How GitHub Accounts Get Compromised Without GitHub Ever Being Hacked

Modern attacks on GitHub rarely involve breaking into GitHub's own systems directly; instead, attackers exploit trusted third-party integrations, stolen OAuth tokens, or phishing to gain legitimate-looking access. A 2022 campaign illustrated this clearly, when attackers used stolen OAuth tokens from Heroku and Travis CI integrations to access private GitHub repositories via the GitHub API. GitHub confirmed it did not believe its own systems were breached in that incident. Phishing attacks have also proven effective, with fake login pages capable of relaying credentials and one-time codes in real time, though hardware security keys were found resistant to that technique. These cases highlight how credential theft and trusted-permission abuse can make malicious activity appear indistinguishable from normal, authorized use.