Robust secret scanning capabilities - including complete discovery and protection - are paramount to an effective secrets management strategy. Tools and technologies that can meticulously analyze code repositories, build logs, artifacts, Confluence pages, Jira, and even container images are essential to understanding where secrets exist in your developer environment and how they got there. These scanners offer many different features and possibilities, so let’s talk about what you should look for in a secret scanning solution.

1. Scanning the entire SDLC

Choosing the right secret scanner that scans all the moving parts of your SDLC is critical. In addition to choosing a solution that works with your SCM (whether it’s GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, etc.), look for a scanner that scans beyond your main branch, like your entire git history and subbranches, where secrets are typically overlooked. Secrets no longer exist only in source code, but can also be found in Docker containers, build logs, artifacts, and documentation and communication services like Confluence and Jira. This poses an even bigger risk because while secret scanners are becoming more commonly adopted, many scan only code. Choosing a solution that scans resources beyond source code is key to overcoming this risk.

2. Automation and prevention

Automation and prevention lie at the heart of an effective secrets management strategy, and you should look for them in your solution. A scanner with those capabilities that integrates into your CI/CD pipeline can help ensure that all code will be scanned before being merged to your main branch and deployed, minimizing the likelihood of missed secrets. It’s important to evaluate a solution’s prevention capabilities to stop the introduction of new secrets into your SDLC. Look for a scanner that can stop secrets from being pushed to the remote git repository using pre-receive hooks. Then assess the solution’s automated tools to streamline the process of scanning for secrets and reduce the reliance on manual checks, which can be time-consuming and prone to human error.

3. Performance at scale

An important yet sometimes overlooked quality in a scanner is its performance at scale—particularly its ability to scan thousands of repos within minutes to ensure that secrets are identified and addressed immediately. When faced with the monumental task of scanning all of an organization’s repositories, some scanners may turn out to be notable bottlenecks.

While valuable in many contexts, most open source-based scanners may fall short when it comes to meeting the demands of large-scale organizations. In today’s security landscape, where an exposed key can take only minutes to be found and exploited, a fast and efficient tool can make or break your security posture.

4. Avoiding false negatives

A proficient secret scanner will offer a balance by identifying all the secrets present in your code on the one hand and minimizing false positives on the other. Unfortunately, a certain percentage of false negatives is unavoidable when dealing with secrets without missing critical events. This is mainly in cases where additional context and user input are keys to accurately labeling code. A trustworthy scanner should lean towards maintaining a zero-risk policy of missing genuine secrets, but with the ability to provide solutions for quickly analyzing and triaging to optimize efficiency. A centralized managed secret scanner offering easy customization for assessing secrets is vital in dealing with cases like these, allowing users to quickly identify and ignore specific patterns or files after they are deemed to be non-critical.

5. Contextualized secrets

In the intricate landscape of AppSec, you can easily get lost in the plethora of tools and the issues they detect and alert on. A secrets scanner that connects to your AppSec ecosystem and helps you navigate those issues easily is crucial. Offering context around detected secrets can be done in several ways:

• Leveraging APIs to send results to an AppSec dashboard or vulnerability management platform.
• Integrating with a ticketing system for swift identification and resolution.
• Providing insight into the severity of the issue, based on the environment surrounding the secret (i.e., a secret in a public repository should have a higher severity than in a private one).

Regardless of the situation, it’s important to choose a secret scanner that fits seamlessly into your existing application security workflow.

6. Validity checks

It’s important that your secret scanner offers effective validity checks that help determine if a detected secret is real and usable. This ensures your ability to identify real threats while minimizing mistakes. These checks help the scanner stick to a no-nonsense policy for finding actual issues. In simpler terms, it’s like having a smart security guard that knows when to raise the alarm for a real threat and when to stay quiet for a false alarm. This option is especially important for production-related SaaS services, like AWS access key, and helps you determine the triage and criticality of the problem.

A good secrets scanner can help minimize the time your developers are spending tracking down and removing secrets, helping them release secure software quickly. An automated scan replaces a reviewer’s need to meticulously search for secrets in code and other parts of the developer environment, while pre-receive hooks prevent the secrets from ever even reaching the pull request.

It’s also important to understand that addressing a secret that has already been deployed doesn’t end in simply revoking it. Frequently a secret exists in a Docker image because the running container relies on it. Revoking the secret is a potentially destructive step that can eliminate an application’s access to critical data, leading to the “breaking” of that container and any resource that relies on it. The result is a lot of time wasted by revoking the secret, finding a different way to pass it, building a new container, and deploying it. A secrets solution that scans all types of resources will allow you to proactively address secrets before they make it into the development pipeline and start causing issues.

Legit Security: Solving the Secrets Conundrum

It’s imperative for organizations to recognize the problem that secrets can pose and take proactive steps to fortify their defenses. Legit Security offers a comprehensive secrets management solution with the tools and capabilities needed to tackle this critical issue head-on. With the capability to scan a wide array of secret types across every facet of your CI/CD resources, it ensures a comprehensive and continuous approach to secrets management. To delve deeper into how Legit can enhance your organization’s security posture, we invite you to request a complimentary Rapid Threat Assessment.