A secrets-management system is a platform for storing, issuing, and controlling access to sensitive credentials such as API keys, SSH keys, passwords, certificates, and automation tokens. Instead of hard-coding secrets into code, files, or CI/CD variables, teams keep them in a controlled vault and retrieve them only when needed.
This matters because stolen secrets often give attackers more value than a single compromised machine. In software supply chain attacks, malicious packages or build steps may try to read environment variables, config files, or injected tokens and then use them to reach cloud services, source repositories, or release systems. A good secrets-management system reduces that risk by enforcing least privilege, short-lived credentials, rotation, access logging, and approval controls. It is a key defense when developer workstations and pipelines are treated as part of the security boundary.