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Integrating GCP Secret Manager with Kafka Connect Using External Secrets
Managing sensitive configuration data such as database credentials, API keys, or access tokens can be challenging in a cloud-native environment. Hardcoding secrets into your Kubernetes manifests or application code is a significant security risk. This is where tools like Kubernetes External Secrets and GCP Secret Manager come in. They simplify managing and accessing secrets securely without exposing them to unnecessary risks.
In this guide, we will walk through a step-by-step process to securely inject secrets stored in GCP Secret Manager into a Kafka Connect deployment running on Kubernetes. By the end of this tutorial, you will understand how to:
1. Set up Kubernetes External Secrets using Helm.
2. Authenticate Kubernetes with GCP Secret Manager.
3. Retrieve secrets from GCP and inject them into Kubernetes resources.
4. Mount the secrets in a Kafka Connect instance and configure it for use.
This article assumes you have some familiarity with Kubernetes, Helm, and GCP. Let’s dive in!
