2025-10-24 · Authensor

What Is Secrets Redaction in AI Agent Systems?

Secrets redaction is the process of detecting and removing or masking sensitive data -- such as API keys, passwords, tokens, private keys, and connection strings -- from the inputs, outputs, and context of an AI agent, preventing these credentials from being exposed in logs, model context windows, generated outputs, or transmitted to external services. Because AI agents routinely process files and environment data that contain secrets, redaction is essential to prevent both accidental leakage and deliberate exfiltration. SafeClaw by Authensor incorporates secrets protection through policy-based access controls that prevent agents from reading credential files and sensitive paths, complementing its deny-by-default action gating for agents built with Claude, OpenAI, or any supported framework.

Why Secrets Redaction Matters for AI Agents

AI agents interact with secrets in ways that traditional applications do not:

A single secret exposure can lead to account compromise, data breaches, financial loss, and compliance violations.

Types of Secrets at Risk

| Secret Type | Common Location | Risk Level |
|-------------|----------------|------------|
| API keys | .env, config files | Critical |
| Database connection strings | .env, config/database.yml | Critical |
| SSH private keys | ~/.ssh/id_rsa, ~/.ssh/id_ed25519 | Critical |
| Cloud credentials | ~/.aws/credentials, ~/.gcp/ | Critical |
| OAuth tokens | .env, token stores | High |
| JWT signing keys | .env, secret stores | High |
| TLS certificates | .pem, .key files | High |
| Passwords | Config files, .env | High |
| Webhook secrets | .env, CI/CD config | Medium |

Preventing Secret Exposure with SafeClaw

Install SafeClaw to enforce secret protection policies:

npx @authensor/safeclaw

A secrets-protection policy blocks access to files and paths that commonly contain credentials:

# safeclaw.yaml
version: 1
defaultAction: deny


rules:
  # BLOCK ALL COMMON SECRET FILE PATTERNS
  - action: file_read
    path: "./.env*"
    decision: deny
    reason: "Environment files contain secrets"



- action: file_read
    path: "./*/.pem"
    decision: deny
    reason: "PEM files contain certificates or keys"



- action: file_read
    path: "./*/.key"
    decision: deny
    reason: "Key files are sensitive"



- action: file_read
    path: "~/.ssh/**"
    decision: deny
    reason: "SSH directory contains private keys"



- action: file_read
    path: "~/.aws/**"
    decision: deny
    reason: "AWS credentials are sensitive"



- action: file_read
    path: "./*/credentials"
    decision: deny
    reason: "Credential files are sensitive"



- action: file_read
    path: "./*/secret*"
    decision: deny
    reason: "Files containing 'secret' in the name are sensitive"



# ALLOW READS FOR NON-SENSITIVE PROJECT FILES
  - action: file_read
    path: "./src/**"
    decision: allow



- action: file_read
    path: "./docs/**"
    decision: allow



- action: file_read
    path: "./tests/**"
    decision: allow



# BLOCK NETWORK REQUESTS (prevents exfiltration of any secrets)
  - action: http_request
    decision: deny
    reason: "Network access blocked to prevent secret exfiltration"

This policy operates at the access layer: the agent is prevented from reading files that contain secrets in the first place. This is more reliable than content-based redaction because it does not depend on pattern matching to identify secrets within file contents.

Layers of Secrets Protection

Layer 1: Access Prevention (Primary)

Block the agent from reading files that contain secrets. This is SafeClaw's primary approach -- if the agent never reads the secret, it cannot leak it.

Layer 2: Content Redaction

Scan file contents for patterns matching known secret formats (API key prefixes, base64-encoded keys, connection strings) and replace them with placeholder values before the content enters the agent's context.

Layer 3: Output Scanning

Inspect the agent's generated outputs for secret patterns before they are written to files, sent to APIs, or displayed to users.

Layer 4: Egress Control

Block or restrict network requests that could transmit secrets to external endpoints. SafeClaw's deny-by-default approach to network access provides this layer.

Common Secret Patterns

Content-based redaction relies on detecting patterns like:

# AWS Access Key
AKIA[0-9A-Z]{16}


GitHub Personal Access Token

ghp_[a-zA-Z0-9]{36}


Generic API key patterns

[a-zA-Z_]+=["'][a-zA-Z0-9]{32,}["']


Private key headers

-----BEGIN (RSA |EC |OPENSSH )?PRIVATE KEY-----

However, pattern matching is inherently incomplete -- new secret formats, custom tokens, and unstructured credentials may not match any pattern. This is why access prevention (Layer 1) is the strongest defense.

Secrets Redaction and Compliance

Protecting credentials is a requirement across regulatory frameworks:

SafeClaw's 446-test suite validates that policy rules correctly block access to common credential file patterns and that denied read attempts are recorded in the hash-chained audit trail.

Cross-References

Try SafeClaw

Action-level gating for AI agents. Set it up in your browser in 60 seconds.

$ npx @authensor/safeclaw