How to Prevent Credential Leaks

Post 28: Real-Time Cloud & DevOps Scenario Scenario: Your organization stores sensitive credentials in a Git repository, and a recent leak compromised production security before the secret was revoked. As a DevOps engineer, you must implement a centralized secrets management solution to prevent future leaks and simplify rotation across environments. Step-by-Step Solution: Introduce a Centralized Vault: Use HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault, or similar services to store secrets securely.Remove all hardcoded credentials from the repository and replace them with references to the vault. Enforce Strict Access Policies: Implement RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) or IAM policies to ensure only authorized individuals and services can access secrets. Example (Vault Policy Snippet): hcl Copy path "secret/data/prod/*" { capabilities = ["read", "list"] } Integrate Secrets in CI/CD Pipelines: Retrieve secrets dynamically during build or deployment rather than storing them in environment variables or config files. Use Vault plugins or CLI commands (e.g., vault kv get secret/data/prod/db_creds) within your CI/CD scripts. Enable Automatic Secret Rotation: Configure your secrets management solution to rotate credentials (e.g., DB passwords, API tokens) on a set schedule. Update dependent services automatically to reduce manual intervention. Use Short-Lived Tokens or Credentials: Provide developers and applications with short-lived tokens that expire quickly, limiting the damage if exposed. Tools like Vault AppRole or STS (Security Token Service) can generate temporary credentials on demand. Implement Secret Scanning and Alerts: Employ scanning tools like Gitleaks, Trufflehog, or GitGuardian to detect hardcoded secrets in repositories. Set up alerts to notify security teams immediately when a secret is committed. Educate Teams and Enforce Best Practices: Train developers to never commit secrets to code. Provide secure guidelines for local development (e.g., using .env files ignored by git). Backup and Disaster Recovery: Regularly back up your secrets vault in an encrypted format. Test restore procedures to ensure business continuity if the secrets manager becomes unavailable. Monitor and Audit Access: Enable auditing in your secrets manager to log every read or write action. Review logs periodically for suspicious or unauthorized access attempts. Outcome: Secrets are securely stored and dynamically accessed, reducing the risk of leaks in source code. Automated rotation, auditing, and short-lived credentials further enhance security posture and compliance. 💬 How do you handle secrets management in your environment? Share your approaches and tools below! ✅ Follow Thiruppathi Ayyavoo daily real-time scenarios in Cloud and DevOps. Let’s secure our pipelines and build confidently together! #DevOps #CloudComputing #Security #HashiCorpVault #AWSSecretsManager #AzureKeyVault #careerbytecode #thirucloud #linkedin #USA CareerByteCode

To all vendors, contractors and IT staff... this basic #cybersecurity stuff applies to ALL of us. The recent #Powerschool mayhem is a reminder of the damage a compromised contractor IT user/device can do. IT users (and IT contractors) accounts and devices often have exceptional rights and access across your organization (or multiple organizations), and could do great harm if compromised. If the device is compromised, even MFA may not be enough to stop the potential harm. PLEASE - a) IT folks and contractors need to stop browsing the web, playing games, and reading email using an account that has local administrator rights on those support devices. b) Make SURE any device you authorize for VPN access has appropriate controls on it, for example, it should be impossible to disable the antivirus/XDR controls, even with admin rights (we call that tamper protection). Consider prohibiting personal use devices for VPN support activities. c) Make sure IT and contractor support devices are setup on an aggressive patching schedule. Patch within 14 days, for both operating system and applications. If you are a developer, make sure the update hash matches the download, and PLEASE don't randomly search the web for a missing driver. d) Stop reusing credentials across clients, AND stop reusing administrator passwords on systems and machines. If one ring can rule them all, and the ring gets stolen, it's game over. e) Minimize the access to least priv for all roles. I suspect a LOT of attacker intel can be gathered from your helpdesk ticketing system. Does EVERYONE need rights to ALL the tickets? Do developers need access to ALL the databases or just a few? Do they need admin rights on all ALL the servers or just run-as admin rights for certain tools. Yes it's more work, but the consequences of NOT limiting access have gotten a lot worse. I have a template signature document I have vendors and contractors sign when they request our zero-trust VPN. I will be modifying that template to include these explicit callouts (and probably a few more).

