Sometimes you need to use credentials to send an API request or a login to an external system. In terms of security it is essential to work with sensitive data making it invisible to users and developers.
The credentials are stored in the kbot.conf configuration files. These files might exist on multiple levels, providing the settings to a specific bot instance, or shared between multiple instances. The configuration files are edited by customers in DevOps > Deployment:
When you click Apply, all the passwords and secrets are automatically encrypted. The rule is that any variable name ending with _password or _secret is encrypted.
Here is an example of a typical configuration:
# App Integration one_app_api = https://one-app.company.com/rest/api/v2/ one_app_authorization = Basic amlyYWlsjflskjdf |
You can use it in a workflow node (such as the Web Service node), or in a Python script:
headers = {
'Accept': 'application/json',
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': Bot.Bot().GetConfig("jira_authorization")
}
url = Bot.Bot().GetConfig("one_app_api") + "search?username={email}"
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers) |
In this sample your code is not secured. Anyone with access to the backoffice could see the authorization credentials.
The bot automatically encrypts all the variables ending with _password or _secret. Rename your sensitive variables accordingly:
# App Integration one_app_api = https://one-app.company.com/rest/api/v2/ one_app_authorization_secret = Basic amlyYWlsjflskjdf |
When saved, the file looks like this:
# App Integration one_app_api = https://one-app.company.com/rest/api/v2/ one_app_authorization_secret = JZVf4hamtMf1+WOEBe2X+XG4zRCbD5su+P8FnCo7YutJE2nxSWp7Qq5d9Ycu9qVn= |
To retrieve the data you need, use GetPasswordConfig:
headers = {
'Accept': 'application/json',
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': Bot.Bot().GetPasswordConfig("jira_authorization_secret")
}
url = Bot.Bot().GetConfig("one_app_api") + "search?username={email}"
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers) |
Pro : Very simple
Con : Password potentially saved in git & once you know the key, you can decrypt them
We can store passwords as an environment variable such as below :
elastic_password = VARIABLE::varname |
Better than basic, no password will ever be visible in the backoffice and password will never be saved in git, and only accessible and editable by someone with a vm access
We are using in this strategy an azure vault, we have a documentation page here : /wiki/spaces/DO/pages/3341090877
In our environment code, we will store the credentials using this new method so the secrets are stored in a secured azure security vault, only accessible by the bot.
elastic_password = AZUREKEYVAULT::varname |