Every ASP.NET Core app already depends on the Data Protection API: it's what encrypts and tamper-proofs your authentication cookies and anti-forgery tokens without you needing to think about it.
So when your application has other sensitive data to protect, like PII information or stored secrets, using the same built-in stack feels like the right choice to make. However, it can also become a quiet path to data loss if you don't understand what the API was designed for.

This session is a practical tour of using Data Protection for real application data. We start with the fundamentals, showing:
- how IDataProtectionProvider, CreateProtector and Protect/Unprotect works
- how to derive protectors from each other and why this matters
- how to create time-limited or self-expiring payloads using ITimeLimitedDataProtector

Without a proper configuration, losing a key ring means your protected data is gone forever, turning "Protect" into "Regret." We’ll conclude by covering the exact Data Protection configurations needed to keep your keys safe and your data secure.