The cloud era has shifted identity from human-first to machine-first. Microservices, serverless functions, pipelines, and AI agents are all constantly authenticating. And attackers have followed. Recent DBIR analysis shows that 88% of breaches in “basic web application attacks” involve stolen credentials. Another report found 82% of data breaches in 2023 involved cloud-stored data. Secrets are no longer “just config.” They are identity.

Yet most organizations still treat API keys, tokens, DB strings, and certs like harmless variables, left static for months, buried in .env files, checked into Git history, or sitting inside CI/CD variable stores with zero rotation. When cloud identity is equal access, unmanaged secrets create a massive blast radius risk because a single leaked key can unlock entire systems.

In this article, we'll break down why traditional approaches fail and why a modern secrets manager becomes the identity control plane for the cloud era.

What Counts as a “Secret” in 2025's Cloud?

In the cloud era, a secret is any piece of data that grants access and not just a password. Every API call, database query, or CI/CD job relies on one. And as organizations adopt microservices, containers, and serverless functions, the number of these credentials explodes. What used to be a handful of environment variables is now thousands of distributed access points.

Here's what typically qualifies as a secret today:

  • API keys and service tokens- used to connect applications, SaaS tools, and third-party APIs.
  • Database credentials- hardcoded or stored in scripts for quick deployment.
  • SSH keys and certificates- used by developers and automation scripts for remote access.
  • IAM credentials- both human and machine users managing cloud permissions.
  • CI/CD variables and access tokens- embedded in pipelines and automation workflows.
  • JWT signing keys- authenticating microservices and APIs.

Each of these is an identity gateway. As machine identities outnumber human ones, managing these secrets securely has become the foundation of digital trust.

Why Traditional Methods Fail

For years, teams managed secrets the “quick” way, environment files, config folders, CI/CD variables, or encrypted notes in shared drives. That worked when infrastructure was static. But in dynamic, multi-cloud environments, these methods can't keep up with scale, rotation, or visibility. Secrets sprawl across tools and teams, leaving blind spots everywhere.

Here's why legacy approaches no longer hold up:

  • Static storage- hard-coded keys in .env files or source code never expire and are easily exposed through commits or screenshots.
  • Manual rotation- credentials are rarely rotated because updating them across pipelines feels risky and time-consuming.
  • Siloed management- each team uses its own storage pattern, creating fragmented control and inconsistent policies.
  • No audit visibility- traditional systems can't tell who accessed what, when, or how.
  • Growing attack surface- every new repo, cloud service, or integration introduces new secrets to protect.

In short, what used to be a configuration habit has become an enterprise-level identity risk. Without central governance, even a single leaked token can compromise an entire environment.

Enter the Secrets Manager: Your Cloud Identity Control Plane

A secrets manager centralizes how your organization generates, stores, and delivers credentials. Instead of scattering keys across configs and pipelines, it creates a single, secure control plane where every secret is issued, rotated, and audited automatically. This not only protects sensitive data but it turns identity management into an operational function, not a manual task.

A modern secrets manager (like Akeyless) typically provides:

  • Centralized storage- a unified vault for API keys, tokens, and certificates.
  • Dynamic secrets- short-lived credentials that expire automatically after use.
  • Granular access control- policies defining who or what can retrieve each secret.
  • Automated rotation- credentials refreshed without human intervention or downtime.
  • Comprehensive audit trails- complete visibility into every access event.

The result: secrets aren't just protected but they're governed, rotated, and delivered securely across any cloud or environment.

Why Akeyless Is Built for the Cloud Era

Traditional vaults demand infrastructure to manage infrastructure — adding complexity where you need simplicity. Akeyless takes a different route: it's a SaaS-delivered secrets manager designed for modern, distributed environments. Built on Zero-Knowledge Encryption (ZKE), it ensures your secrets remain encrypted end-to-end, so even Akeyless can't see them.

Why teams choose Akeyless:

  • SaaS-native availability- no maintenance, patching, or scaling overhead.
  • Multi-cloud and hybrid ready- one control plane across AWS, Azure, GCP, and on-prem.
  • Dynamic secrets built in- automatically issue short-lived credentials.
  • Zero-Knowledge Encryption- complete data privacy, verified by design.

In a world where identity equals access, Akeyless helps you eliminate static secrets, shrink your attack surface, and scale securely without slowing down development.