Best practices to keep your projects secure on GitHub

Amidst a rapidly evolving threat landscape, maintaining security for projects is increasingly challenging, particularly with the complexity of dependency management in software projects. Research highlighted in the Octoverse report reveals that while a typical JavaScript project on GitHub directly uses about ten open-source dependencies, it indirectly relies on an average of 683 transitive dependencies, underscoring the importance of automated tools in managing security risks. GitHub offers built-in tools such as the dependency graph and dependency review to help users understand and manage their dependencies, providing insights into vulnerabilities, licenses, and usage. Dependabot further enhances security by automatically monitoring dependency files for outdated requirements, issuing pull requests with suggested fixes, and allowing users to customize notifications for dependency alerts. These features empower developers to address vulnerabilities efficiently, ensuring they work with the most secure and up-to-date software releases.