In modern production environments, access keys are the lifeblood of secure communication between systems, services, and applications. They authenticate workloads, unlock APIs, and enable automation. Even though they play a critical role, access keys are frequently mishandled—kept the same for long periods, passed around between teams, or placed in locations where they shouldn’t be stored. When a key is compromised, the consequences can be catastrophic: data breaches, unauthorized access, service outages, and long‑term reputational damage.
