Cloud Vault Security: 3 Things Every Enterprise Should Check

Read full article here: https://www.akeyless.io/blog/3-things-to-look-out-for-when-using-cloud-vaults/?utm_source=nhimg

Cloud vaults provided by Azure, AWS, and GCP simplify storing and managing workload secrets—but they come with hidden limitations that can impact security, agility, and compliance. Here are the three main risks to watch for:

1. Walled Garden Isolation:
   Cloud vaults are largely proprietary, designed to work within a single provider’s ecosystem. This creates challenges for hybrid or multicloud environments, limiting cross-platform collaboration and complicating CI/CD pipelines. Workloads outside the cloud provider’s environment may have poor connectivity, reducing operational flexibility and slowing development cycles.

2. Loss of Key Ownership (“Not Your Keys, Not Your Secrets”):
   Using cloud vaults often requires giving up master encryption keys to the provider. This exposes organizations to risks like government access mandates (e.g., the CLOUD Act) and reduces control over sensitive data. Full ownership and encryption of secrets are essential for regulatory compliance and data sovereignty.

3. Standing Permissions and Secret Rotation Gaps:
   Static secrets that remain valid for long periods increase the attack window. Frequent rotation and Just-In-Time (JIT) access are critical to minimize exposure, but most cloud vaults do not provide dynamic secrets or automated JIT mechanisms, leaving organizations vulnerable to compromise.

Akeyless Secrets Management: A Modern Alternative
Akeyless addresses these gaps by providing a centralized, SaaS-based solution for hybrid multicloud environments. Key benefits include:

• Lifecycle management from creation to revocation

• Patented Distributed Fragments Cryptography™ (DFC) for secure storage

• Support for ephemeral, dynamic, and JIT secrets

• Centralized orchestration across clouds and on-prem systems

Takeaway: While cloud vaults are convenient, relying solely on them introduces risks in security, compliance, and agility. A hybrid multicloud secrets management platform like Akeyless ensures your secrets are secure, auditable, and operationally flexible across all environments.