Your team leans on internal npm packages – trusted tools you use every day. But a developer, tricked by “typosquatting” or dependency confusion, grabs a malicious lookalike from the public registry, thinking it’s legit. Next thing you know, systems are compromised, and sensitive data’s leaking, all because of confusing package names.

Using scoping helps you dodge security risks in npm packages. It ensures that only your organization can create packages under its name. Keeping imposters out and your project on track.

In this article, we’ll break down the risks when managing packages, explain what npm scoping is, and how it can help protect your projects. We’ll also share some scoping tips to keep your development process secure and organized.

Security Risks When Managing Packages

Say we publish a package called design-utils. If someone tries to install it from npmjs.org, there’s a risk they could be exposed to serious security risks. This risk comes up because fake packages can be made to look like the real deal and uploaded to a public registry, with two very typical scenarios:

⚠ Dependency confusion: Basically when someone creates a fake package with a name that’s almost identical to a real one. Most folks glance at it, recognize the org, and assume it’s all good – when really, it’s not.

⚠ Typosquatting: A sneaky trick that preys on people who make small typing mistakes – when installing packages for example. Let’s say you’re trying to install the popular lodash library but typed something like “lodahs,” “lodsh,” or “loadash” by accident, you might not notice anything’s off. That’s where the danger comes in – attackers can publish malicious packages under those typo names, and you could end up installing something harmful without even knowing it.

To dodge these risks, you need an extra layer of protection when managing packages. Scoping makes it clear where a package is coming from.

What Scoping is in npm and How it Avoids Security Risks

Scoping is basically a way to group related npm packages under a common namespace, usually tied to an organization. You’ll see it with an “@” in front, like @my-org/package-name, which helps keep things organized and clearly tied to your team.

Creating and registering a scope on npmjs.org adds an extra layer of security and avoids risks where malicious packages with names that look similar might get downloaded by mistake. For example, if you don’t register @my-org, someone else could publish a package like @my-org/helpers that looks legit but actually has harmful code. By registering your scope, you’ll lock down your organization’s identity, simplify package verification, and make auditing easier to track and review where packages are coming from.

Scoping your npm packages isn’t just good housekeeping – it’s a smart move to dodge security risks by preventing others from publishing packages under your organization’s name. Now that you’ve got the “why” down, let’s dive into some best practices to further strengthen your project’s security and reliability.

Best Practices for Scoping npm Packages

Even if you’re not putting your packages on a public repo, it’s still a good idea to create a scope and register it on npmjs.org.

💡 Registering Your Scope: Registering your own npm scope is a smart move – it keeps all your internal packages under one secure namespace and clearly separates them from the public ones, which makes things more secure and a lot less messy when managing packages.

💡 Scope By Organization: When you’re setting up scopes, it’s better to do it by organization instead of by individual teams. Team-level scopes can lead to inconsistent naming, complex access control, and general messiness. Keeping one scope for the whole org makes everything way easier to manage.

💡 Use A Private Repository: With ProGet, you can host scoped packages in private npm feeds, so your team only sees stuff meant for your org – like @my-org/helpers. You can even set up an approval workflow to catch risks by vetting packages before they are used in production. And with tons of packages and dependencies, being able to filter npm packages by scope makes things much easier to handle.

Scope It, Secure It

Managing packages may seem routine, but it can expose your project to serious security risks such as dependency confusion and typosquatting.

Using scoping in npm is a simple but effective way to prevent others from publishing packages under your organization’s name and improve package management. With ProGet, you can host private scoped npm packages, set up approval workflows, and reduce security risks across your team. Scoping is an easy win for both security and organization in your development process.

This was a lot to absorb, so I recommend keeping a note of it! To keep this article and more on npm at hand, why not sign up for our guide, “Mastering npm in the Enterprise”! You’ll learn more about npm, npm package management and how to optimize your development. Sign up for your free copy today!