Describe your experience with managing and securing secrets, such as API keys or database credentials, in a DevOps environment

Securing secrets is paramount in a DevOps environment. We employed tools like HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager to securely store and manage sensitive information such as API keys and database credentials. Access to secrets was strictly controlled through role-based access control (RBAC), ensuring that only authorized users and services could access them. Secrets were injected into applications at runtime using environment variables or runtime configuration, minimizing exposure and enhancing security.