Common annotated security keys

The article introduces Microsoft's Common Annotated Security Key (CASK) standard, an open format for minting identifiable security tokens that improve secret detection accuracy.

• •CASK keys use a fixed core signature (JQQJ) plus a provider-specific signature (e.g., AZDO for Azure DevOps) to enable single-pattern detection across all conforming keys
• •Keys consist solely of BASE62 alphanumeric characters, requiring no escaping or encoding in any transmission context
• •Each key contains 52 characters of randomized data yielding ~310 bits of entropy, resistant to brute-force attacks including post-quantum scenarios
• •Creation timestamps (month and year) are embedded in every key to support rotation policy enforcement and security incident response
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