Although DevOps is not new to companies, one of its particularities seems to rally everyone’s votes: this methodology allows development and operations teams to work together to ensure that they deliver more reliable software, faster. However, this term conceals a fundamental aspect, that of the integration of security within the development process.
Security that is not sufficiently taken into account
In DevOps, security usually comes at the end of software development. It is often the last checkbox before going into production. Indeed, in most cases, developers focus instead on the technical aspect of development, leaving the responsibility for security to specialized teams. However, this way of doing things, which results in the establishment of silos, is not conducive to the evolution of software development practices. For application security to keep pace with the rapid pace of business innovation, a fundamental shift is needed in how it is approached within the development lifecycle.
Integrate security at the very heart of the development cycle
This is where DevSecOps comes in. This practice, which is experiencing growing adoption, is a way to better integrate security into each stage of development. This evolution may not seem radical, but it requires a fundamental cultural change. It is true that it upsets the status quo of your current processes, but the effort is worth the effort.
By making security a shared responsibility, you contribute to its better integration within the development process itself. The result is clear: companies that follow this approach develop more reliable software, delivered faster. In turn, it is your organization’s ability to innovate rapidly which in turn increases considerably. But how to create an environment conducive to the implementation of DevSecOps?
Safety: a shared responsibility
DevSecOps is focused on empowering all stakeholders involved in the application lifecycle. In practice, this means that it is essential to move security tests and reviews upstream – the famous “shift left” approach – so that they are integrated into each stage of software development.
Admittedly, DevSecOps was introduced with the aim of reducing vulnerabilities. But it aims above all to relieve security teams within companies, experts who are all the more overloaded as there is currently a shortage of this type of profile. Indeed, we estimate that for a security expert, there are 500 active developers. By spreading best practices – using new tools, sharing knowledge – developers can help better address common security issues. Meanwhile, cyber experts can devote their time to more strategic missions.
Securing the development process
The goal of DevSecOps, like that of DevOps, is to provide developers with consistency, repeatability, and constant feedback, throughout the development process. The latter are thus assured of having the best resources. By adopting a “developer first” approach, developers are in a better position to identify and fix vulnerabilities as soon as they are discovered. This avoids affecting the production environment of the application. There are no formalized methods for DevSecOps practices. Nevertheless, it is possible to access recommendations on how to make effective changes to include security practices during software development.
Promoting a change in mentalities
A good place to start is to change the perception of development and security teams by encouraging day-to-day collaboration and increased trust between the two teams. This project can be deployed on a small scale, by integrating mandatory security checks into code reviews, or on a large scale, for example by creating a unified workflow for processes, such as application security and CI/ CDs, which are usually partitioned. It’s not just about deciding when and where you address the vulnerability, but more importantly determining which outcomes should be prioritized, who can address them effectively, and why it’s vital to address those first. All issues are important, but some are more so. Having issues raised early on allows the developer to fix them as part of the build, rather than seeing them as issues to be fixed at the end.
New ways of collaborating
Effective deployment of DevSecOps requires an immediate break with current bad habits. The simplest action to adopt is to rely on effective tools, currently available on the market, for the analysis of the code and its dependencies, in parallel with those already used and appreciated by the security teams. As part of the analysis process, pay particular attention to where tool consolidation makes the most sense. Combining multiple tools for both teams provides a better understanding of where action needs to be taken and the most effective way to put it in place. Because teams have a common pipeline, issues are handled easier and faster.
Beyond favoring the use of new tools that bring incremental efficiency gains, DevSecOps relies on the best of DevOps to enable teams of developers to become more efficient, while integrating the most cutting-edge practices in terms of of security. Best ally of their growth, DevSecOps is the key ingredient allowing organizations to quickly increase their pace of innovation.