How can you protect sensitive information in Terraform variables?

Marking variables as sensitive in the Terraform configuration is a crucial practice for protecting sensitive information. When you declare a variable as sensitive, Terraform ensures that its value is not displayed in the command line output or logs, thus reducing the risk of leaking sensitive information such as passwords, API keys, or other confidential data.

This feature helps manage sensitive data more securely by preventing accidental exposure during Terraform runs. It effectively informs Terraform and anyone using the code that the variable contains sensitive information. By correctly using the sensitive attribute, you maintain a level of confidentiality throughout the infrastructure provisioning process.

While other methods such as encrypting configuration files, using version control, and limiting access to the Terraform state file contribute to security, they do not directly prevent sensitive data from being exposed during Terraform operations like marking a variable as sensitive does. Encrypting configuration files does offer a layer of security but doesn't inherently prevent logging of sensitive information during execution. Utilizing version control can create risks if sensitive values are committed without consideration, and limiting access to the Terraform state file is more about managing permissions than obscuring values during execution. Thus, the most effective approach within the context provided is to specifically mark variables as sensitive in the configuration.