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What should you do first after exposing an API key?
Start by identifying what was exposed and who can invalidate it. “API key” can mean different things: a vendor API key, a GitHub access token, a cloud service-account credential, or another credential type. The correct revocation path depends on the issuer and credential class; there is no universal endpoint that revokes every API key.
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Identify the credential, owner, and exposure
- Record the provider and credential type, where it appeared (repository, file, line, log, workflow, or other location), and the person or team responsible for it.
- Determine whether it is active and which applications, jobs, integrations, repository secrets, or environments use it. Ask the owning team if the dependency is unclear.
- Establish whether the location was public or accessible to people or systems that should not have had the credential. Check for other copies in commits, pull requests, logs, build artifacts, and related repositories.
- Note any available scanner details, such as exposure locations, validity checks, or last-use information. A scanner may not validate every credential type; the issuer is the most reliable place to confirm status.
If your repository platform provides secret-scanning alerts or code search, use them to locate related exposures. GitHub’s alert visibility and investigation data depend on feature availability, permissions, plan, and configuration established before the incident; a missing alert does not prove the secret was never exposed.
Prioritize by exposure and potential impact
An active production credential or a credential exposed publicly deserves urgent provider-side containment. Consider its permissions and the resources it can reach: a narrowly restricted key may have a smaller blast radius than a credential with broad account access, but either can be misused while valid. If you cannot establish whether a public credential remains active, contact the issuer or owner promptly rather than assuming it is harmless.
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How should you contain the credential without causing avoidable downtime?
Choose the order of revocation and replacement based on exposure risk, service criticality, permissions, available usage evidence, and whether every consumer can be updated quickly. A transition can reduce disruption, but it does not make the leaked credential safe while it remains valid.
| Approach | Containment speed | Service-disruption risk | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revoke the exposed credential immediately, then issue and deploy a replacement | Fastest way to stop further use of the old credential | Higher if applications still depend on it | Prioritize for active public leaks, production credentials, suspicious use, or broad permissions |
| Create a replacement, switch and test consumers, then revoke the exposed credential | Delayed until the old credential is revoked | Lower if the transition is coordinated successfully | Use only when service continuity requires a short transition and there is a reasoned containment plan; keep the interval as short as practical |
GitHub’s remediation guidance describes creating a replacement with the same permissions, switching the application, and then revoking the old token when downtime is a concern. Do not extend that exception into a general rule: a valid leaked key remains usable until the issuer invalidates it.
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How can you tell whether the key was used?
Review evidence at the provider and in the systems where the credential was exposed or used. Available history varies by provider, account role, plan, permissions, and logging configured before the incident. A lack of visible events is not proof that no one used the credential.
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Inspect provider activity and resources
- Search audit events and credential or API usage records for activity associated with the credential, including unexpected actors, locations, or IP addresses where those details are available.
- Review API consumption and billing for unfamiliar spikes, services, or operations.
- Look for unauthorized resources, configuration changes, or other account activity that could indicate the credential was used to do more than make API calls.
- Preserve relevant event details and timestamps according to your incident-response process, especially if the activity appears unauthorized.
Check repositories, CI, and integrations
Inspect secret-scanning alerts, code, workflows, pull requests, repository and organization settings, environment secrets, and integrations that could expose or consume the credential. This helps establish where it was accessible and which services need a replacement. Broaden the investigation if you find suspicious account changes or indicators that other credentials or projects may also be affected.
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- WORKS WITH 1000+ ACCOUNTS: Compatible with popular accounts like Google, Microsoft, and Apple. A single YubiKey 5 NFC secures 100+ of your favorite accounts, including email, password managers, and more
- FAST & CONVENIENT LOGIN: Plug in your YubiKey 5 NFC via USB and tap it, or tap it against your phone (NFC), to authenticate. No batteries, no internet connection, and no extra fees required
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- PRIMARY & SPARE KEYS: Just like having a spare house key, we recommend buying two YubiKeys - one for daily use and one as a spare. That way you’ll never get locked out of your accounts
How do you revoke or rotate the credential with its issuer?
Use the provider’s documented controls for the exact credential type. A GitHub token, a Google Cloud API key, a Google Cloud service-account credential, and an AWS credential are not interchangeable, and revoking one does not revoke another.
