GitHub, PyPI add time-based defenses against supply chain attacks
GitHub's Dependabot now supports a configurable cooldown window on PyPI and npm updates — a delay of several days between a new version publishing and Dependabot proposing it — rather than proposing every release the moment it lands. Compromised packages are typically caught and yanked within hours of the first report, so a multi-day cooldown keeps auto-update pipelines from ever resolving a version whose only existence was as live malware; it's the same "let the community find it first" logic Linux distros have used for decades, now built into dependency automation. Turn cooldown on for PyPI/npm ecosystems in your Dependabot config — a few days is enough to dodge most yank-and-run compromises — but pair it with trusted publishing and disabled install scripts rather than treating timing alone as the fix.