1. Immediate Action: If you suspect that your credentials have been exposed, immediately revoke them.
2. Generate New Credentials: Create new credentials from the service provider's console.
3. Update Application: Update your application configuration to use the new credentials.
4. Inform Team: Notify team members about the change to ensure that everyone is using the updated credentials.
5. Periodic Review: Regularly review and rotate secrets, even if they have not been compromised, to minimize potential risks.

To manage your application's environment variables securely, follow these steps:

1. Install python-dotenv: If you haven't yet, install the package using pip:

   pip install python-dotenv

2. Create a .env file at the root of your project:

   touch .env

3. Add your environment variables to the .env file:

   DATABASE_URL=your_database_url
   SECRET_KEY=your_secret_key
   

4. Load environment variables in your application:

   from dotenv import load_dotenv
   import os
   
   load_dotenv()
   database_url = os.getenv('DATABASE_URL')

5. Never commit your .env file to version control. Add it to your .gitignore:

   # .gitignore
   .env
   

1. Use Environment Variables: Store sensitive configuration data like API keys and database passwords in environment variables.
2. Enable HTTPS: Ensure that your application uses HTTPS to encrypt data in transit.
3. Regular Updates: Keep your dependencies and server updated to protect against known vulnerabilities.
4. Limit Access: Implement the principle of least privilege by restricting access to sensitive resources.
5. Monitor and Log: Set up monitoring and logging to detect and respond to security incidents swiftly.
6. Regular Security Audits: Conduct periodic security audits to find and fix potential vulnerabilities in the code.
7. Backup Data: Regularly back up your application and database to prevent data loss in case of an attack or failure.