Secret Scanning: which description best matches its function?

• A. Searches code across all branches for keys and alerts designated users.
• B. Monitors performance metrics of deployments.
• C. Scans container images for vulnerabilities.
• D. Generates and rotates secret keys automatically.

Answer: (A)

Secret scanning is about proactively finding sensitive credentials or secret keys within source code so that they can be removed or rotated before they’re abused. The description that best matches this function says it searches code across all branches for keys and alerts designated users. This captures the two main ideas: scanning the codebase (including different branches) for secret patterns and notifying the people responsible so they can take action. Other options point to different security activities: monitoring deployment performance is about observability, scanning container images for vulnerabilities focuses on image security, and generating or rotating secrets automatically describes secret management rather than detection.