HashiCorp Vault

HashiCorp Vault is used as a centralized secrets and security management layer, providing controlled access to sensitive data such as credentials, tokens, and encryption keys.

It is treated as a foundational security primitive within the platform, decoupling secret handling from application code and infrastructure definitions.

Key Capabilities

• Centralized Secrets Management
  Securely stores and controls access to secrets used by applications and services.

• Dynamic & Short-Lived Credentials
  Supports generation of time-bound credentials to reduce long-lived secret exposure.

• Fine-Grained Access Control
  Enforces policy-driven access using identities, roles, and scopes.

• Encryption as a Service
  Provides encryption and decryption capabilities without exposing raw keys.

• Auditability & Governance
  Maintains detailed audit logs for security and compliance purposes.

Experience & Platform Contribution

Used Vault as part of a shared platform to standardize secret handling and access control across services and environments.

Key contributions included:

• Integrating applications and services with centralized secret retrieval
• Eliminating hardcoded credentials from codebases and configuration files
• Defining policy-based access controls aligned with platform roles
• Supporting secure secret distribution for application runtime and automation
• Advising teams on secret lifecycle management and security best practices

Vault served as a critical security layer, enabling platforms and applications to manage sensitive data safely while maintaining clear boundaries and operational discipline.