Github: Credentials

Overview

BalkanID supports discovery and governance of credentials within Github as part of IGA for Non-Human Identities (NHI).

All credentials are normalized into the BalkanID data model and surfaced in the Credentials tab, along with their associated identities, access relationships, and risk insights.

The associated credentials can also be seen under the specific application integration (Github) page.

Required Github scopes for Credential Discovery

To enable full credential discovery, please refer to the Permissions section GitHub Application Integration Setup page.

These APIs allow BalkanID to build a complete view of credential inventory, access, and usage across the GitHub organization.

Credential Types Supported

BalkanID tracks the following GitHub credential types:

Note: The credential types listed below are examples and do not represent the full set of supported GitHub credentials.

• Personal Access Tokens (Classic & Fine-grained)

• SSH Keys (User)

• Deploy Keys

• GPG Keys

• OAuth Authorizations

Common risks associated with Github Credentials include:

• Stale and Dormant Credentials: Personal access tokens, SSH keys, or deploy keys that remain active despite being unused for 90+ days.

• Unmonitored Orphaned Credentials: Active PATs, SSH keys, or deploy keys that have never been used, creating untracked access paths.

• Credentials Not Rotated for 90+ Days: PATs, SSH keys, or deploy keys older than 90 days that have not been rotated, increasing exposure if compromised.

• Extremely Old Credentials (180+ Days): PATs, SSH keys, deploy keys, or GPG keys older than 180 days that have never been rotated.

• Expired Credentials Retained in Inventory: Expired PATs or GPG keys that remain associated with user accounts, reducing visibility into active credentials.

• Overprivileged GitHub App Installations: GitHub Apps granted admin-level organization permissions across repositories and organizational settings.

• MFA Not Enforced on Privileged Accounts: Organization owners or admins without two-factor authentication enabled.

This ensures visibility and governance of programmatic access in GitHub, forming a critical part of IGA for Non-Human Identities.