10 Ways to Secure IP in GitHub Repositories

GitHub, the largest source code repository in the world, is a treasure trove for hackers. Due to the availability of various source code, it has always been vulnerable to sophisticated cyberattacks. Here, Chloé Messdaghi, VP of strategy at Point3 Security, outlines 10 key steps to safeguard digital assets and intellectual property on GitHub.

GitHub is a popular choice for software development and hosting because its basic services are free, and these free accounts are most often used to host open-source projects. And that’s exactly why attackers target GitHub and make it a security risk for your intellectual property. There are more than 40 million users and more than 190 million repositories for attackers to go after.

Why Attackers Target GitHub

GitHub is the largest host of source code in the world – it serves an important mission. But it’s important to be aware that unless proper precautions are taken, it can also place your IP at risk by opening it up to competitors, nation-state actors, and othe malicious entities, and allow attackers to run the code and test variations of attacks.  Login credentials can sometimes be located in the code and if they’re used, the bad actor can halt your operations and gain PII while you’re dealing with the breach. 

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This attack-and-grab strategy also puts your data at risk.

Too often, companies grant all developers full access to everything, instead of determining what access they really should have and blocking developers from what they don’t need – and that open access creates unnecessary and potentially dangerous conduits for attackers. Companies should consider giving developers only the access they need, in order to minimize the risks that arise from offering users broad access. Attackers know that Shadow IT is a constant fear for companies, and it arises when developers are not employing the best security practices. Whenever a developer doesn’t use best practices, their organization is at a heightened risk.

To safeguard your IP, GitHub use and your digital assets, consider these 10 steps:

1. Limit access to only those who need to be involved. Make sure two-factor authentication or multi-factor authentication is strictly enforced and login details are not ever shared with others. Always refresh your keys and tokens often – no one wants keys to get out. Make sure your employees are up to date with all updates and devices being used are properly secured and updated. And please don’t forget to remove folks who are no longer at the company immediately – otherwise, they’re still affiliated with the company’s GitHub page. And get your sec ops team involved – solicit and follow their advice.
2. Keep any sensitive data from being stored in code. Most companies don’t audit their GitHub content enough. Regularly audit to make sure nothing has slipped through the cracks and remove any sensitive data… if you do find any sensitive data, assess the impact of the leaked sensitive data. And especially, audit any code you’ll import to GitHub, before it’s imported.
3. Always be suspicious – keep an eye on any unusual or increased requests, such as locations/requests outside the norm and outside of the company. Also, it’s important to have a good baseline of understanding of what your normal traffic should be so that when that norm changes, you’ll see it.  Security is 24/7/365.
4. Keep a record of all logs of GitHub data for your organization’s repositories. It’s so important, and so few companies do this, and doing so helps with various compliance requirements.
5. Routinely check your GitHub logs.  How often is up to you!  But it’s strongly recommended to automate the logs and set-up alerts.
6. Remember that GitHub apps are created by third parties, not by GitHub. Make sure to look into the credibility of all third parties whose offerings you might use, and ensure they’re going to continue to update those assets. Also, make sure you have access rights to any open code you’re using.
7. Make sure there are no hardcoded passwords.
8. If you’re using others’ libraries, make sure they’re monitoring and updating their code when any problems arise. Be proactive and ask. Continually check any external code you’re using and update when necessary. 
9. Always remember that anything you provide publicly in GitHub is open to the public.
10. Shadow IT is a constant fear; look for it and be aware it’s an ongoing threat.

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Securing GitHub Can Prevent Potential Data Leaks  

Developers need to be on top of the best security practices to avoid placing their organizations at risk. This means some common-sense measures, such as not hardcoding passwords, and using best practice with passwords, ensuring that passwords are dynamic, frequently changed and never shared, that no sensitive data is either shared or exposed and making the repositories private and limiting who can access them. 

When using libraries or code from others, find out if those libraries are kept up to date and the ones you use are from trustworthy sources.  Because you have to rely on others, it’s up to you to be sure that they actually will update their code if an issue arises.  But, if it’s open-source, that responsibility could be forked by another party and kept going that way too.

GitHub does rely on trusting the public, and on the public’s trustworthiness too. Remember that whatever you provide to the public, stays in the public. Once again, be careful to not include sensitive data and be on top of the assist inventory.

We recommend asset discovery tools that will scan the company’s domains, IPs, ports, and use search engines to help find what employees have stood up publicly. They can help track down assets, such as GitHub repos, to help identify weaknesses in the public footprint so the company can remediate them to avoid breaches.

One last thing — companies should forbid employees from using their personal email on GitHub, rather their company email. If they have a GitHub account that’s for personal use, keep it there and off the company’s network and off the company’s work.

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