Monitor Stolen and Leaked Source Code to Proactively Stop Threats
Protecting source code is an important step in safeguarding from unauthorized access, theft, and misuse. However, even with robust protection in place and no intent from malicious outsiders, proprietary source code can still be exposed. When this happens, it is important to have source code monitoring in place to protect your brand and proprietary software, and act quickly against potential threats.
According to a ZDnet report, “a scan of billions of files from 13% of all GitHub public repositories over a period of six months revealed that over 100,000 repos have leaked API tokens and cryptographic keys, with thousands of new repositories leaking new secrets on a daily basis.”
Between developing mature processes to check for these kinds of accidental dumps and searches for proprietary source code, organizations can avoid being part of the 13% at risk for damaging their own brands.
Why Source Code Monitoring Matters?
Proprietary source code holds significant value — not just for your organization, but for threat actors as well. Unfortunately, accessing it can sometimes be surprisingly easy. For example, developers may inadvertently leave sensitive data in code, intending to remove it later. In other cases, code shared via paste sites or public repositories may be unknowingly exposed due to compromise or lack of access controls.
If not properly scrubbed or secured, this leaked code can provide attackers with a blueprint to exploit systems or reverse-engineer intellectual property.
Here are some of the most critical risks associated with exposed source code:
- Intellectual Property Theft: Source code often contains proprietary information and if obtained by the wrong group, can have devastating consequences for the organization’s profitability and reputation.
- Data Breaches: Sensitive information such as API keys, encryption keys, and database credentials, can be exposed through a source code breach leading to a host of threats.
- Cyberattacks: Source code also can be a beacon to software architecture and vulnerabilities leading to compromised security and networks.
Monitoring social media sites, code repositories, and paste sites for leaked or stolen source code allows organizations to proactively respond to potential threats.
Safeguard Against Common Threats
Source code can be exposed in a variety of ways. Some are accidental, others the result of targeted theft. Regardless of intent, the consequences can be significant. What happens when source code falls into the wrong hands:
- Accidental sharing
- Threat actor abuse on paste sites and code repositories
- Someone maliciously sharing code externally
- Stolen proprietary programming code
Fortra Brand Protection Source Code Monitoring can pursue the shutdown of confirmed source code threats that exhibit properties indicative of fraudulent activities.
Relentless Defense Against Source Code Exposure
Fortra Brand Protection actively monitors for instances of proprietary source code appearing in unauthorized contexts, whether embedded in software tied to your organization or shared in public forums. Our analysts track social media platforms, paste sites, and underground forums to identify code that infringes on your brand or demonstrates characteristics common in malicious software.
Once a source code threat is detected and validated, we move swiftly to initiate takedown efforts. Backed by a trusted global network and deep enforcement expertise, Fortra Brand Protection delivers faster, more effective remediation than traditional approaches.
