Artifact hygiene is the practice of reviewing, isolating, and retiring old files, exports, logs, installers, and archives that may still carry security risk. In cyber security, an artifact can outlive the system that created it: a document may preserve active content, a package may contain outdated code, or a cached file may still be opened by users or tools that trust it too much.
This matters because attackers often target the leftovers. A patched application can still leave behind risky artifacts such as legacy HTML exports, scripts, macros, or downloaded payloads that are later reopened in a browser-like previewer or shared folder. Good artifact hygiene reduces that exposure by inventorying old files, storing untrusted material in isolated locations, re-exporting content after fixes, and deleting obsolete copies when they are no longer needed. It is a defensive habit that treats data as part of the attack surface, not just the software itself.