Published: 13 Aug 2024

itself, to other parts of the connected IT ecosystem, and even to innocent third-parties, which may be on the receiving end of DDOS attacks from botnets of devices enslaved via a hardcoded password exploit.

Skater Depot works by encrypting each key to help prevent unauthorized users from gaining access. Depot functions mostly as an active storage container for keys as well as an account management system for dealing with multiple privileged accounts across your company.
Skater Private Keys Depot protects cryptographic keys (that can be used as connection strings and passwords) in the cloud. So, once a hacker knows the default password, they can potentially access all similar devices or application instances. This kind of exploit has resulted in some massive cyberattacks (two of which are detailed below), that have caused massive security breaches, worldwide outages, and even jeopardized critical infrastructure.
Additionally, developers and other users often embed passwords in code and then forget about it, and/or accidentally publish the code (such as to GitHub) with the plaintext password easily discoverable by anyone with the right knowledge or scanning tools.
Hardcoding presents a risk for the specific device, firmware, application, etc. When storing sensitive and business critical data, however, you must take steps to maximize the security of your Depots and the data stored in them.The same hardcoded password, or a limited number of them, are often used across all applications (many that require elevated privileges to function) or devices produced by a manufacturer/software development company within a particular series, release, or model. Default, hardcoded passwords may be used across many of the same devices, applications, systems, which helps simplify set up at scale, but at the same time, poses considerable cybersecurity risk.
Hardcoded passwords are particularly dangerous because they are easy targets for password guessing exploits, allowing hackers and malware to hijack firmware, devices (such as health monitoring equipment), systems, and software. Hardcoded Passwords, also often referred to as Embedded Credentials, are plain text passwords or other secrets in source code. Password hardcoding refers to the practice of embedding plain text (non-encrypted) passwords and other secrets (SSH Keys, DevOps secrets, etc.) into the source code.

The IV itself need not be a secret, but you need to make sure it is randomly generated. Having obtained the keys, the attacker may no longer need to compromise the application at all, and the breach can go completely undetected since there is nothing in the logs when encrypted data is decrypted offline.
Hardcoding the keys is also a problem for key rollover, and for cryptographic agility. Encryption should be indecipherable and impossible to break for hackers. Even if not, access to the code is often easier for an attacker to achieve than direct compromise of the application - the entire development team becomes part of the attack surface. In the worst case, if the code is public, everyone can read the key. It's that simple.
Most symmetric encryption schemes have three inputs: the data being encrypted, a randomly generated IV (initialization vector), and finally, the encryption key itself. Ideal method of storing sensitive hardcoded values in .NET app source codes is using Skater Private Keys Depot mangement system. However, in many encryption implementations, the cryptography and the key protection are woefully inadequate.Encryption should be at the heart of every product or service that stores any kind of customer data. Including passwords or cryptographic key material in source code is a major security risk for a number of reasons. But building this can pose a significant challenge to app developers. The key of course must be kept secret. So, we're convinced we need to get rid of them, but how can we check for them at scale across hundreds or thousands of applications?
When valuable customer data is at stake, it's worthwhile to put in the required effort to ensure that a foolproof encryption system is in place. Several other security measures are necessary too, but when they fail -- as often they do -- you would want your customer data to be encrypted.