Autonomous secrets management for a key distribution service

Various methods and systems are provided for autonomous secrets management for a key distribution service ("KDS"). A KDS server performs centralized management and distribution of keys for client devices in a distributed computing system, which obviates key management and distribution at the client devices. In operation, a key request is received at a KDS server from a KDS client device. The key request is generated using a data protector and a KDS client component of the KDS client device. The key request is associated with a caller and a security token of the caller. The caller is authenticated at a security token service (STS) based on a security token. An encryption key or decryption key associated with the key request is generated. The encryption key or the decryption key is generated based on an interval-based key derivation scheme. The encryption key or the decryption key is communicated to KDS client.