Techniques to Secure Sensitive Data in Elixir GenServer Processes

In this blog post, Gabriel Pereira explores ways to protect sensitive data in Elixir GenServers. GenServers are commonly used to manage state and handle concurrent processes in Elixir. However, storing sensitive information like credentials or personal data in GenServers poses significant security risks. The post introduces two methods to mitigate these risks. First, it suggests implementing the Inspect protocol for structs to control how the struct data is printed, preventing sensitive data from being exposed in logs or console outputs. Second, it elaborates on using the format_status/2 callback to customize how a GenServer's state is displayed when debugging or introspecting processes. These techniques are illustrated with a comprehensive example of a GenServer handling a security token's lifecycle. The post ends with a consideration of the possible limitations of these methods and provides references for further reading.