Blog

The integration of security into the development process is a top priority for software developers. This is where DevSecOps comes in—a methodology that blends development, security, and operations to prevent software vulnerabilities from reaching downstream customers and production systems. DevSecOps shifts security left, embedding it into every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

Key security concerns for development operations include vulnerabilities in code, misconfigurations in infrastructure, and the use of insecure third-party libraries. Attackers often exploit these weak points to launch cyberattacks, making it essential for organizations to adopt practices that proactively identify and mitigate risks. Automation, early detection, and collaboration between development and security teams are essential components of a strong DevSecOps strategy.

In this article we will review an essential set of tools for the software development team. GitHub Advanced Security Tools are a suite of security tools for enhancing enterprise DevSecOps. 

What is GitHub Advanced Security?

GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) is a suite of powerful security features available to enterprise accounts on GitHub Enterprise Cloud and GitHub Enterprise Server. It enhances application security by offering tools like code scanning (using CodeQL or third-party tools), secret scanning, and dependency review, among others. 

These features help identify vulnerabilities, detect sensitive data leaks, and manage dependencies in repositories. While some features, such as secret scanning, are available for free in public repositories, GHAS licenses unlock additional capabilities for private and internal repositories. Enterprises can deploy GHAS at scale, enabling security settings across multiple repositories, and users can further customize these settings at the organization or repository level. Additionally, GitHub provides certification options to validate expertise in using these advanced security tools.

Getting to Know the GitHub Advanced Security Tools

Let's take a peek at each of the tools available in the GitHub Advanced Security Tools suite:

• CodeQL: A semantic code analysis engine that helps detect potential security vulnerabilities in codebases. CodeQL allows developers to query their code as if it were data, identifying vulnerabilities across large codebases. It’s widely used in code scanning to detect issues like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and more.

• Code Scanning: A feature that automatically scans repositories for security vulnerabilities using CodeQL or other third-party analysis tools. It highlights potential vulnerabilities in pull requests and code changes, helping developers fix security issues before they reach production.

• Secret Scanning: This tool identifies secrets (e.g., API keys, tokens) that have been accidentally committed to repositories. It scans for sensitive information in both new pushes and historical data, helping prevent credential leaks.

• Security Overview: A centralized dashboard that provides visibility into the security status of an organization’s repositories. It aggregates information from various GitHub security features, offering an overview of open vulnerabilities, scanning results, and dependencies.

• Dependency Review: This tool helps developers assess the security impact of changes to dependencies in pull requests. It shows whether a pull request introduces new dependencies or updates existing ones to vulnerable versions, allowing for proactive management of dependency-related security risks.

How Does GitHub Advanced Security Support DevSecOps?

Overall, GitHub Advanced Security provides the automation, integration, and early detection capabilities that are essential for implementing a robust DevSecOps strategy. GitHub Advanced Security is closely aligned with the principles of DevSecOps, which integrates security into every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). 

Here’s how GitHub Advanced Security supports DevSecOps:

• Shift-left Security: DevSecOps emphasizes addressing security early in the development process. GHAS offers tools like code scanning and CodeQL to identify vulnerabilities during development, allowing teams to fix issues before code is deployed.

• Automated Security Integration: GHAS automates vulnerability detection through code scanning and secret scanning, continuously monitoring repositories for security issues without manual intervention. This automation is key to DevSecOps, where security should not slow down development. GHAS integrates directly into GitHub workflows, making it easy for collaboration on security within the same platform. This supports the DevSecOps goal of merging development, operations, and security into one streamlined process.

• Dependency Management: Tools like Dependency Review help manage the risks associated with third-party libraries by identifying vulnerabilities in dependencies, ensuring secure builds and deployments in line with DevSecOps practices.

Conclusion

As software developers push towards more secure products out-of-the-box, implementing DevSecOps is an important step. GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) offers a comprehensive suite of tools that align with DevSecOps practices by integrating security into all stages of the software development lifecycle. Tools like CodeQL and code scanning enable shift-left security by detecting vulnerabilities early in the development process, while secret scanning and Dependency Review help automate critical security checks. GHAS seamlessly integrates into GitHub workflows, facilitating collaboration between development, operations, and security teams.

These tools, combined with features like the Security Overview dashboard and the GitHub Advanced Security Certification, provide the foundation for organizations to implement a secure and efficient DevSecOps strategy at scale.