What is DevSecOps?
The DevSecOps process handles IT security with the mindset that “everyone is accountable for security.” It involves injecting security into a company’s DevOps pipeline. The aim is to integrate security throughout the software development life cycle (SDLC) stages. The DevSecOps phases indicate that you shouldn’t leave security for the final stage of the SDLC, as was the case with traditional development methods.
If your business already uses DevOps, consider upgrading it to DevSecOps integration. DevSecOps phases are primarily built on the DevOps services, which will guide your case for switching. By doing this, you’ll be able to assemble talented specialists from various technical disciplines to enhance your security procedures as they currently stand.
DevSecOps is a way of thinking or a culture that IT operations and developers’ teams follow when creating and deploying software applications. Agile application development incorporates both active and automated security audits, as well as penetration testing.
To implement the DevSecOps process, you need to:
- Reducing vulnerabilities in software programming incorporates the concept of security from the beginning of the SDLC.
- Please make sure everyone, including IT operations teams and developers, shares responsibility for adhering to security procedures in their tasks.
- Ensure DevOps workflow begins with the involvement of security controls, processes, and tools. This will allow for automatic security checks throughout the software delivery process.
DevOps managed services have always been about integrating security into the development and release process, as well as quality assurance (QA), database management, and other aspects. The DevSecOps process, on the other hand, is an extension of that process, where security is always the crucial component.
Useful link: What is DevSecOps Services?
How to Adopt DevSecOps with Your Team?
In software development, DevOps best practices have sparked a revolution. It combines software development, deployment, and management into one process. Operations and development teams would merge into a single team; otherwise, they would collaborate closely. The advantages are faster updates and improved cycle control for software releases.
Likewise, there has been a growing understanding that security must be an essential component of the development process. Writing code takes longer and doesn’t work well until you figure out how to make it secure. The phrase “DevSecOps” was created due to the convergence of these trends.
The core concept of the DevSecOps process is that everyone is responsible for security. Management must consider it when defining requirements and developing schedules. Developers must incorporate it into every facet of code and specifications. QA professionals must test security and functionality. Ultimately, operations teams must closely monitor software behavior and respond promptly to any issues that arise.
Each party must adopt a new mindset to implement DevSecOps. They must establish a strong line of communication because they each have specific tasks. No issues ought to be overlooked due to a lack of communication. Security teams have frequently been separated from other groups during the development cycle. With the DevSecOps model, they are included in each stage of the DevSecOps process and are available to offer input.
To adapt, software development, maintenance, and upgrading must incorporate security awareness into each stage.
Concept of DevSecOps
1) Plan
The DevSecOps planning phase is the least automated, yet crucial, for successful integration. It involves collaboration, discussion, review, and a strategy for security analysis. Teams must conduct a thorough security analysis and develop a detailed schedule for security testing, specifying where, when, and how they will carry it out.
IriusRisk, a collaborative threat modeling tool, is a well-liked DevSecOps planning tool. Other tools for collaboration and conversation, like Slack, and solutions for managing and tracking issues, like Jira Software, are also available.
2) Code
Using DevSecOps technologies during the code phase can help developers produce more secure code. Code reviews, static code analysis, and pre-commit hooks are essential security procedures in the code phase.
When security technologies are directly integrated into developers’ existing Git workflow, every commit and merge automatically starts a security test or review. These technologies support different integrated development environments and many programming languages. Some popular security tools include PMD, Gerrit, SpotBugs, Checkstyle, Phabricator, and FindBugs.
3) Build
The ‘ build ‘ step begins once developers have developed code for the source repository. The primary objective of DevSecOps build tools is to automate the security analysis of the build output artifact. Static application software testing (SAST), unit testing, and software component analysis are crucial security procedures. Tools can be implemented into an existing CI/CD pipeline to automate these tests.
Dependencies on third-party code, which may come from an unidentified or unreliable source, are frequently installed and built upon by developers. Additionally, dependencies on external code may unintentionally or maliciously introduce vulnerabilities and exploits. Therefore, reviewing and checking these dependencies for potential security flaws during the development phase is crucial.
The most popular tools for creating a build phase analysis include Checkmarx, SourceClear, Retire.js, SonarQube, OWASP Dependency-Check, and Snyk.
4) Test
The test phase is initiated once a build artifact has been successfully built and delivered to staging or testing environments. Execution of a complete test suite requires a significant amount of time. Therefore, this stage should fail quickly to save the more expensive test tasks for the final stage.
Dynamic application security testing (DAST) tools are utilized throughout the testing process to identify application flows, including authorization, user authentication, endpoints connected to APIs, and SQL injection vulnerabilities.
Multiple open-source and paid testing tools are available in the current market. Support functionality and language ecosystems include BDD Automated Security Tests, Boofuzz, JBro Fuzz, OWASP ZAP, SecApp suite, GAUNTLET, IBM AppScan, and Arachi.
5) Release
When the DevSecOps cycle is released, the application code should have undergone extensive testing. The stage focuses on protecting the runtime environment architecture by reviewing environment configuration values, including user access control, network firewall access, and personal data management.
One of the main concerns of the release stage is the principle of least privilege (PoLP). PoLP signifies that each program, process, and user needs the minimum access to carry out its task. This combines checking access tokens and API keys to limit access for owners. Without this audit, a hacker can come across a key that grants access to parts of the system that are not intended.
Configuration management solutions are crucial security components in the release phase. This stage enables the review and auditing of the system configuration. As a result, commits to a configuration management repository may be used to change the configuration, which becomes immutable. Some well-liked configuration management tools include HashiCorp Terraform, Docker, Ansible, Chef, and Puppet.
6) Deploy
If the earlier process goes well, it’s the proper time to deploy the build artifact to the production phase. During deployment, the security problems affecting the live production system should be addressed. For instance, it is essential to carefully examine any configuration variations between the current production environment and the initial staging and development settings. Additionally, production TLS and DRM certificates should be reviewed and validated in preparation for the upcoming renewal.
The deploy stage is a good time for runtime verification tools such as Osquery, Falco, and Tripwire. It can gather data from an active system to assess if it functions as intended. Organizations can also apply chaos engineering principles by testing a system to increase their confidence in its resilience to turbulence. Replicating real-world occurrences, such as hard disk crashes, network connection loss, and server crashes, is possible.
7) Operation
Another critical phase is operation, and operations personnel frequently perform periodic maintenance. Zero-day vulnerabilities are terrible, and operations teams should monitor them frequently. DevSecOps integration can use IaC tools to protect the organization’s infrastructure while swiftly and effectively preventing human error from slipping in.
8) Monitor
A breach can be avoided if security is constantly monitored for abnormalities. As a result, it’s crucial to implement a robust continuous monitoring tool that operates in real-time to monitor system performance and spot exploits at an early stage.
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Source: Veritis Group
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