Feature Announcement: Introducing ChatOps in Pull Requests

ChatOps in Pull Requests are designed to streamline the process of managing security alerts and dismissals directly within pull requests (PRs). With ChatOps in PRs, both developers and reviewers can take immediate action on identified risks without leaving GitHub or Azure DevOps (ADO). This feature extends Arnica’s existing ChatOps functionality within chat into pull requests, enhancing workflows by introducing contextual alert actions at critical points in the development process.

What user pains exist?

Reviewers need to receive actionable notifications in their workflows, or risk leaving developers to handle alerts alone.
Without real-time detection and interaction, developers are getting alerts too late in the process, interrupting their flow. By the time they receive an alert on a potential code risk, they’ve already moved on to the next task.
Notifications can get buried among other messages, leading to unresolved risks in pull requests.

What Arnica built with ChatOps in Pull Requests:

Easily address code risk findings by taking action on an Arnica notification directly in pull request comments, ensuring all stakeholders—developers, reviewers, and other team members—have the context they need to resolve risks quickly and collaboratively.

How developers interact with ChatOps in Pull Requests:

‍Risk Detection
When a potential risk is identified, Arnica adds a comment in the pull request detailing the issue based on your Arnica policy. ‍
Actionable Comments
The PR comment includes options to:
1. ‍Acknowledge: Indicate that the risk is being addressed. ‍
2. Dismiss: Flag the alert as a false positive or irrelevant. ‍
3. Open in Arnica: View more details about the risk in the Arnica dashboard. ‍
Collaborative Workflows ‍
1. Developers can act on risks directly within the PR, removing blockers without switching tools. ‍
2. Reviewers get their first opportunity to see and respond to risks, ensuring transparency and collaboration. ‍
Optional Review Process: Arnica admins can configure policies that require reviews for dismissals, ensuring risks are properly vetted before resolution. ‍
Real-Time Updates
Actions taken in the PR are reflected instantly in Arnica, providing a seamless experience across tools.

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A menu of copy/paste-able chat responses provided by Arnica in a pull request

Why ChatOps in Pull Requests matters:

‍Meet Developers Where They Are
Don’t force developers to use yet another security tool. Meet them where they prefer to work in their preferred chat tools and now in pull requests. ChatOps in Pull Requests allow developers to manage risks in their existing workflow, reducing interruptions and delays. ‍
Enhanced Transparency for Reviewers
Reviewers can see and act on risks directly in the pull request, ensuring better oversight and collaboration during code reviews. ‍
Simplified Adoption for AppSec Teams
By embedding alerts and actions into familiar tools, ChatOps in Pull Requests minimize the need for extensive training or workflow changes. ‍
Broader Stakeholder Access
Users with read-only permissions, such as security practitioners or legal reviewers, can participate in risk management without requiring code access.

a chat within a pull request in GitHub — A chat interaction within a pull request by a developer

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About Arnica

Enterprises today are faced with the need to harden their DevOps ecosystem to combat the proliferation of Software Supply Chain Attacks. These organizations are faced with the growing challenge of balancing development velocity, cost efficiency, and security.

Managing excessive developer permissions and identifying corresponding anomalous behavior are two obstacles in the way of establishing this equilibrium. Arnica was established to solve these obstacles by providing a seamless and frictionless active mitigation platform for exactly these issues and more. Arnica is the easy button for DevOps security.

Arnica analyzes excessive permissions, code risks and misconfigurations across the developer toolset and mitigates them.

Contact Arnica Press Team

press@arnica.io