9/25/2025 • 6 min read

Exposed API Keys: The Silent Killer of Projects

In 2023 alone, GitGuardian detected over 10 million exposed secrets on public GitHub repositories. Attackers don't need to hack your systems—they just wait for someone to accidentally publish an API key, then swoop in.

It doesn't matter if you're a solo dev running a side project or a multi-billion-dollar company like Uber or Toyota. If an API key leaks, attackers will find it, and the fallout can be devastating—ranging from stolen data to massive cloud bills to regulatory fines.

This post explores real-world API key leaks, why they happen, and how to prevent them with secure workflows.

API key exposure is one of the most common security incidents. A single leaked key can lead to massive financial losses, data breaches, and service disruption. Prevention is simple but requires consistent practices.

Introduction

API keys authenticate apps and services. They’re powerful—and dangerously simple. Expose one, and an attacker can impersonate your app, drain your account balance, or steal sensitive user data.

The problem isn’t confined to beginners or small teams. Uber, Codecov, Toyota, and countless startups have fallen victim to exposed keys. Even AI projects built on OpenAI or Supabase often leak secrets through public repos, Discord chats, or notebooks.

In this post, you’ll learn:

What happens when API keys leak
Case studies of real-world breaches and their consequences
Why keys leak so often
Prevention best practices (lots more at API Keys Explained: Secure Usage for Developers)
What to do if you discover you’ve leaked a key

What Happens When API Keys Leak

The lifecycle of an exposed API key is terrifyingly short.

Developer accidentally commits a key to GitHub.
Automated bots scan repos 24/7, instantly finding exposed keys.
Attacker uses the key to:
- Run crypto-mining rigs on cloud accounts
- Send spam campaigns through email/SMS APIs
- Pull or modify sensitive user data
- Burn through AI credits (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
Consequences: bills, breaches, reputational damage, and legal fallout.

flowchart LR
  A[Exposed API Key] --> B[Attacker Bot Scans GitHub]
  B --> C[Key Exploited]
  C --> D[Data Stolen | Bills Run Up | Service Disrupted]

Once leaked, keys are essentially public knowledge forever—even if deleted from GitHub, they remain in history or forks.

Real-World API Key Leaks (and Their Fallout)

Uber (2016)

What happened: Developers committed AWS credentials to a private GitHub repo. Hackers accessed the repo and exfiltrated sensitive data (source).

Fallout: Data of 57M riders & drivers exposed. Uber paid a $148M settlement and faced regulatory scrutiny for years.

Codecov (2021)

What happened: Attackers tampered with Codecov's Bash uploader, allowing them to exfiltrate API tokens and keys from thousands of CI pipelines (source).

Fallout: A supply chain breach impacting hundreds of companies, some unknowingly leaking secrets for months.

Toyota (2022)

What happened: A GitHub repo contained cloud API keys tied to customer databases.

Fallout: 296,000 customer records exposed, including email addresses and management numbers (source).

Tea Dating App (2025)

What happened: The UK-based app "Tea" left an unsecured Firebase backend that exposed over 59GB of user data, including images (selfies and ID photos) and content from posts and messages (source).

Fallout: Major privacy breach, shutdown of messaging features, and likely regulatory scrutiny under GDPR.

Meta / Facebook (Multiple Incidents)

What happened: Staff and contractors accidentally committed access tokens. Automated scrapers picked them up (source).

Fallout: Mass token resets, user inconvenience, and heightened mistrust.

AI Projects (2023–2024)

What happened: Thousands of OpenAI API keys were found in GitHub repos, Kaggle notebooks, and Discord posts (source).

Fallout: Attackers ran crypto-mining jobs and abused AI APIs for free compute, sticking victims with the bills.

Side Projects

What happened: Indie devs leaked Twilio or SendGrid keys in GitHub repos.

Fallout: Accounts used for large-scale spam campaigns. Many accounts were suspended, killing projects overnight (source).

Why Keys Leak So Easily

Exposed API keys aren't rare accidents—they're the predictable outcome of common developer workflows.

Copy-pasting into code: "It works locally, ship it."
Tutorial culture: Many guides still tell you to paste raw keys into code examples.
CI/CD misconfigs: Logging secrets into build output.
Public repos & forks: One accidental push can make keys discoverable forever.
AI coding assistants: GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT, and Replit agents sometimes autofill or suggest code snippets with embedded keys.

If you use AI coding tools, you're at higher risk. Keys can slip into commits without you noticing. Rafter scans your repos for exposed secrets—so you catch them before attackers do. Run a scan today →

How to Prevent API Key Leaks

For a deeper dive into best practices, see API Keys Explained: Secure Usage for Developers.

1. Never Commit Secrets

Add .env files to .gitignore
Use secret linting pre-commit hooks

2. Use Environment Variables

Example in Node.js:

# .env
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-abc123

import OpenAI from "openai";
const client = new OpenAI({ apiKey: process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY });

3. Adopt Secret Managers

AWS Secrets Manager
Google Secret Manager
HashiCorp Vault
Doppler

4. Principle of Least Privilege

Use test keys whenever possible
Scope keys to only what's needed

5. Rotate & Revoke Regularly

Keys should be short-lived
Automate rotation schedules

6. Secure CI/CD Pipelines

Use GitHub Actions secrets or GitLab CI masked variables
Never echo secrets into logs

7. Automated Scanning

Integrate Gitleaks, Trufflehog, or Rafter
CI/CD pipelines should block commits with exposed keys

What to Do If You Leak a Key

Even with precautions, leaks happen. Here's how to respond:

Revoke immediately in your provider's dashboard
Rotate & redeploy with a fresh key
Audit logs for suspicious usage (billing, API requests)
Assess impact: was data exposed? notify users if required
Update workflow to prevent repeat leaks (add scanners, Rafter, secret managers)

Conclusion

Exposed API keys don't just happen to beginners. From Uber's $148M breach to the Tea dating app driver's license leak, both hobby projects and Fortune 500 companies have suffered the consequences.

Key takeaways:

Attackers are scanning constantly—leaked keys are exploited within minutes
Prevention is simple: .env files, secret managers, rotation, and repo scanning
Tools like Rafter give you a safety net, catching leaks before attackers do

Don't let an API key kill your project. Protect your secrets now.

Want to automatically detect API key leaks in your repositories? Try Rafter to scan your code and identify exposed secrets before they become security incidents.