Secrets rotation

AWS Secrets Manager provides automatic secrets rotation, a critical security feature for maintaining compliance and reducing the risk of credential compromise. Secrets rotation is the practice of periodically updating sensitive credentials such as database passwords, API keys, and other secrets to … AWS Secrets Manager provides automatic secrets rotation, a critical security feature for maintaining compliance and reducing the risk of credential compromise. Secrets rotation is the practice of periodically updating sensitive credentials such as database passwords, API keys, and other secrets to minimize the exposure window if credentials are leaked. In AWS Secrets Manager, rotation works through Lambda functions that automatically generate new credentials, update the secret in Secrets Manager, and configure the target service with the new credentials. AWS provides pre-built rotation Lambda functions for common services like Amazon RDS, Amazon Redshift, and Amazon DocumentDB. The rotation process follows a multi-step workflow: First, the createSecret step generates a new version of the secret with new credentials. Second, the setSecret step updates the target database or service with these new credentials. Third, the testSecret step validates that the new credentials work correctly. Finally, the finishSecret step marks the new version as the current active version. For SysOps Administrators, configuring rotation involves several key considerations. You must ensure the Lambda function has appropriate IAM permissions to access both Secrets Manager and the target resource. VPC configuration may be required if rotating secrets for resources in private subnets. You should also configure rotation schedules based on your organization's security policies, with options ranging from days to months. Monitoring rotation is essential for compliance. CloudWatch metrics and CloudTrail logs help track rotation events and identify failures. Setting up CloudWatch alarms for rotation failures ensures quick remediation of any issues. Best practices include enabling automatic rotation for all supported secret types, testing rotation in non-production environments first, implementing proper error handling, and maintaining application compatibility by using the Secrets Manager API to retrieve current credentials rather than caching them long-term. This approach ensures applications always use valid credentials while maintaining strong security posture.