Preventing AWS Credential Leaks: Best Practices from Palo Alto Networks

Read full article here:  https://www.slashid.com/blog/large-scale-env-files-breach/?source=nhimg

Palo Alto Unit 42 uncovered a large-scale campaign targeting exposed .env files that contained API keys, IAM credentials, and other sensitive tokens. Attackers exfiltrated over 90,000 unique environment variables, including 1,185 AWS access keys, GitHub tokens, PayPal OAuth credentials, and Slack webhooks. Their end goal: privilege escalation, code execution, and ransoming victims by deleting critical S3 data.

This breach highlights a broader and urgent reality: stolen credentials remain the #1 vector for cloud compromise. As environments grow hybrid and multi-cloud, unmanaged and long-lived secrets increase both operational burden and attack surface.

Anatomy of the Attack

• Reconnaissance: Automated scans via Tor probed 230M+ targets for exposed .env files.
• Privilege Escalation: Attackers created a rogue IAM role (lambda-ex) and attached the AdministratorAccess policy.
• Execution: Malicious AWS Lambda functions were deployed to continue scanning for more exposed credentials.

Key Identity-Based Risks

1. Secrets Sprawl: Long-lived static credentials left unmonitored in multiple environments.
2. Privilege Misuse: Over-privileged accounts allowed lateral movement.
3. Weak Detection: High-signal API events (CreateRole + AttachRolePolicy) were not flagged early enough.

Detection & Response Priorities

• High-Quality Detection Signals: Watch for GetCallerIdentity + ListUsers from suspicious IPs, and any CreateRole + AttachRolePolicy events with broad privileges.
• Automated Remediation: Rotate credentials when anomalies are detected, suspend suspicious roles, and enforce least-privilege policies by default.
• Incident Containment: Rapid response can shrink blast radius and prevent destructive actions (e.g., mass S3 deletion).

Prevention Best Practices

• Eliminate long-lived credentials wherever possible.
• Apply least privilege consistently to both human and non-human identities.
• Continuously monitor privileged operations across AWS APIs.
• Use Just-in-Time (JIT) access models and automated key rotation.

How SlashID Helps

SlashID provides an identity-first protection layer that can:

• Detect abnormal credential use (e.g., Tor/VPN activity, suspicious API calls).
• Trigger automatic remediation workflows such as key rotation and role suspension.
• Continuously enforce least privilege by detecting over-privileged identities.

Bottom Line

This incident is another reminder that in the cloud era, secrets are the crown jewels. Without identity-first monitoring and control, exposed machine identities and credentials can be exploited in hours, not days. A strong Identity Protection framework is now essential for containing the growing credential-based attack surface.