Definition
Plain language
The locked store where an organization keeps its passwords and keys.
As stated in the literature
A secrets-management service holding credentials, tokens, and keys with access policies and audit logging; vault access scopes are among the highest-value targets in credential-escalation scenarios.
Also called: secrets vault
Why it matters: Centralizing secrets gives you rotation and an audit trail you could never get from passwords scattered across files, which is also why access to the vault itself is the prize an attacker wants most.
For example, instead of pasting a database password into a config file, a service asks the vault for it at startup, and the vault logs who asked and when.
Heard on the show
“The analogy I'd use — if you're testing whether a vault door is secure, you need a burglar willing to try to break in.”Episode 045 — When a Frontier Model Talks Its Own Twin Into Climate Denial