What Is DevSecOps?

To understand how DevSecOps works, it’s first necessary to grasp how the DevOps workflow operates. There are, of course, many ways to implement DevOps. It’s an approach to software development, not a standard or a product. Indeed, DevOps is often depicted as an infinite loop that incorporates a wide variety of tools and practices. However, most DevOps teams use a five-stage CI/CD pipeline approach, into which DevSecOps embeds security.

• Discover: In coding, DevSecOps works to ensure that open source code components don’t contain known vulnerabilities or include malware, both of which are unfortunately common problems. At this stage, QA testers may run security tests on the source code as well as on application programming interfaces (APIs) connected to the application.
• Build: At the build stage, DevSecOps applies controls that mitigate risks related to operating systems, application dependencies, and more.
• Prep: Before the Ops team deploys the code, DevSecOps takes steps to ensure that the application follows the organization’s security policies. For example, if policy dictates that data must be encrypted in transit, DevSecOps should include a check to make sure this is occurring.
• Deploy: Vulnerabilities or security-related misconfigurations need to be identified and remediated before deployment.
• Run: When the application is in production, DevSecOps needs to apply monitoring to catch threat signatures as well as anomalies that indicate that an attack is underway.

It’s not entirely accurate to say that DevSecOps is simply DevOps with security measures thrown in. A DevOps process, on its own, almost always contains some security steps. The issue is how and where they are placed in the DevOps workflow. If DevOps isolates security as a discrete step at the end of the development process, that isn’t DevSecOps. There’s security, for sure, but it’s not an optimal situation.

The implication of DevSecOps is that it’s DevOps, with security added as an integrated, collaborative part of the entire workflow. Security exists at each stage in the SDLC. It’s not, to borrow a phrase from the old days of coding, “thrown over the wall.” It’s important to note, however, that DevSecOps also implies the use of special tools and automation.

This approach also means that DevSecOps practices incorporate security automation, helping to identify vulnerabilities without slowing down development speed. By embedding automated security measures and testing, DevSecOps minimizes the security risks associated with fast-paced development.

DevSecOps delivers two interrelated benefits: It speeds up the development of secure software. And the software itself is more secure than it would have been under traditional development workflows. On the first point, security almost always slows down the cycle of developing, testing, and releasing software. If security steps come later in the cycle, the slowdown is all the more pronounced. In the worst case, if security teams detect vulnerabilities or the presence of malicious code after deployment to production, that results in a long, costly, and‌ public remediation process.

Fixing security problems in software was also traditionally a point of friction between developers and security teams. Developers might have an “it’s not my job” attitude about security and resent the intrusion and task-switching involved in rewriting insecure code. This dynamic, coupled with security’s tendency to slow things down, often led to security being de-emphasized or ignored outright‌ — ‌a move that negatively affected security posture.

DevSecOps reduces the likelihood of this outcome. With the ability to streamline and automate security in the DevOps CI/CD workflow, DevSecOps makes it possible to execute more security tests and controls on software before it reaches production. The resulting software should be more secure than code produced in the traditional way. In production, DevSecOps enables more rapid patching of vulnerabilities. This will occur if the DevSecOps workflow includes vulnerability scanning, including the ability to identify and patch Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs).

DevSecOps matters today because of a dangerous confluence of trends in technology. As software development and release speeds up, the cyberthreat environment becomes more serious. More code is exposed to ever-graver threats. It’s not a good combination for today’s businesses, many of which depend on software for strategic differentiation and their overall business models. They can’t accept high levels of risk exposure. DevSecOps is a necessity in this context.

Security has always been important for organizations that create software. The need for security is only getting more intense, however, as malicious actors grow in sophistication. At the same time, software makers face pressure to release code at a faster pace than ever before. This requirement is‌ at odds with security, but DevSecOps offers a way forward. With DevSecOps, software makers can execute a rapid SDLC while maintaining a strong security posture.

One of the core practices in DevSecOps is application security testing, which focuses on identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities in the code before it reaches production. By conducting regular and automated application security testing, DevSecOps teams can reduce the risk of security incidents happening once the application is live.

• Static application security testing (SAST): Analyzes the application’s source code to find potential vulnerabilities in the development phase.
• Dynamic application security testing (DAST): Tests the running application in real time to find vulnerabilities that might occur during runtime.
• Interactive application security testing (IAST): Combines aspects of both SAST and DAST, providing real-time analysis of the application’s security.

Implementing these testing methodologies in the DevSecOps process helps to create a proactive security posture, enabling continuous protection and reducing the risk of vulnerabilities reaching the production environment. Regular testing reinforces security as a core part of DevSecOps, ensuring applications are built with security in mind from the start.