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Integrated security, every step of the way.

In the DevOps model, development and operations teams collaborate across the entire application lifecycle to enhance and expedite the delivery process – and ultimately help to boost your organization’s adaptability and innovation. But what good is a continuous development process when a static security model is tacked on at the end? That’s no longer feasible and can even undermine your development efforts.  So where does security fit into the DevOps mix?

What is DevSecOps? 

Take one part development, one part operations and add a generous amount of security – that’s the recipe for DevSecOps. Security is integrated throughout the full application lifecycle and is a shared responsibility. In a previous post, we talked about how DevOps requires a cultural shift, new tools and processes. The same holds true when integrating security. For example:

  • Security is no longer a siloed responsibility. Everyone, at every stage in the development process, collaborates and adopts a “security as code” mindset.
  • Tools such as integrated development environment (IDE) software with security features ensure that security is continuously integrated. 
  • Automating security gate processes helps prevent workflow bottlenecks.

DevSecOps Principles

Cloud-native technologies like containers and microservices are now key elements of DevOps environments; security practices must adapt to be able to handle these dynamic technologies. Here are some key considerations for integrating “Sec” into your DevOps initiatives:

Shift Left Move security to as early as possible in the application lifecycle to ensure each stage of the development process is secure. This will help to reduce test cycles, improve quality and bring vulnerabilities to light quickly before they become larger issues. 

Take the Attacker’s Viewpoint A threat modeling mechanism that helps developers see applications from an attacker’s perspective is a proactive way to detect threats. This approach makes it easier to spot potential gaps and encourages best practices when developing code.

Make Everyone a Security Expert Train your developers on general security best practices, how to use security tools, embed security in the development process and test for vulnerabilities.

Think Automation From identity and access management to continuous integration and acceptance testing processes, security updates (patches) and system and service configuration management capabilities – automate as much as possible.

Culture Must Keep Pace with Technology As new technologies in the development space keep emerging, continuous upskilling is essential. Your organization needs to be really good at providing learning opportunities and encouraging employees to do things differently in order to stay relevant.

Why DevSecOps is important

DevSecOps empowers security, development and operations teams to rapidly deliver secure code by leveraging automation and agile methodologies. Here are a few more ways that DevSecOps can benefit your organization:

  • Reduce risk of negatively impacting customers and causing reputational harm by being able to identify security vulnerabilities before an app is released publicly.
  • Minimize the possibility of cyberattacks and downtime with automated processes that result in fewer errors.
  • Free up security resources to focus on development priorities by using automation to configure security consoles.
  • Achieve a high level of quality through continuous quality assurance testing and automated builds.
  • Improve collaboration and communication amongst development, operations and security teams.

While it takes time and effort on both technological and cultural levels to introduce DevSecOps to your organization, the upsides are significant. Contact Cloudreach to learn more.