Alter object value upon assignment to PSCustomObject - powershell

Question

I'm creating a log of attempted posts to an API. The API key is stored in a simple hash table and passed via Invoke-WebRequest:
$headers = #{ 'x-api-key' = 'ABC123DEF456GHI789' }
Try {
[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = 'tls12, tls11'
$apiResponse = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -Method $method -Headers $headers -Body $body
$status = $apiResponse.StatusCode
$statusDescription = $apiResponse.StatusDescription
} Catch {
$status = $_.Exception.Response.StatusCode.value__
$statusDescription = $_.Exception.Response.StatusDescription
}
I want to obscure the header key in the log, so I created and modified a new variable.
$obscured = $headers | ConvertTo-Json -depth 100 | ConvertFrom-Json
$obscured.'x-api-key' = $obscured.'x-api-key'.Substring(0,2) + '...' + $obscured.'x-api-key'.Substring($obscured.'x-api-key'.Length-2,2)
$logresults += [PSCustomObject]#{
status = $status
statusDescription = $statusDescription
url = $url
method = $method
header = $obscured
body = ConvertFrom-JSON $body
}
I want to retain the header's structure as a key/value pair in the log. The extra steps prepping a new variable seem wasteful. Does PowerShell have a way to change the header key value upon assignment to the PSCustomObject?

Answer 1

AFAIK, there is no easy way to obscure strings (or objects) in PowerShell or even .Net, see my related purpose: #16921 Add [HiddenString] Class. The only thing that exists is the gone crazy SecureString Class with difficult methodes to convert from a string and reveal string (as that is not secure). Besides, the SecureString might get obsolete (as it appears less secure than intended) and possibly replaced by a shrouded buffer which is even more difficult to use for obscuring information (if even possible in PowerShell).
Anyways, in the HiddenString idea you might do something like this:
$ApiKey = [HiddenString](Read-Host -AsSecureString 'Enter Api key:')
See also: How to encrypt/hide ClearText password in PowerShell Transcript
$Headers = #{
'Accept' = 'application/json'
'X-My-Header' = 'Hello World'
'x-api-key' = $ApiKey
}
$apiResponse = Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -Method $method -Headers $($Headers.'x-api-key' = $ApiKey.Reveal(); $Headers) -Body $body
$logresults += [PSCustomObject]#{ # Avoid +=, see: https://stackoverflow.com/a/60708579/1701026
status = $status
statusDescription = $statusDescription
url = $url
method = $method
header = $Headers
body = ConvertFrom-JSON $body
}