Workload identity can replace long-lived cloud access keys, but it does not eliminate every secret an application needs. Keep credentials that the systems your workload calls still require—such as third-party API tokens, application credentials, or certificates—and use the workload’s cloud or federated identity to retrieve them securely. Review and retire any cloud credentials made redundant by the migration.
What workload identity changes—and what it does not
Workload identity gives software a way to prove which workload it is and obtain authorization without relying on a long-lived cloud key stored in configuration or a secrets manager. The mechanism varies by provider: Google Cloud supports attached service-account identities for workloads running on Google Cloud and recommends federation for external workloads; AWS recommends temporary credentials from IAM roles in place of long-term access keys where possible; Microsoft Entra federation exchanges a trusted external token for Microsoft access tokens. These are provider-specific approaches, not one universal cross-cloud setup.
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Google Cloud calls Workload Identity Federation “the preferred way to configure identities for external workloads” (Google Cloud: Identities for workloads). In each case, identity answers how the workload authenticates and obtains permission. It does not mean every destination the application calls accepts that identity.
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| Item | What to do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Long-lived cloud access keys made unnecessary by the new identity | Review for removal; disable or delete once dependencies are verified. | A role, attached identity, or federation may provide temporary or token-based cloud access instead. AWS recommends temporary IAM role credentials in place of long-term access keys where possible (AWS Well-Architected: Store and use secrets securely). |
| Third-party API keys, OAuth tokens, database or other credential pairs, application secrets, and certificates | Keep them in protected storage when the destination still requires them. | Workload identity does not make a destination accept a different authentication method. Microsoft notes that some software workloads still need application credentials for Microsoft Entra-protected resources; expired credentials can cause downtime (Microsoft Learn: Workload Identity Federation). AWS Secrets Manager documents storage of third-party credentials (AWS Secrets Manager). |
| Credentials for systems without a supported federated or IAM authentication flow | Retain the credential required by that system and limit access to workloads that need it. | Authentication capabilities differ across targets; check each destination’s supported methods. |
This is a practical classification, not an exhaustive inventory for every application. For each dependency, identify the destination’s accepted authentication methods before deciding that a stored credential can go.
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How a workload retrieves the secrets that remain
Separate the identity used to access the secrets service from the secret value stored there. A workload’s cloud or federated identity can authorize a request to Secrets Manager, while the returned value can still be an API token or application credential needed by another service.
- Google Cloud: Secret Manager supports authentication through Application Default Credentials, including the service account attached to a compute resource. For workloads outside Google Cloud, Google recommends federation (Authenticate to Secret Manager).
- AWS: the AWS Workload Credentials Provider uses the workload’s AWS credentials to call Secrets Manager and retrieve secret values (Using the AWS Workload Credentials Provider).
Grant access to the specific workload identity that needs a secret rather than broadening access to accommodate the migration. Google’s federation best practices recommend restricting workload-identity-user grants to specific external identities (Google Cloud: Best practices for using Workload Identity Federation).
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Choose identity or a stored credential at each destination
Use the destination’s authentication capabilities to choose the method. If it accepts the workload’s cloud or federated identity, prefer that route where it can be scoped appropriately. If it requires a key, token, credential pair, or certificate, keep that value protected and grant retrieval only to the workload that needs it.
| Decision | Identity-based access | Stored credential |
|---|---|---|
| When it fits | The destination supports the workload’s attached or federated identity mechanism. | The destination requires a credential the workload must present, or does not support the chosen identity flow. |
| Credential characteristics | May use attached identity or short-lived tokens; implementation and token lifetime depend on the provider. | Value remains in secret storage; expiry and rotation depend on the credential and service. |
| Permission scope | Grant only the permissions required by that workload and destination. | Restrict secret retrieval to the workload that needs the value, and scope the credential itself where supported. |
| Operational care | Verify the identity-provider trust and access grants. | Protect, monitor, and rotate the stored credential according to its provider’s capabilities. |
Protect remaining secrets and finish the migration
Central storage and rotation still matter for credentials that remain. AWS recommends securely storing and regularly rotating secrets; Google notes that reducing the number of secrets can simplify rotation. Workload identity does not automatically rotate third-party API credentials.
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- Inventory cloud keys, application credentials, tokens, certificates, and other values used by the workload, along with the destinations that consume them.
- For each destination, verify whether it accepts the chosen attached or federated identity. Replace a stored cloud credential only when the workload can use the supported identity flow and the required permissions are in place.
- Keep destination-required credentials in the secrets service, grant retrieval to the specific workload identity, and maintain the relevant rotation and expiry controls.
- After migration, verify that replaced keys are disabled or deleted and that scheduled tasks, older workload versions, or other consumers do not still depend on them.
The final dependency check is essential: replacing a key for one workload does not prove that no other process still uses it. Provider-specific federation and authentication guidance can change, so confirm current documentation and destination requirements when implementing the design.
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