A DevOps-obsessed world is a result of the drive to launch products into the market as quickly as possible. The integration of many teams from various phases of the development cycle and the automation of everyday tasks significantly reduce the time taken to create and release a high-quality product. However, in the day and age of security breaches and the pressure to adhere to growing regulatory requirements, security is rarely discussed in the DevOps framework.

And that brings us to the idea of DevSecOps!

Introduction to DevSecOps

DevSecOps is an approach to software development that stresses on the importance of incorporating security practices into the DevOps pipeline. DevSecOps seeks to create a culture of collaboration and communication between developers, operations teams, and security teams throughout the software development lifecycle.

Security is often neglected when developing software using the conventional method. Security is not a priority for developers during the development process; instead, they concentrate on creating features and functionality. This method can leave software open to security risks because security issues might not be discovered until much later in the development cycle or after the product has been made available.

DevOps vs DevSecOps: Comparison Table

Why DevSecOps is Important (and Why Organizations Need It)?

In a world where businesses are vying to protect their products, clients, and enterprises from security breaches, DevSecOps makes sure security is integrated into the development lifecycle rather than being implemented at the end. Security is often neglected, which not only delays product release but also increases costs and inhibits innovation. DevSecOps works to provide built-in security from the start so teams may cut down on the lengthy development cycles they initially sought to avoid. 

Here’s why DevSecOps is important: 

1. It helps build an information security framework as a strong foundation before development activities even start. 
2. Developers are able to code with security in mind, so timely feedback and insights are shared on known vulnerabilities. 
3. It determines risk tolerance and conducts a risk/benefit analysis, so developers are aware from the beginning, what amount of security controls are necessary within a given product. 
4. The process of running security checks is automated, so teams can more easily meet their time-to-market deadlines.

DevSecOps Terminologies

SAST (Static Application Security Testing): Static Application Security Testing or SAST is a type of security testing used to secure software by reviewing the source code of the software. It is a type of white box testing which helps to identify sources of vulnerability.

SCA (Software Composition Analysis): Software Composition Analysis or SCA is an automated approach for identifying the open source software in a codebase. This analysis is performed to evaluate code quality, security, and license compliance.

DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing): Dynamic Application Security Testing or DAST is the process of analyzing a web application through the front-end to find vulnerabilities. It is done through simulated attacks. This type of approach assesses the application from the “outside-in” by acting like a malicious user.

IAST (Interactive Application Security Testing): Interactive Application Security Testing or IAST is a type of application security testing. It tests your application for vulnerabilities in execution, while the app is being used, either by a real user or an automated test runner.

Container Scanning: Container Scanning is the process to identify vulnerabilities within containers and their components. It is also known as Container Image Scanning. It is integral to container security as it enables developers and cybersecurity teams to fix security threats in containerized applications before deployment.

Compliance Scanning: Compliance Scanning is used to assure that system configuration is compliant with security policy controls. Compliance scanning tools measure compliance based on a third-party template.

Infrastructure Scanning: Infrastructure Scanning is the process of performing an automated series of checks against an infrastructure target to detect whether there are any security vulnerabilities that are potentially exploitable.

DevSecOps Best Practices

As security becomes a crucial component of DevOps’ success, integrating security into every phase of the DevOps lifecycle might make it easier for you to achieve your goals.

Observe the following DevSecOps best practices:

1. Start by educating and empowering teams to adhere to security best practices to allow efficient and secure product releases.  
2. Integrate security aspects into every stage of the software development lifecycle, including code scanning and review, configuration management, and vulnerability assessment.
3. As you begin to code, use source code analysis tools to get insight into issues and ensure that the software has been thoroughly tested before it gets to the deployment stage.
4. Use scanning tools that examine your application for vulnerabilities and list them. With the help of modern DevOps tools, you can get all the information about issues to make informed decisions and take the appropriate action at the right time. 
5. Integrate many scanning technologies with strong project management software to scan for and allow for auto-correction of issues. 
6. Build workflows to reduce administrative work, simplify the remediation process, and achieve full traceability.
7. Ensure all the tools and systems you use are constantly validated and updated according to the security policy of your organization.

A platform like Jira can enable you to integrate a melee of audit and risk analysis tools into a consistent workflow and streamline the source code scanning process. The tool can be customized to meet your needs for automation and eliminate human data entry and updates. Jira can make the process of creating reports easier because DevOps teams work with a variety of file types, including XLS, XML, PDF, TXT, CVS, and DOC. This enables you to track security-related parts of your SDLC process in real-time, from start to finish.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Everyone is aware of the necessity of including security in the DevOps process. However, just 27% of businesses perform app security analyses during each stage of the software development process. Answers to the below questions can help you get started quickly if you want to start the DevSecOps journey and assure secure code development and release:

1. Have you established a security culture within your DevOps team?
2. Do you have the appropriate metrics in place to track the development (and success) of integrating security into your DevOps process?
3. Do teams from different stages of development collaborate to share ideas, identify weaknesses, and come up with security solutions? 
4. Is security checked at every stage of the software development life cycle and integrated into it?
5. Do you have DevOps processes in place to guarantee secure code delivery in a timely manner?

Conclusion

DevSecOps offers a significant opportunity for improved security since the average cost of a single data breach is predicted to be more than $300 million by the year 2024. Improved collaboration, automated processes, continuous testing, better traceability, and dependable release schedules lay the groundwork for integrating security as an integral part of your DevOps processes.

So, what are you waiting for? Make sure security underlies every step of your software development process by joining DevSecOps right away.