that workloads only have the necessary access to perform their tasks.
• In a healthcare application, a managed identity can be used to grant a web app access to Azure Key Vault. This allows the app to retrieve encryption keys without storing them locally, enhancing security.

App->>AzureAD: Request token for Azure Resource
AzureAD->>App: Issue token
App->>AzureResource: Access Azure Resource with token

These examples demonstrate how ephemeral secrets can be implemented in practice. Each cloud provider offers its own tools and services for managing workload identities.

Now that we’ve covered practical examples, let’s explore how to choose the right secrets management strategy for your organization.

Choosing the Right Secrets Management Solution

Are you juggling multiple secrets management tools and feeling overwhelmed? Choosing the right solution is crucial for securing your non-human identities and streamlining your workflows. Let's explore key considerations to help you make the best decision.

When assessing secrets management tools, prioritize those with robust support for ephemeral credentials and dynamic secrets. These features are essential for automating the generation and rotation of temporary credentials, minimizing the risk of exposure, as noted earlier. Look for tools that integrate well with your existing infrastructure and workflows.

• Ensure the tool supports the cloud platforms, CI/CD pipelines, and identity providers you already use.
• Integration should be seamless and require minimal configuration.
• Consider a tool’s ability to automate tasks like credential rotation and revocation to reduce manual overhead.

Robust security features are non-negotiable. The tool should offer strong encryption for storing secrets, fine-grained access controls to limit who can access which secrets, and comprehensive audit logging to track all secrets-related activities.

• For example, in the financial sector, a secrets management tool must provide detailed audit trails to comply with regulations like PCI DSS.
• In healthcare, stringent access controls are necessary to protect sensitive patient data and comply with HIPAA, as previously discussed.

A centralized solution offers better control and visibility over your secrets, while a decentralized approach may provide more flexibility. With a centralized system, you can enforce consistent security policies across your entire organization. This makes it easier to manage and audit secrets.

• This approach is particularly beneficial for large enterprises with complex environments.
• For instance, a large retail chain can centrally manage API keys for its e-commerce platform, supply chain systems, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools.

Decentralized solutions may suit smaller organizations or teams with specific needs. These solutions can provide more autonomy and agility. However, they can also lead to inconsistencies and security gaps if not managed properly.

Consider the complexity and scale of your environment when deciding between centralized and decentralized approaches.

Open-source solutions offer transparency and customization, while commercial solutions typically provide support and enterprise-grade features. Open-source tools allow you to inspect the code and tailor it to your specific requirements.

• This can be advantageous for organizations with specialized needs or those seeking to avoid vendor lock-in.
• However, open-source solutions may require more technical expertise to set up and maintain.

Commercial solutions often come with dedicated support teams and features designed for enterprise environments. These features can include high availability, disaster recovery, and integrations with other enterprise systems. Evaluate the total cost of ownership (TCO) for each option, considering factors like licensing fees, support costs, and the internal resources required for management.

Choosing the right secrets management strategy requires careful consideration of your organization's needs and resources. Next, we'll discuss the importance of monitoring and auditing your secrets management practices.

Best Practices for Implementing Ephemeral Secrets

Are you tired of manually generating and rotating secrets? Implementing ephemeral secrets requires a strategic approach to maximize security and streamline operations. Let's explore some best practices to ensure a smooth and effective implementation.

• Use automation tools to generate and rotate secrets regularly. This reduces the risk of human error and ensures that credentials are always up-to-date.

• Avoid manual processes to reduce errors and improve efficiency. Automation ensures consistent and timely rotation.

• Integrate automation with CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows. This helps ensure secrets are automatically updated during deployments.

• Grant workloads only the permissions they need to perform their tasks. This minimizes the potential damage from compromised credentials.

• Use role-based access control (RBAC) to limit access. RBAC simplifies the management of permissions and ensures that workloads have only the necessary privileges.

• Regularly review and adjust permissions. Access requirements change over time, so it’s crucial to keep permissions aligned with current needs.

• Track access to secrets and identify suspicious activity. Monitoring helps detect unauthorized access attempts early on.

• Use audit logs to investigate security incidents. Audit logs provide a record of all secrets-related activities, facilitating incident response.

• Implement alerting for unusual or unauthorized access. This allows security teams to respond quickly to potential threats.

By automating credential management, enforcing least privilege, and actively monitoring secrets usage, organizations can significantly enhance their security posture. Next, we'll discuss the importance of monitoring and auditing your secrets management practices.

Elevate Your NHI Security Strategy with Non-Human Identity Management Group

Are NHIs keeping you up at night? You're not alone. Securing these identities is a complex challenge, but expert guidance can make all the difference.

• Non-Human Identity Management Group is the leading independent authority in NHI Research and Advisory.

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• Ready to enhance your NHI management strategy?

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With the right strategies and expert support, you can confidently secure your non-human identities. Contact NHIMG today to take the next step.