In the world of modern software development, managing secrets securely while maintaining automation and developer productivity is a constant challenge. At EDSTEM, we've found Mozilla's SOPS (Secrets OPerationS) to be an invaluable tool in our security arsenal. Here's how we use SOPS to strike the perfect balance between security and automation.

The Secrets Management Challenge

Like many organizations, we believe in keeping secrets separate from source code. However, real-world scenarios often present a complex set of requirements:

• Full automation for infrastructure provisioning
• Secure handling of bootstrap credentials
• Managing legacy systems with embedded secrets
• Cross-platform compatibility
• Integration with cloud services

Enter SOPS: Our Go-To Solution

SOPS has become our default choice for managing secrets within code repositories, offering a robust combination of security and flexibility. As an encrypted file editor, SOPS supports various file formats and integrates seamlessly with cloud key management services.

Key Benefits We've Experienced

1. Cloud Integration: SOPS works perfectly with our cloud infrastructure, supporting:
   • AWS Key Management Service (KMS)
   • Google Cloud KMS
   • Azure Key Vault
2. Cross-Platform Compatibility: Our development teams work across different operating systems, and SOPS's cross-platform support ensures a consistent experience for all developers.
3. Version Control Friendly: Encrypted files can be safely committed to version control, enabling us to:
   • Track changes to secrets over time
   • Implement proper review processes
   • Maintain an audit trail

Real-World Use Cases at EDSTEM

Bootstrap Credentials Management

One of our primary use cases for SOPS is managing seed credentials for infrastructure bootstrapping. This allows us to:

• Maintain infrastructure as code principles
• Automate deployment processes
• Securely store bootstrap secrets

Legacy System Integration

For legacy systems where removing secrets from the codebase isn't immediately feasible, SOPS provides a practical intermediate solution:

• Encrypting secrets directly in text files
• Maintaining existing file formats
• Adding an extra layer of security

Best Practices We Follow

1. Key Access Control
   • Strict IAM policies for KMS access
   • Regular key rotation
   • Audit logging of all decryption operations
2. Developer Workflow
   • Clear documentation for SOPS usage
   • Automated pre-commit hooks for encryption verification
   • Standardized file formats across teams
3. Security Measures
   • Regular access reviews
   • Monitoring of decryption events
   • Integration with security alerting systems

Implementation Tips

For teams looking to implement SOPS, here are some recommendations based on our experience:

1. Start Small
   • Begin with a single project or team
   • Document the process thoroughly
   • Gather feedback and iterate
2. Standardize Practices
   • Create templates for common use cases
   • Establish naming conventions
   • Define clear processes for key management
3. Automate Where Possible
   • Integrate SOPS into CI/CD pipelines
   • Automate key rotation procedures
   • Set up monitoring and alerting

Future Plans

As we continue to evolve our secrets management strategy, we're exploring:

• Automated secret rotation integration
• Enhanced audit capabilities
• Expanded use of cloud key management services

Conclusion

SOPS has proven to be an excellent solution for our secrets management needs at EDSTEM. It provides the right balance of security, usability, and automation, making it an integral part of our development workflow. While no solution is perfect, SOPS has helped us maintain high security standards while supporting our development teams' productivity.

Whether you're dealing with infrastructure secrets, legacy systems, or modern cloud-native applications, SOPS might be worth considering for your secrets management needs. Its flexibility and robust feature set make it a valuable tool in any organization's security toolkit.