On the surface, the recent Ticketmaster breach—the second in a matter of days—looks like a consumer data issue. But I urge security teams not to dismiss the incident, as your corporate security may be at serious risk.    Consider this:  69% of consumers shop online while at work.  87% of employees use personal applications on work devices.    Chances are, some of your employees have used corporate credentials on Ticketmaster. For example, one of Grip Security’s customers discovered that 52 employees were using corporate identities for their Ticketmaster accounts. Imagine if an employee reused a password used for a work system. This would make the company’s systems vulnerable to a credential stuffing attack.    Don’t be fooled-- traditional SaaS security products and network monitoring tools are designed to protect corporate data, not to distinguish between personal and corporate account use. As such, the mingling of identities goes unaddressed, leaving significant security gaps. Employees may sometimes have legitimate reasons for using corporate credentials on personal accounts, like entertaining clients. However, if that Ticketmaster account is compromised, hackers could exploit the credentials to gain access to your corporate systems.    What should you do?    First, identify whether any employees are using corporate credentials on Ticketmaster (or other online shopping sites.) Define your exposure and require employees to change their passwords so any compromised passwords are no longer valid. Those using corporate credentials for personal accounts should also be required to discontinue using their corporate emails. Additionally, identify systems where email and password are used instead of an identity provider or SSO. Protect these applications by moving to SSO or enabling MFA, and rotate passwords to prevent unintended access.     The Ticketmaster breach reminds us that even seemingly harmless SaaS platforms can pose significant threats to corporate security. Without a modern security strategy that addresses all potential entry points—even trivial accounts—your organization will remain vulnerable.    For more on the Ticketmaster breach and how to remediate your risks, I’ll post a link to a Grip blog in the comments or here: https://lnkd.in/ej4cSZuV   #Ticketmasterbreach #Ticketmaster #cyberrisks #cybersecurity 

I was helping a client respond to a few minor ISO 27001 non-conformities this morning, and it got me thinking about root cause analysis (RCA). How do you get to a sweet spot for RCA? I’ll share a few observations from the RCA trenches… …Often - we stop at identifying the immediate cause of a problem and miss the underlying issues. ->Dive deeper to uncover the real systemic issues! Be that annoying 4-year-old in the room asking Why? What? Who? Where? Why? Why? Why? -likewise- …Try to strike a balance. Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the correct one. Don’t get tangled in complexity... keep it straightforward and to the point. …RCA is not about finding a scapegoat or someone to blame – it’s about continuous improvement. Pointing fingers misses the point of RCA entirely. Focus on processes and systems, not individual people. Let’s look at a quick example – Immediate Cause: An employee clicked on a malicious link in a phishing email, which led to the compromise of their user credentials. The attacker used these credentials to gain unauthorized access to the company's internal network. Underlying Issues Identified in the RCA: Lack of Employee Training - Employees were not adequately trained to recognize phishing attempts. The company had not conducted regular security awareness training or phishing simulation exercises. Insufficient Email Filtering - The company’s email security solution was outdated and not configured correctly to filter out malicious emails effectively. Weak Access Controls - The compromised employee account had more access rights than necessary for their job role, violating the principle of least privilege. Delayed Incident Response - The security team took an extended time to detect and respond to the unauthorized access, indicating gaps in the company’s incident response plan. No Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - MFA was not enforced for employee accounts, which could have added an additional layer of security even if the credentials were compromised. Diving Deeper to Uncover Systemic Issues: By conducting a thorough RCA and not stopping at the immediate cause, we can identify and address systemic issues that contributed to the security breach. In my (basic) example, the need for enhanced employee training, improved email filtering, stricter access controls, a quicker incident response, and the implementation of MFA are all crucial steps to prevent similar incidents in the future. Addressing these issues helps in building a more resilient security posture. Have you encountered challenges in your RCA journey? What strategies have you used to overcome them? #RootCauseAnalysis #ContinuousImprovement #ProblemSolving #Leadership #QualityManagement #CISO

