The proliferation of microservices and distributed architectures has dramatically increased the complexity of managing sensitive information in cloud-native applications. Database credentials, API keys, encryption keys, and other secrets must be securely stored, distributed, and rotated across potentially hundreds of services and environments. Traditional approaches of hardcoding secrets or storing them in configuration files are not only insecure but fundamentally incompatible with the dynamic nature of cloud-native deployments.

Modern secrets management requires a comprehensive strategy that addresses the entire lifecycle of sensitive information, from generation and distribution to rotation and revocation. This strategy must account for the ephemeral nature of cloud-native workloads, the need for automated operations, and the security requirements of handling sensitive data across network boundaries.