Integrating GitHub Advanced Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Integrating GitHub Advanced Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Integrating GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS) with Microsoft Defender for Cloud enables organizations to extend their security posture to the software development lifecycle (SDLC).

By combining the strengths of GitHub's advanced security capabilities with Defender for Cloud's cloud security features, you can create a comprehensive security strategy for both code and cloud resources.

Overview of Key Tools

1. GitHub Advanced Security (GHAS):

A set of security features for GitHub repositories, including:

• Code scanning: Identifies security vulnerabilities in the codebase.

• Secret scanning: Detects sensitive information (e.g., API keys or passwords) in code.

• Dependabot: Helps to automatically keep dependencies up to date and secure.

• Security advisories: Allows you to report and manage security vulnerabilities in your repositories.

2. Microsoft Defender for Cloud:

Provides a comprehensive cloud security posture management (CSPM) tool to protect cloud environments, including:

• Threat protection: Detects and responds to threats in your cloud infrastructure.

• Vulnerability management: Identifies vulnerabilities in cloud resources and applications.

• Security score: Measures the overall security posture and provides recommendations.

Why Integrate GitHub Advanced Security with Defender for Cloud?

By integrating GitHub Advanced Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud, you can:

1. Gain visibility into security vulnerabilities in your code and infrastructure from a single interface.

2. Correlate code vulnerabilities with cloud threats, improving overall security management and response times.

3. Align DevSecOps practices, ensuring security is integrated early in the SDLC while maintaining cloud security at scale.

4. Use Defender for Cloud's built-in capabilities to remediate vulnerabilities and improve cloud security as part of the CI/CD pipeline.

Steps to Integrate GitHub Advanced Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud

1. Prerequisites

To integrate GHAS with Defender for Cloud, ensure that you meet the following prerequisites:

1. GitHub Advanced Security enabled on your repositories. This includes enabling features like Code Scanning, Secret Scanning, and Dependabot.

2. Microsoft Defender for Cloud set up and configured for your subscription(s).

3. GitHub Actions for CI/CD workflows if you're integrating vulnerability scanning in your pipeline.

4. Microsoft Sentinel (optional, but recommended for extended monitoring and alerting).

2. Enable Code Scanning in GitHub Advanced Security

GitHub Advanced Security provides Code Scanning to detect vulnerabilities in your code. The tool uses GitHub's native static analysis tools like CodeQL to scan for potential issues.

Follow these steps:

1. Go to your repository in GitHub.

2. Navigate to Security > Code scanning alerts.

3. Set up a new GitHub Actions workflow that enables CodeQL or integrate with another code scanning tool.

4. Add Code Scanning to your workflow to automatically scan code on push or pull request events.

5. View scan results directly in GitHub’s security tab.

3. Configure Microsoft Defender for Cloud for GitHub Integration

Microsoft Defender for Cloud can be integrated with GitHub repositories to collect and analyze security data. This integration allows Defender for Cloud to receive alerts from GitHub about identified vulnerabilities and provide a unified view of your cloud and application security.

Steps to integrate:

1. Log in to Microsoft Defender for Cloud:

• Navigate to the Azure Portal.

• Go to Microsoft Defender for Cloud under the Security Center section.

2. Enable GitHub Integration:

• In the Defender for Cloud dashboard, click on Environment settings.

• Select Integrations > GitHub Advanced Security.

• You will be prompted to authenticate and connect your GitHub Enterprise or GitHub.com account.

3. Grant Necessary Permissions:

Defender for Cloud needs read access to GitHub repositories. Grant the appropriate permissions to allow Defender for Cloud to fetch data on vulnerabilities from your GitHub code scanning results.

4. Define Scanning Policies:

• Use the Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) policies to align your GitHub scanning with Defender for Cloud’s security standards.

• Configure Defender for Cloud to fetch results from GitHub code scanning and display them as part of your overall cloud security posture.

