Introduction

  • 2 minutes

Hard-coded secrets in source code represent a critical security vulnerability that can lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, and compliance violations. GitHub Secret Scanning helps detect exposed credentials, while GitHub Copilot streamlines the analysis and remediation process through AI-assisted code analysis and refactoring.

Imagine you're a software developer working for a consulting firm. Your clients need help with removing hard-coded secrets from legacy applications. With GitHub Secret Scanning, you can identify exposed credentials automatically, and with GitHub Copilot's Ask and Agent modes, you can analyze security alerts, understand their implications, and implement secure configuration patterns—all without manually rewriting extensive code.

The topics covered in this module include:

  • Examine the security risks of hard-coded secrets.
  • Explore GitHub Secret Scanning and push protection features.
  • Manage secret scanning alerts through the GitHub Security tab.
  • Use GitHub Copilot's Ask mode to analyze security alerts and plan remediation.
  • Use GitHub Copilot's Agent mode to implement secure secret management.

After completing this module, you'll be able to:

  • Explain the security risks of hard-coded secrets in source code.
  • Configure and use GitHub Secret Scanning and push protection.
  • Navigate and manage secret scanning alerts in GitHub repositories.
  • Analyze security alerts using GitHub Copilot's Ask mode.
  • Remediate hard-coded secrets using GitHub Copilot's Agent mode.

Important

To complete this GitHub Copilot training, you must have an active subscription for GitHub Copilot in your personal GitHub account (includes the GitHub Copilot Free plan), or you must be assigned to a subscription managed by an organization or enterprise. Module activities might include GitHub Copilot suggestions that match public code. If you're a member of an organization on GitHub Enterprise Cloud who is assigned to a GitHub Copilot subscription through your organization, the setting for suggestions matching public code might be inherited from your organization or enterprise. If your account blocks suggestions that match public code, module activities might not work as expected.