In the modern world, where software is an integral part of every industry, it’s no surprise that security has become a top priority for developers. Every year, software companies face new threats and challenges—from technical vulnerabilities to social engineering schemes.
While software development teams are responsible for addressing these issues as they arise, there’s no denying that it can be a daunting task. Fortunately, there are a number of tools and services that can help software developers build more secure applications. One such tool is GitHub.
What is GitHub?
GitHub is an open source platform that helps developers collaborate on projects, manage code, and build software faster. It’s also one of the most popular repositories for open source libraries and frameworks, which means it’s a great place to find security tools designed specifically for AppSec professionals.
This makes it an excellent resource for software developers who want to improve the security of their applications, and its many benefits solidifies it as an easy choice for anyone considering using it as part of their development workflow.
What are the benefits of using GitHub for AppSec Development?
With the right infrastructure, you can use GitHub to make your software development workflow not just more secure, but more efficient. Here are a few of the most compelling benefits of using GitHub for AppSec development:
Code review
GitHub’s code review functionality allows developers to easily review each other’s code and identify potential security issues. With GitHub, developers can create pull requests to review each other’s code before it’s merged into the master branch.
When a developer creates a pull request, they can specify any changes that need to be made and include additional information about the purpose of their changes. This makes it easy for other members of your team to review your changes and provide feedback. It also proves to be an effective way to catch vulnerabilities before they are introduced into production environments.
Issue tracking
GitHub’s issue tracking system allows developers to identify and track potential security issues in their code. This feature is especially helpful for large organizations, as it allows developers to track the progress of security fixes from issue identification to resolution.
It also makes it easier for teams to ensure that all code changes are properly reviewed before being deployed into production. For AppSec teams, this is invaluable as it also allows them to prioritize and address vulnerabilities as they arise.
Version control
GitHub allows developers to track changes to their code over time, making it easy to revert to previous versions if necessary. Given that many developers work on the same codebase, version control is a must.
Notably with the increasing importance of cybersecurity, having a centralized system like GitHub makes it easy to see which changes have been made by whom and when, which can be especially useful in tracking down bugs or security vulnerabilities. This is especially important in the context of AppSec development, where developers may be working on different aspects of the same project and need to coordinate their efforts.
Collaboration
Speaking of coordinating efforts, GitHub makes it easy for developers to collaborate on code, even when working remotely. GitHub allows you to create “forks” of other repositories, which are basically clones of the original.
This means that any changes made by one developer will be reflected in both forks, so they can be merged together later on. This comes particularly handy in AppSec development, where multiple team members may be responsible for different aspects of security.
Security alerts
GitHub’s security alerts feature allows organizations to be notified of potential security vulnerabilities in the packages they use. This can help developers stay on top of the latest security vulnerabilities and take action immediately. This feature is especially useful for organizations that use open-source software, as it helps protect against supply chain attacks while keeping tabs on the projects they incorporate into their own work
And the alerts can be customized based on the type of vulnerability, allowing developers to prioritize their work based on how much risk each vulnerability poses to their organization.
Access control
GitHub’s access control features allow organizations to control who has access to their code repositories and what actions they can take. This is incredibly useful for ensuring that only people with the right permissions can access and modify your code. With GitHub, you can control who has access to your repositories, as well as set up teams for distributed development.
You can also implement two-factor authentication to ensure that even if someone does get into your account and try to take actions on your repositories, they won’t be able to without the additional authentication.
Integration with security tools
GitHub integrates with a number of security tools, such as static code analysis tools and vulnerability scanners. This allows you to integrate the security tools you already use with your GitHub workflow.
You can also use GitHub to manage the results from these tools and integrate them into your project’s workflow. This makes it easier for you to fix any issues found by these tools before they become more serious security vulnerabilities. For AppSec teams, this allows for more easily incorporating security checks into their development workflow and ensures that security is not a separate step.
Final Thoughts
Overall, GitHub offers a number of benefits for organizations looking to improve the security of their applications. Not only does it provide a complete platform for managing your code, but it also offers security features that help ensure you’re building secure applications. This allows developers and security teams to work more closely together to build better software.
Whether you’re a developer or security professional, GitHub provides a number of adequate tools and features that can make it a key component of your AppSec development strategy