It’s World Password Day- are your passwords protecting you or putting your business at risk? According to the 2025 Verizon Business Data Breach Investigations Report, 2.8 billion passwords are currently exposed on the dark web. That’s not a typo, billions. I sat down with the Global VP of Cyber Solutions at Verizon Business Chris Novak to ask the tough question: With that many passwords floating around, how do we even begin to stay safe? Here were his top takeaways: • Use passphrases, not passwords (Think: Four random words you’ll remember) • Enable multi-factor authentication on every account possible • Never reuse passwords-a single breach could compromise your whole digital life • Consider using a reputable password manager to keep track securely Cybercriminals don’t need to “hack” you, they log in with leaked credentials. Today is the perfect reminder to level up your password game. Let’s make it harder for them. #WorldPasswordDay #Cybersecurity #DataProtection #VerizonBusiness #DBIR2025 #PasswordSecurity #InfoSec #CyberAwareness #DarkWeb #CyberSolutions #MFA #DigitalSafety

🔒💥 RockYou2024: The Largest #Password Leak in History 💥🔒 Ever wondered what could happen if nearly 10 billion passwords fell into the wrong hands? This is one more thing we need to worry about with our seniors during Cybersecure Mindset Awareness Month. The largest password compilation ever, RockYou2024, with a staggering 9,948,575,739 unique plaintext passwords, was leaked on a popular hacking forum. This data poses severe dangers to users who reuse passwords across multiple platforms. Imagine your digital world breached by cybercriminals exploiting these stolen passwords. It's not just a threat; it's happening now. Here’s how we can help: During CyberSecure Mindset Awareness Month, we're focusing on empowering our seniors to navigate the digital landscape with confidence. Even the most cautious can fall victim to cyber scams, and it's not their fault. Our mission is to equip them with strong, unique passwords and multi-factor authentication to keep the bad guys out. Yes, the threat is real. The #RockYou2024 leak is a stark reminder of the dangers of credential stuffing attacks. We need to band together and adopt proactive cybersecurity measures to protect our loved ones. What You Need to Do Now: 🔑 Reset All Passwords: Immediately change passwords for all accounts associated with the leaked passwords. Make sure they are strong and unique for each account. 🛡️ Enable MFA: Wherever possible, enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an extra layer of security. 🔐 Use Password Managers: Utilize password manager software to securely generate and store complex passwords, reducing the risk of password reuse. 📧 Beware of Account Compromise: With so many passwords leaked, you are bound to get an email from someone you know and trust. Always verify suspicious emails, even if they seem to come from a familiar source. Details of the Breach: The RockYou2024 leak contains nearly 10 billion unique plaintext passwords, making it the largest ever. This dataset includes passwords from both old and new data breaches, significantly increasing the risk of credential stuffing attacks. These attacks can target everything from online services to industrial hardware, leading to financial fraud, identity theft, and more. During Cybersecure Mindset Awareness Month, let's make it our mission to protect our seniors and ensure they enjoy their digital independence safely. Together, we can turn the tide against cyber threats. #Cybersecurity #PasswordSafety #RockYou2024 #SeniorSafety #StaySafeOnline #ScottAugenbaum #CybersecureMindsetAwarenessMonth https://lnkd.in/eHQKQj2D

The recent credential stuffing attack on 23AndMe once again poses the question on how much responsibility vendors should take for the security choices of their users. Credential stuffing attacks take place when users reuse passwords across sites or services, then one password database gets leaked and attackers try to use those passwords to login as those users across other services. These can be hard to stop as targeted attacks (attempting to compromise just a few users at a time), but not impossible! Many services write this off as a responsibility of the user - don't reuse passwords and you're immune! But site owners have steps they can take here too: ## Require MFA Like in every attack involving passwords, MFA helps dramatically. This can be expensive to roll out for service operators though, because of the increased support cost in resetting accounts for users that lose tokens. ## IP-based monitoring This is much cheaper than MFA, and can still help here! It's not perfect, but IP-based throttling can help stop large-scale credential stuffing attacks. If one IP address is repeatedly used to attempt passwords across lots of accounts, throttle it! Even better, monitor which IP address or computer/device is typically used to login to an account. When there's a change in behavior, force the user to take a few more steps to login (send a code over email, or ask some security questions). ## Proactive password-leak monitoring Services like haveibeenpwned provide APIs to lookup password hashes to see if they've been leaked. Site owners can then warn or force users that have leaked passwords to change them. These techniques admittedly all rely on the service owner doing extra work, which never comes free. I hope to see these recent examples of data breaches help us all shift the conversation to a place where site operators do more of this by default. #credentialstuffing #23andme #mfa