DevSecOps: Building Security into DevOps

 

We all have heard about agile framework and DevOps which are trading for many years. They have been part of the software development life cycle for years. However, with the digitalization where the security of software product has become a major concern across industries, organizations are now finding it crucial to tying in agile and DevOps processes with security procedures. A new term called DevSecOps came into limelight in recent years that can make this happen. In this post, we will discuss what DevSecOps is and how it can be practised.

Agile and DevOps software delivery

Agile is a collaboration based approach which has ruled for years in the software industry. It was designed to break down the walls between development and operations to deliver high-quality software products in the market.

When we want to offer the best quality software product, we need to consider security. For years, developers gave more emphasis on offering products faster, ignoring the security side of the product. In most of the software development projects, security was the last thing in the software development life cycle.

In an era where security has become the major concern, we need to change our methodology. DevSecOps was born when developers started employing security measures in the DevOps approach.

If you want to define DevSecOps, it is just an addition of security protocols baked into the processes of product delivery. It ensures and integrates IT security into the product’s lifecycle.

Why do DevSecOps?

There are some great advantages DevSecOps offers to software professionals and companies. Let's check them in details:

When you can identify and address bugs and other functional or operational issues early on in the development process, you will be able to save a lot of money. In addition to that, it will also save your time and efforts. You will be able to deliver the product faster compared to the scenario where you identify and address bugs at the end of the cycle.

Initially, you might find security processes slowing down the whole development process, but in the long run, you will see increased speeds of product delivery.

Developers will find the issues during the product development stage which will ensure more agility and enhanced overall security. You can keep your reputation intact in these days where cybercriminals use highly advanced security breaching technologies.

A DevSecOps approach also builds transparency among the teams which is important for the agile approach. It can turn your organization more adept at agile with flawless communication and collaboration across teams.

With DevSecOps approach in place, you can improve the quality culture in your organization and standardize secure design patterns which will impact your quality product delivery positively.

There are many automated processes associated with DevSecOps which free up testing and development resources once the implementation is done.

DevSecOps best practices

Automate

Manually doing vulnerability testing is complex and invite many errors. In addition to that, it is also very difficult to do verification into your CI/CD pipeline. You need to automate these processes to quicken up things. Automating both static and dynamic security testing and embedding these into your delivery lifecycle is the key. In addition to that, prioritizing issues is also an important thing.

Manage containers and microservices like a pro

Most of the organizations are taking advantages of microservices and containers to embed DevSecOps in the CI/CD pipeline. Keep your containers isolated by integrating security scanners in the process and encrypting data.

Check your code dependencies and standardize

Being open-source, DevOps might invite security vulnerabilities. You need to standardize your environment, controlling access and make dependency checks to identify security vulnerabilities that might arise from an open-source platform.

Provide your developers with DevSecOps training and infrastructure

The last thing is to train your developers with DevSecOps training and infrastructure. Train them for latest security protocols, procedures and tools.