In a scenario where time is of the essence and the pressure to develop new functionalities is constant, code security management presents a significant challenge for developers. To address this issue, GitHub has launched innovative tools such as Copilot Autofix, which promises to accelerate security issue resolution by up to 60%, significantly reducing the Mean Time to Resolution (MTTR) compared to manual methods. This tool allows developers to detect vulnerabilities before they can impact production, allowing them to focus on innovation rather than fixing past errors.
Despite the improvements offered by these new tools, the threat of code vulnerabilities persists. Many teams face what is known as “security debt,” as up to 90% of vulnerabilities may remain unresolved, exposing organizations to significant risks that cannot be ignored.
To address this situation, GitHub proposes security campaigns, which bring together security experts and developers in a joint effort to simplify vulnerability remediation within the daily workflow. These campaigns can address up to 1,000 code scan alerts simultaneously, accelerating not only the identification and resolution of issues but also improving developers’ engagement with security alerts.
Since their introduction in public preview during GitHub Universe last year, these campaigns have proven effective. An analysis of the first users revealed that 55% of the alerts addressed in these campaigns were resolved, compared to the meager 10% of security debt managed outside of this context. This remarkable increase in effectiveness highlights how campaigns allow development teams to address vulnerabilities more directly and effectively.
The functioning of campaigns is based on prioritizing risks that require attention, implementing templates and metrics that facilitate planning. The selected alerts are communicated to developers, who can manage their work directly on GitHub, while Copilot Autofix offers suggestions for automatic remedies, facilitating intervention in critical issues.
Additionally, GitHub has introduced new features that optimize the planning and management of security campaigns. These innovations include the option to create campaign drafts to ensure that the most critical alerts are addressed before execution, automating issue management on GitHub to track and discuss work related to campaigns, and organizational-level statistics that allow security managers to monitor overall progress.
This revolutionary proposal not only aims to reduce accumulated security debt but also to educate development teams about existing vulnerabilities and foster a collaborative approach to addressing them. Thus, GitHub positions itself as a key ally for organizations looking to improve their code security without compromising development speed and efficiency.
Referrer: MiMub in Spanish
