---
title: Unified Secrets Gateway
description: Secure secrets on your instance from unauthorized access using Unified Secrets Gateway.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/platform-security/usg-landing.html
release: australia
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-18"
reading_time_minutes: 1
keywords: [unified secrets gateway, secrets management, access control, audit logging]
breadcrumb: [Encryption]
---

# Unified Secrets Gateway

Secure secrets on your instance from unauthorized access using Unified Secrets Gateway.

Unified Secrets Gateway \(USG\) is a centralized secrets organization and authorization framework based on the ServiceNow Key Management Framework. USG allows you to organize, control access to, and encrypt credentials on the instance. Use USG in combination with access policies and identity groups to help protect sensitive information. This includes API keys, authentication tokens, and database credentials from unauthorized users, scripts, or system processes. All access attempts, whether granted or denied, are logged for auditing purposes.

## Get started

<table id="table_vpd_41n_b2c" class="nav-card presentation"><tbody><tr><td>

[Explore\[Omitted image "bus-explore.svg"\] Alt text:Learn the core concepts and benefits of USG and understand how it fits into your secrets management strategy.](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/usg-exploring.md)

</td><td>

[Configure\[Omitted image "bus-sdlc.svg"\] Alt text:Learn how to set up Unified Secrets Gateway, organize your secrets into groups, and control access through identity groups and consumers.](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/usg-configuring.md)

</td><td>

[Use\[Omitted image "bus-integration-and-apis.svg"\] Alt text:Use the APIs to retrieve secrets securely through Unified Secrets Gateway.](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/usg-using.md)

</td></tr></tbody>
</table>-   **[Exploring Unified Secrets Gateway](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/usg-exploring.md)**  
Learn the core concepts of Unified Secrets Gateway and how the three main components work together to control access to secrets.
-   **[Configuring Unified Secrets Gateway](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/usg-configuring.md)**  
Learn how to configure Unified Secrets Gateway \(USG\) to organize and control access to secrets on your instance.
-   **[Using Unified Secrets Gateway](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/usg-using.md)**  
Use Unified Secrets Gateway \(USG\) to retrieve secrets through APIs.

**Parent Topic:**[Encryption](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/australia/markdown/australia/platform-security/encryption-landing.md)