diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index dea85f8..b16bed8 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -50,10 +50,14 @@ func Load() *Config {
 		SenderEmail:   getEnv("SENDER_EMAIL", ""),
 		AdminUsername: getEnv("ADMIN_USERNAME", "admin"),
 		AdminPassword: getEnv("ADMIN_PASSWORD", "changeme"),
-		SecretKey:     getEnv("SECRET_KEY", "your-secret-key"),
+		SecretKey:     getEnv("SECRET_KEY", ""),
 		BaseURL:       getEnv("BASE_URL", "localhost:5001"),
 	}
 
+	if cfg.SecretKey == "" {
+		log.Fatal("SECRET_KEY environment variable must be set!")
+	}
+
 	if cfg.SenderEmail == "" {
 		cfg.SenderEmail = cfg.SMTPUser
 	}