SSH Key Management Approaches and Best Practices

This guide outlines various approaches to SSH key management, addressing the challenges organizations face in managing SSH keys effectively. It begins by identifying the SSH key management problem, emphasizing that many credential management and privileged access management (PAM) tools inadequately support SSH key management. The document details nine different methods for managing SSH keys, categorizing them into good, bad, and ugly approaches. Each method is examined for its benefits and disadvantages, highlighting the importance of selecting a suitable approach to prevent vulnerabilities and inefficiencies. The guide also discusses the unique characteristics of SSH keys compared to passwords, emphasizing the need for specialized management strategies. It concludes by stressing the necessity for enterprises to implement robust key management processes, regardless of the key types in use, to ensure comprehensive security and compliance.