diff --git a/include/wx/utils.h b/include/wx/utils.h
index ac5f6241d3..274f2a1aaa 100644
--- a/include/wx/utils.h
+++ b/include/wx/utils.h
@@ -324,6 +324,12 @@ WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE void wxDecToHex(unsigned char dec, wxChar *buf);
 WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE void wxDecToHex(unsigned char dec, char* ch1, char* ch2);
 WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE wxString wxDecToHex(unsigned char dec);
 
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// Security
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+WXDLLIMPEXP_BASE void wxSecureZeroMemory(void *p, size_t n);
+
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // Process management
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/interface/wx/utils.h b/interface/wx/utils.h
index 4e83ce490f..2731b414fe 100644
--- a/interface/wx/utils.h
+++ b/interface/wx/utils.h
@@ -335,6 +335,23 @@ bool wxGetEnvMap(wxEnvVariableHashMap *map);
 /** @addtogroup group_funcmacro_misc */
 //@{
 
+/**
+    Fills the memory block with zeros in a way that is guaranteed
+    not to be optimized away by the compiler.
+
+    @param p Pointer to the memory block to be zeroed, must be non-@NULL.
+    @param n The number of bytes to zero.
+
+    NOTE: If security is vitally important in your use case, please
+    have a look at the implementations and decide whether you trust
+    them to behave as promised.
+
+    @header{wx/utils.h}
+
+    @since 3.1.6
+*/
+void wxSecureZeroMemory(void *p, size_t n);
+
 /**
     Returns battery state as one of @c wxBATTERY_NORMAL_STATE,
     @c wxBATTERY_LOW_STATE, @c wxBATTERY_CRITICAL_STATE,
diff --git a/src/msw/utils.cpp b/src/msw/utils.cpp
index 8f5402f6e2..3505230de3 100644
--- a/src/msw/utils.cpp
+++ b/src/msw/utils.cpp
@@ -550,6 +550,24 @@ bool wxUnsetEnv(const wxString& variable)
     return wxDoSetEnv(variable, NULL);
 }
 
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// security
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+void wxSecureZeroMemory(void* v, size_t n)
+{
+#if defined(__MINGW32__)
+    // A generic implementation based on the example at:
+    // http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/docs/n1381.pdf
+    int c = 0;
+    volatile unsigned char *p = reinterpret_cast<unsigned char *>(v);
+    while ( n-- )
+        *p++ = c;
+#else
+    RtlSecureZeroMemory(v, n);
+#endif
+}
+
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // process management
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/unix/utilsunx.cpp b/src/unix/utilsunx.cpp
index 36906c84c7..63786c60b0 100644
--- a/src/unix/utilsunx.cpp
+++ b/src/unix/utilsunx.cpp
@@ -113,6 +113,8 @@
     #define _LANGUAGE_C_PLUS_PLUS 1
 #endif // SGI hack
 
+#define __STDC_WANT_LIB_EXT1__ 1 // for memset_s() in <string.h>
+
 #include <stdarg.h>
 #include <dirent.h>
 #include <string.h>
@@ -202,6 +204,33 @@ void wxMilliSleep(unsigned long milliseconds)
     wxMicroSleep(milliseconds*1000);
 }
 
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// security
+// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+void wxSecureZeroMemory(void* v, size_t n)
+{
+#if (defined(__GLIBC__) && \
+        (__GLIBC__ > 2 || (__GLIBC__ == 2 && __GLIBC_MINOR__ >= 25))) || \
+    (defined(__FreeBSD__) && __FreeBSD__ >= 11)
+    // This non-standard function is somewhat widely available elsewhere too,
+    // but may be found in a non-standard header file, or in a library that is
+    // not linked by default.
+    explicit_bzero(v, n);
+#elif defined(__DARWIN__) || defined(__STDC_LIB_EXT1__)
+    // memset_s() is available since OS X 10.9, and may be available on
+    // other platforms.
+    memset_s(v, n, 0, n);
+#else
+    // A generic implementation based on the example at:
+    // http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/docs/n1381.pdf
+    int c = 0;
+    volatile unsigned char *p = reinterpret_cast<unsigned char *>(v);
+    while ( n-- )
+        *p++ = c;
+#endif
+}
+
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // process management
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------