Lightning Talk Beginner MIT license First Talk

Preventing Secret Leaks in Git with Open Source

Approved

Session Description

Every year, developers accidentally expose API keys, access tokens, passwords, and other sensitive information by committing them to Git repositories. These mistakes can lead to security issues, unexpected cloud costs, and leaked credentials. The good news is that many of these incidents are preventable with the right development practices and open-source tools.

In this session, I'll demonstrate how to build a more secure Git workflow using open-source tools, with a focus on Gitleaks. Through a hands-on demo, we'll intentionally add a fake secret to a repository, see how Gitleaks detects it, and discuss simple practices that help prevent sensitive information from reaching GitHub in the first place.

The session is designed for students and developers who use Git regularly and want to add practical security checks to their workflow without making it complicated.

Key Takeaways

1. Understand how secrets accidentally end up in Git repositories.
2.Learn how Gitleaks detects API keys, tokens, and other credentials.
3.See a practical demonstration of secret scanning.
4.Learn simple best practices for building a more secure Git workflow

References

https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks

https://gitleaks.io/

Session Categories

Tutorial about using a FOSS project

Introducing a FOSS project or a new version of a popular project

Engineering practice - productivity, debugging

Talk License: MIT license

Speakers

Baviya Varshini V Student | KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology

I’m a Computer Science and Business Systems student at KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology. I enjoy exploring open-source technologies, cybersecurity, and AI through hands-on projects and community events. I'm always curious about learning new tools and sharing practical things that make development simpler and more secure. This is my first speaker proposal, and I'm excited to contribute to the FOSS community while learning from everyone else.