GitHub tokens
GitHub documents a REST revocation endpoint for specific GitHub credential types: classic and fine-grained personal access tokens, OAuth app tokens, GitHub App user-to-server tokens, and refresh tokens. It is not a general-purpose endpoint for arbitrary third-party API keys stored in GitHub. Use the documented UI or API path that matches the affected GitHub token. A revoked credential cannot be reactivated; generate a new one if needed.
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- WORKS WITH 1000+ ACCOUNTS: Compatible with Google, Microsoft, and Apple. A single Security Key NFC secures 100 of your favorite accounts, including email, password managers, and more.
- FAST & CONVENIENT LOGIN: Plug in your Security Key NFC via USB-A and tap it, or tap it against your phone (NFC) to authenticate. No batteries, no internet connection, and no extra fees required.
- TRUSTED PASSKEY TECHNOLOGY: Uses the latest passkey standards (FIDO2/WebAuthn & FIDO U2F) but does not support One-Time Passwords. For complex needs, check out the YubiKey 5 Series.
- BUILT TO LAST: Made from tough, waterproof, and crush-resistant materials. Manufactured in Sweden and programmed in the USA with the highest security standards.
Google Cloud keys and service-account credentials
For a Google Cloud API key, review activity and regenerate a non-public key; apply restrictions where appropriate to limit its permitted use. A key intended for public use still merits usage review and suitable restrictions rather than being treated as equivalent to a private service credential. If a service-account credential may be compromised, revoke the affected credentials, rotate credentials in affected projects, and remove unauthorized resources.
AWS credentials
AWS advises revoking or rotating exposed credentials at the service where they originated. The appropriate action depends on the credential type; do not assume one AWS procedure applies to every credential. For replacement values, AWS identifies Secrets Manager and Systems Manager Parameter Store as storage options.
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- WORKS WITH 1000+ ACCOUNTS: Compatible with popular accounts like Google, Microsoft, and Apple. A single YubiKey 5 secures 100+ of your favorite accounts, including email, password managers, and more.
- FAST & CONVENIENT LOGIN: Plug in your YubiKey 5 via USB and tap it to authenticate. No batteries, no internet connection, and no extra fees required.
- MOST SECURE PASSKEY: Supports FIDO2/WebAuthn, FIDO U2F, Yubico OTP, OATH-TOTP/HOTP, Smart card (PIV), and OpenPGP. That means it’s versatile, working almost anywhere you need it.
- BUILT TO LAST: Made from tough, waterproof, and crush-resistant materials. Manufactured in Sweden and programmed in the USA with the highest security standards.
How do you replace the key and verify containment?
- Inventory every consumer. Include applications, scheduled jobs, CI workflows, integrations, repository secrets, organization secrets, environment-specific settings, and any other service that may hold the credential.
- Issue a replacement through the provider. Grant only the permissions the consumers need. If you are using a staged transition to avoid an outage, set an owner and a prompt revocation point for the exposed credential.
- Store the replacement securely. Put it in a secrets-management service or the relevant protected secret store instead of hard-coding it in source. AWS names Secrets Manager and Systems Manager Parameter Store for this purpose.
- Update and test each consumer. Deploy the new value, verify that dependent applications and workflows operate with it, and check for failures caused by missed consumers or incorrect configuration.
- Confirm the old credential is invalid. Verify its status through the issuer or an appropriate provider-controlled check. Do not infer revocation from deleting a file or changing a repository.
- Clean up exposed copies. Remove the value from current source and, when appropriate, clean repository history and other copies. This reduces future exposure, but it does not invalidate a credential that may remain active.
Is deleting an API key from GitHub enough?
No. Removing a secret from the current file or latest commit does not invalidate it, and the value may remain in repository history or other copies. GitHub Docs’ guidance on remediating a leaked secret says, “It is not sufficient to simply remove the secret from your codebase.” Revoke or rotate the credential with its issuer first; source and history cleanup is a separate step.
What should you monitor after revocation?
Continue watching for signs of use or related compromise after the old credential is invalidated. Review fresh secret alerts, provider audit activity, API usage, billing, affected workloads, and repositories for additional copies. Watch for unauthorized resources or changes, and widen the incident investigation if indicators point to account or project compromise.
Monitoring has limits: historical visibility depends on what the provider records and what logging, alerts, and scanning were enabled before the exposure. Keep checking the services that used the key and the locations where it appeared, rather than relying on one clean dashboard or the absence of a new alert.
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