Exposed Developer Secrets Are a Big Problem. AI is Making Them Exponentially Worse
Jun 16, 2025
There's a war raging in the heart of every developer. On one side, you have the id: the impulse-driven creative force that wants to code at the speed of thought and would prefer to deploy first and ask questions later. On the other side, there's the superego, which wants to test every line of code and would push a release by a month if it meant catching one extra bug. Experienced developers know how to act as a referee between these two forces and find the right balance between speed and security. But inexperienced or overworked devs often put their id in the driver's seat, which leads (among other things) to accidentally leaking developer secrets. These secrets include things like API and SSH keys, unencrypted credentials, and authentication tokens. Calling developer secrets "the keys to the kingdom" is something of a cliche, but it's tough to think of another phrase that accurately captures the unique power of this data. Unfortunately, the people who most appreciate the pow...
