diff --git a/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/secret/store/SecretStoreFactory.java b/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/secret/store/SecretStoreFactory.java
index 5a5956ae95f..5c90d0680dd 100644
--- a/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/secret/store/SecretStoreFactory.java
+++ b/logstash-core/src/main/java/org/logstash/secret/store/SecretStoreFactory.java
@@ -160,8 +160,5 @@ private void addSecretStoreAccess(SecureConfig secureConfig) {
             secureConfig.add(KEYSTORE_ACCESS_KEY, keystore_pass.toCharArray());
             keystore_pass = null;
         }
-
-        //futile attempt to remove the original pass from memory
-        System.gc();
     }
 }