5. Enable Vulnerability Management:

Configure the Vulnerability Management tool in Defender for Cloud to analyze code vulnerabilities in tandem with cloud vulnerabilities. The system can automatically correlate code-based vulnerabilities with cloud resources and services that might be impacted.

4. Automate Security Testing in CI/CD Pipelines

Integrating security directly into your CI/CD pipeline is essential for DevSecOps. By combining GitHub and Defender for Cloud, you can automate vulnerability scanning as part of your deployment process.

1. Add GitHub Actions in your CI/CD pipeline:

Use GitHub Actions to automate code scanning via CodeQL or any other security tool.

Add actions to your workflow YAML file that trigger after every pull request or code push:

xxxxxxxxxx
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1
name: Security Scan
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on:
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  pull_request:
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    paths:
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      - '**/.js'
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      - '**/.py'
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jobs:
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  security_scan:
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    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
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    steps:
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      - name: Checkout Code
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        uses: actions/checkout@v2
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      - name: Set up CodeQL analysis
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        uses: github/codeql-action/init@v2
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      - name: Perform CodeQL analysis
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        uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v2

2. Set up integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud’s CI/CD pipeline security policies:

In Defender for Cloud, configure policies to run vulnerability assessments for code during CI/CD processes.

When vulnerabilities are identified in GitHub during the scanning process, Defender for Cloud will display them in the security dashboard, enabling a quick response.

5. Monitor and Respond to Alerts in Microsoft Defender for Cloud

After the integration is complete, you can begin monitoring and responding to alerts from both GitHub Advanced Security and Defender for Cloud.

1. Alerts in Microsoft Defender for Cloud:

GitHub Advanced Security vulnerabilities will show up as part of your Security Alerts in the Defender for Cloud dashboard. These alerts can include code vulnerabilities, secret leaks, and dependency vulnerabilities.

Severity levels and exposure details will be provided for each vulnerability.

2. Respond to Alerts:

Use Defender for Cloud’s Security Recommendations to remediate security issues. Recommendations may include fixing code vulnerabilities, updating outdated dependencies, or enhancing security practices.

For secrets exposure, set up Azure Key Vault or similar solutions to store sensitive data securely.

3. Utilize Microsoft Sentinel for Advanced Threat Hunting:

Integrate GitHub and Defender for Cloud alerts into Microsoft Sentinel for more advanced investigation and response capabilities. Sentinel can help in aggregating data from multiple sources and provide enhanced alerting, reporting, and incident management features.

6. Reporting and Continuous Improvement

1. Security Posture Dashboards:

Use the Defender for Cloud dashboard to continuously monitor the health of your repositories. You can visualize trends in security posture, track vulnerabilities over time, and identify critical areas for improvement.

2. Audit and Remediation:

Review the Audit Logs in both GitHub and Defender for Cloud to identify any missed vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. Implement automated remediation steps using GitHub Actions or Azure Automation.

Benefits of the Integration

1. Centralized Security Management:

View both code and infrastructure security data from a single pane of glass.

2. Holistic Risk Management:

By linking GitHub Advanced Security with Defender for Cloud, you get better visibility into potential risks across the entire stack — from code to cloud.

3. Proactive Threat Detection:

With automatic vulnerability scanning and alerts from GitHub and Defender for Cloud, you can take immediate action to remediate vulnerabilities before they are exploited.

4. Improved DevSecOps:

This integration allows you to make security an integral part of the SDLC, minimizing vulnerabilities and reducing the time between detection and remediation.

Summary

Integrating GitHub Advanced Security with Microsoft Defender for Cloud provides a comprehensive approach to securing your development and cloud environments. By leveraging both tools, you can ensure that your code and cloud resources are continuously monitored for vulnerabilities and threats.

This integration strengthens your DevSecOps approach, helping you detect vulnerabilities early, automate remediation, and improve your overall security posture across the entire stack, from code to cloud.