Securing AWS Secrets Using GitHub Environments

Enhancing Security and Governance in AWS Deployments with GitHub Environments

Managing AWS secrets securely in CI/CD pipelines is crucial to prevent unauthorised access and accidental exposure. GitHub Environments provide a structured way to manage and protect secrets at different deployment stages. This blog post will guide you through the best practices for securing AWS secrets using GitHub Environments and provide hands-on labs for demonstration.

Why Use GitHub Environments for AWS Secrets?

GitHub Environments allow you to:

• Isolate secrets per environment (e.g., staging, production).

• Restrict access using required approvals and deployment rules.

• Avoid hardcoding AWS credentials in workflows.

• Enhance security by limiting secrets exposure to specific workflows.

Step-by-Step Guide to Securing AWS Secrets

Create GitHub environments

• Navigate to your repository on GitHub

• Go to Settings > Environments.

• Click New Environment, name it (e.g., staging, or production), and save.

Store AWS Secrets in GitHub environments

• Click Add Secret and enter:

  • Name: AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID

  • Value: Your AWS Access Key

• Add another secret for AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY.

• (Optional) Add AWS_REGION as an environment variable.

Use AWS Secrets in GitHub Actions

• Modify your .github/workflows/deploy.yml file with code from the code from this repository