DevOps Pipeline Attacks: How Small Mistakes Can Lead to Big Breaches

Software development pipelines — like the tools and servers used for CI/CD (Continuous Integration and Delivery) — are increasingly in the crosshairs of attackers. Why? Because a single overlooked setting or misconfiguration can give threat actors a way into your entire supply chain.

Recently, these attacks have made the mainstream media because they impact so many, with the recent TJ-actions attack impacting 23,000 GitHub code repositories. These attacks are simple, yet devastating. Organisations are unprepared for these attacks, with very little done to mitigate the risk.

In this talk, we’ll explore:

• Why are attackers focusing on DevOps environments now more than ever?
• Simple but important security practices to keep your CI/CD pipelines safe.
• Real-world examples, including the recent TJ-Action GitHub Actions and Codecov attacks, which demonstrated how a small vulnerability in a popular automation setup can ripple across countless projects.

Come away with practical insights to help you spot and prevent the kinds of tricks attackers are using today — and be ready for what’s coming next.