diff --git a/conservancy/__init__.py b/conservancy/__init__.py
index a1dc7528f84ed98408a52d904df97101d500ea51..348d3d42475a75f8dc2000428ab50857ab4742c2 100644
--- a/conservancy/__init__.py
+++ b/conservancy/__init__.py
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ class ParameterValidator:
             self.given_hash = given_hash_or_params
         else:
             self.given_hash = given_hash_or_params.get(params_hash_key)
-        seed = getattr(settings, 'CONSERVANCY_SECRET_KEY', '').encode('utf-8')
+        seed = settings.SECRET_KEY.encode('utf-8')
         self.hasher = hashlib.sha256(seed)
         if isinstance(self.given_hash, str):
             self.hash_type = type(self.given_hash)