Encrypted Credential Storage
Storing secrets such as API keys and tokens in encrypted form so plaintext is never exposed at rest.
Definition
Encrypted credential storage is the practice of keeping secrets such as passwords, API keys, tokens, and provider credentials encrypted while they sit in a database or file system, rather than as plaintext. The goal is that anyone with read access to the underlying storage, whether a database backup, a disk snapshot, or an attacker who has breached a data layer, cannot recover usable secrets without also holding the decryption key, which is typically managed separately from, and more tightly than, the data itself.
How it works
A common approach uses an authenticated encryption algorithm such as AES-GCM, which encrypts the secret and produces a tag that lets the system detect any tampering with the ciphertext. The encryption key is held server side, often outside the database that stores the ciphertext, and is never sent to a browser or client application. When a credential is needed, for example to make an outbound call to an LLM provider on an agent's behalf, the server decrypts it in memory for that single operation and does not return the plaintext value to the requesting client. User interfaces typically display only non sensitive metadata, such as a provider name and the last few characters of a key, so a person can recognize which credential they are looking at without ever seeing the full value again.
Why it matters for AI agent systems
An agent platform accumulates a growing set of high value credentials: LLM provider API keys, connected OAuth tokens, and keys to internal or third party systems the agents are permitted to call. Because agents run autonomously and often for long periods, the credentials backing them need protection against both external breaches and unnecessary internal exposure, including exposure to the browser session of an operator who only needs to confirm which key is in use, not read its full value. Agenhood stores LLM provider keys encrypted with AES-GCM on the server and never sends them to the browser; the console only ever shows the provider name and the key's last four characters, which keeps the full secret out of client side memory, logs, and browser extensions entirely.
Related concepts
- API key: one of the most common credential types this storage model protects.
- Zero trust networking: a complementary control that limits what a credential can reach even if it is ever used.