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Lee Gold
Lee Gold

Posted on • Originally published at archibaldtitan.com

How to Protect Your Code Repository from Supply Chain Attacks in 2026

#supplychainsecurity #codesecurity #npmsecurity #dependencyscanning

How to Protect Your Code Repository from Supply Chain Attacks in 2026

Supply chain attacks have become the most dangerous threat facing developers. In 2025 alone, over 700,000 malicious packages were detected across npm, PyPI, and other registries. These attacks don't target your code directly — they compromise the dependencies your code relies on.

This guide provides practical, actionable steps to protect your code repository from supply chain attacks.

Understanding the Threat

Supply chain attacks exploit the trust developers place in open-source packages. Common attack vectors include:

Typosquatting: Publishing malicious packages with names similar to popular ones (e.g., lodahs instead of lodash).

Dependency Confusion: Publishing public packages with the same name as private internal packages, tricking package managers into downloading the malicious public version.

Compromised Maintainer Accounts: Attackers gain access to legitimate package maintainer accounts and push malicious updates.

Build System Attacks: Compromising CI/CD pipelines to inject malicious code during the build process.

Step 1: Lock Your Dependencies

Never rely on floating version ranges in production:

// BAD - allows any minor/patch update
"dependencies": {
  "express": "^4.18.0"
}

// GOOD - exact version pinned
"dependencies": {
  "express": "4.18.2"
}
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Use lock files religiously:

  • npm: package-lock.json
  • yarn: yarn.lock
  • pnpm: pnpm-lock.yaml
  • pip: requirements.txt with exact versions

Always commit lock files to your repository.

Step 2: Audit Dependencies Regularly 

# npm
npm audit

# yarn
yarn audit

# pip
pip-audit

# Run weekly in CI/CD
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Automate this in your CI/CD pipeline so every PR is checked for known vulnerabilities.

Step 3: Use Dependency Scanning Tools

Snyk — Scans your dependencies for known vulnerabilities and suggests fixes. Integrates with GitHub, GitLab, and CI/CD pipelines.

Socket.dev — Goes beyond known vulnerabilities to detect suspicious package behavior (network access, filesystem operations, obfuscated code).

Archibald Titan — Includes built-in security scanning that analyzes your dependencies locally without sending your code to any external service. This is particularly valuable for proprietary codebases.

Step 4: Implement Code Signing

Verify that packages haven't been tampered with:

# npm supports package signatures
npm audit signatures

# Verify git commit signatures
git log --show-signature
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Step 5: Minimize Your Attack Surface

Every dependency is a potential attack vector. Reduce your exposure:

  1. Audit new dependencies before adding them. Check download counts, maintenance activity, and contributor history.
  2. Remove unused dependencies: npx depcheck identifies unused packages.
  3. Prefer well-maintained packages with multiple contributors over single-maintainer projects.
  4. Consider vendoring critical dependencies — copy the source into your repo instead of installing from a registry.

Step 6: Secure Your CI/CD Pipeline

Your build pipeline is a high-value target:

  • Pin CI/CD action versions to specific commits, not tags
  • Use read-only tokens where possible
  • Isolate build environments — don't reuse build caches across projects
  • Review CI/CD configuration changes with the same rigor as code changes 
# BAD - uses mutable tag
- uses: actions/checkout@v4

# GOOD - pinned to specific commit
- uses: actions/checkout@b4ffde65f46336ab88eb53be808477a3936bae11
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Step 7: Monitor for Compromises

Set up alerts for suspicious activity:

  • GitHub Dependabot alerts for known vulnerabilities
  • npm/yarn audit in CI/CD for every PR
  • Runtime monitoring to detect unexpected network connections or file system access

Step 8: Use a VPN for Secure Development

When working on public networks, use a VPN to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks that could intercept your package downloads or git operations. NordVPN's developer-friendly features (split tunneling, kill switch) make it easy to integrate into your workflow without disrupting local development.

The Complete Security Checklist

  • [ ] Lock files committed and up to date
  • [ ] Dependency audit runs in CI/CD on every PR
  • [ ] Scanning tool (Snyk/Socket) configured
  • [ ] CI/CD actions pinned to commit hashes
  • [ ] Unused dependencies removed
  • [ ] New dependency review process documented
  • [ ] VPN configured for public network development
  • [ ] Local AI tools (Archibald Titan) for private code analysis
  • [ ] Incident response plan for dependency compromises

Conclusion

Protecting your code repository from supply chain attacks requires a multi-layered approach. Lock dependencies, audit regularly, scan automatically, and minimize your attack surface. Combined with secure development practices (VPN, local AI tools), you can significantly reduce your risk.

The tools exist — the key is making security a habit, not an afterthought.

Scan your codebase for vulnerabilities today with Archibald Titan's built-in security analysis.

Originally published on Archibald Titan. Archibald Titan is the world's most advanced local AI agent for cybersecurity and credential management.

Try it free: archibaldtitan.com

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