Tools for detecting secret leaks in source code repositories

Abstract

This article examines tools for detecting secret leaks in source code repositories as an element of software system security engineering. The article examines the causes of credentials, tokens, private keys, and service parameters being included in version history, as well as methods for their detection based on signature search, entropy assessment, contextual filtering, and liveness checking of the detected values. The need for incorporating such tools into a secure development framework is substantiated: local checks, change submission control, repository history analysis, and automated response. It has been shown that the greatest effect is achieved by combining technical scanning, secret management policies, and regular rotation of compromised data.