Introduction
Truzta – AI Security Platform recently uncovered a critical exposure of a live payment gateway token on a public GitHub repository. This real-time detection highlights the platform’s robust capabilities in protecting organizations from digital risk and brand compromise.
Real-World Exposure Caught in Time
During one of our routine Digital Risk Protection (DRP) scans, the Truzta AI Security Platform flagged an active payment token that was publicly accessible within a code repository. The leaked token belonged to a popular Middle East-based payment gateway provider they are listed as Forbes Top 10 in Fintech.
The leak was located in the controller file of a Node.js project, embedded as a LIVE token, potentially giving threat actors access to the client’s production environment, unauthorized transactions, or abuse of payment-related APIs.
Truzta Identifies What Others Miss
The fintech company behind the payment gateway had been relying on another well-known DRP vendor for over two years. Despite their investment, no exposures were detected during that period. Frustrated with the lack of actionable intelligence, they switched to Truzta in the last week of June.
In less than 15 days, Truzta’s platform flagged multiple critical exposures and executed successful takedowns—demonstrating the effectiveness of Truzta’s real-time, AI-driven security capabilities.
Third-Party Risk in Focus
Importantly, the leak originated from one of the payment gateway’s third-party clients who had integrated their services. This incident highlights how third-party risk can become a direct threat to an organization’s ecosystem. With Truzta, organizations gain the visibility needed to detect and remediate threats—even those introduced through external vendors.
Immediate Action Taken
Upon identification:
- The DRP team immediately notified the concerned organization.
- Recommended to revoke the token immediately.
- Requested removal of the sensitive data from GitHub.
- Suggested implementing GitHub Secret Scanning and CI/CD token hygiene policies moving forward.
Impact of the Live API Token Exposure
The exposure of a live API token in a public repository is a serious security lapse that can lead to devastating consequences. In this case, the exposed token belonged to a high-value payment gateway provider, and its presence in a public GitHub repository meant it was accessible to anyone on the internet, including malicious actors.
Potential Consequences Include:
- Unauthorized Transactions: Threat actors could exploit the token to initiate fake or fraudulent transactions, potentially leading to financial losses for both the client and their customers.
- Data Breach Risks: Access to internal payment systems could allow attackers to exfiltrate sensitive customer or transaction data, breaching compliance requirements such as PCI DSS and local data privacy laws.
- Service Disruption: Abuse of the token could overload or manipulate APIs, disrupting payment services, and damaging trust in the fintech provider.
- Brand Damage: Public disclosure of such an exposure, especially for a top-ranked fintech platform, could lead to loss of client confidence and damage to the company’s reputation.
Proactive Recommendations
- Revoke any exposed credentials and regenerate secure ones immediately.
- Integrate secrets scanning tools into your development pipelines (e.g GitGuardian, TruffleHog.
- Enable GitHub’s native secret scanning alerts for all public and private repositories.
- Use .env files and environment variables or AWS Secrets instead of hardcoded tokens.
- Strengthen Third-Party Risk Management
- Train developers on secure coding practices and cloud credential management.
The Rising Threat of Third-Party Attacks
This exposure didn’t originate within the payment gateway provider itself but through a third-party client that had integrated its services. This highlights a growing concern across industries—third-party and supply chain cyberattacks.
Key Stats and Trends:
- According to recent cybersecurity reports, over 60% of breaches now involve a third-party vendor. https://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
- Threat actors increasingly exploit weak links in the digital supply chain, targeting smaller partners who may have less mature security practices.
In this case, even though the fintech platform maintained robust internal security, a client’s insecure coding practices exposed their production token—proving that your security is only as strong as your weakest link.
About Truzta AI Security Platform
The Truzta AI Security Platform by Cyber Heals offers proactive real-time monitoring of your organization’s digital footprint, identifying leaked credentials, exposed infrastructure, and risky brand impersonations across the surface, deep, and dark web. By leveraging contextual AI analysis and attack vector modeling, Truzta provides unparalleled visibility and rapid threat classification.
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