KiwiQAFaster developer feedback, accelerated release velocity, and faster TTM (Time to Market) are some of the buzzwords that are applicable to all types of software products. Irrespective of the application being built, there must be an immense attention to detail to usability, functionality, reliability, and security of the app.
Agile approach to software development has been a complete game-changer since it helps improve collaboration between teams and brings testing at part with the development. Modern software teams cannot do away with Agile methodology owing to the n numerous benefits offered by the methodology.
One more methodology that is quickly picking up pace is DevSecOps, the methodology that is built for security-focussed teams. For starters DevSecOps is the amalgamation of (Development + Security + Operations). DevSecOps lays emphasis on security aspects of the product during the entire cycle of product development.
Though Agile focuses on adaptability and collaboration in the complete product lifecycle, DevSecOps focuses on embedding security into the various aspects of the software development process. As per our experience providing penetration testing services as a part of DevSecOps offerings to our clients, we have realized that there is no either/or in Agile & DevSecOps.
Agile and DevSecOps have to go hand-in-hand for ensuring the faster and quality release of any software product. Since product security is such an integral part of product development, it’s about time companies (irrespective of size or scale) focus on DevSecOps to improve the security aspects of their product.
In our initial blog on DevSecOps, we would look into the various aspects of DevSecOps including differences between DevSecOps and Agile. The learnings of this blog would be helpful to build a good DevSecOps strategy.
DevSecOps is the combination of Development, Security, and Operations. The intent of bringing in DevSecOps in the product life cycle is to emphasize the importance of security in every aspect of web product development.
DevSecOps is an integral part of the “Shift Left” approach, as it enables the integration of security testing at early stages of the development life cycle.
Since security tests are part of every feature release, the team would be able to detect security vulnerabilities early on. This means that the overall cost to fix security issues would be much less when compared to cost incurred when the issues at later stages.
As shown below, the DevSecOps lifecycle is almost similar to the DevOps lifecycle:
Though DevSecOps is an extension of DevOps, there is still a difference between DevOps and DevSecOps. We will be covering the differences later in this blog.
Now that we touched upon the basics of DevSecOps, let’s look at the benefits offered by automation with DevSecOps:
Before DevSecOps, security testing was not considered a part of the overall CI/CD process. Though UI testing, performance testing, and other forms of testing were a part of the CI pipeline; security testing was still considered a separate activity.
Like other forms of testing, security testing too has now become a part of CI pipeline with DevSecOps. The integration of security processes & tests into the DevOps pipeline boils down to early detection of bugs in the development and testing phases.
Hence, teams would be able to ship high-quality secure software at a much faster pace.
It could be a disastrous situation if the vulnerabilities are unearthed by the end-users of the product. Before DevSecOps, security vulnerabilities were exposed at a much later point in the development lifecycle.
With DevSecOps in place, security tests are run at regular intervals (and frequencies); thereby minimizing the costs involved in locating & resolving security-related bugs.
There are automated security testing tools that can help you make the most of automation from a security perspective. With DevSecOps, automated code scans will be a regular feature of the code check-ins, builds, tests, releases, and other aspects of the CI/CD pipeline.
Burp Suite Enterprise Edition, Veracode Platform, ElastAlert, etc. are some of the DevSecOps tools that have the capabilities to perform automated code scans, send out real-time alerts (in case of security lapses), and more.
With the integration of DevSecOps tools in the CI pipeline, security vulnerabilities can be identified and fixed at a significantly faster speed.
In case your team does not have hands-on expertise with the DevSecOps lifecycle, it is recommended to partner with a penetration testing company so that a more secure product can be shipped to the market.
Since DevSecOps is an extension of DevOps, the core fundamentals of the methodology still remains the same. Having said that, there are a good number of differences between DevOps and DevSecOps, let’s look into them.
Shown below is the pictorial representation of the differences between DevOps and DevSecOps:
Before we deep dive into the major components, it is important to reiterate that automation is one of the important pillars of DevOps as well as DevSecOps. Having said that, here are some of the major components that should be a part of your DevSecOps strategy:
With DevSecOps in place, security is not confined to a single team or couple of members in the security team. It is a shared responsibility. Building a security-first mindset is a must-needed change to build a DevSecOps-first culture.
Security teams must leverage the best DevSecOps practices for automating the security tasks across wherever possible. Developers in the team must also make a conscious effort (by seeking support from the security teams) to learn the nuances of security testing so that they can also help the security team.
Developers and members of the security team must work very closely to bridge any type of communication gaps. Folks in the security testing team must emphasize the importance of security and compliance as understood by the developers.
On the other hand, developers must also make use of security best practices when writing source code. Security must be inculcated in every aspect of the software development cycle. With a tight collaboration and communication between developers and security team members, you would be able to gain faster feedback as far as security vulnerabilities are concerned.
Since DevSecOps is an extension of DevOps, it is important to focus on automation throughout the security testing lifecycle. Automated analysis and testing of the security aspects of the product features must be a part of the CI/CD pipeline.
With DevSecOps in place, you can realize faster developer feedback from a security perspective. Security controls must be set in place so that relevant alerts are raised whenever security risks rise over a predefined threshold.
We have already covered some of the automated tools that can help in automated security testing of the various features of the product.
Access management andRBAC (Role Based Access Control) must be considered an integral part of the tools that are chosen for the job. Just imagine, some piece of code gaining access to a protected area and doing some modifications in the overall control flow?
Hence, various security mechanisms must be set in place to ensure that access is only allowed to parties that have been granted access. Some of the best practices that must be put in place to reap the benefits of DevSecOps:
Automated tools must be able to identify and alert if any private (or confidential) information is being pushed to the repository. For example, most cloud providers provide user name & access key to use their products. The automated security tool must scan all the code being pushed in the repository and alert if any such confidential information is left openly in the code.
Encryption and MFA (Multi Factor Authentication) must be a regular feature for any kind of data that will be available to the end-users of the product.
The major plus point of DevSecOps over DevOps is that security testing is measured against the same yardstick as other forms of testing. In DevSecOps, security goes hand-in-hand with development. This is only possible by leveraging tools that can accelerate security testing.
Automation can be instrumental in scanning the source code and identifying any sorts of vulnerabilities in the code. For example, storage of private information in a textual format can be a potential security issue. On similar lines, storage of passwords in the console (or execution) logs can be detrimental to the overall product security.
Security testing mechanisms like static application security testing (SAST), dynamic application security testing (DAST), pen testing, and threat modeling are some of the testing mechanisms that must be a part of the DevSecOps pipeline.
Needless to mention that all the discovered vulnerabilities and the corresponding steps must be documented in the form of test reports. The reports would be helpful in the later stages of the current project and also act as learnings for the future projects.
Since security is the main point of discussion in DevSecOps, penetration testing must be considered on priority. You need to have a detailed understanding about the various stages of penetration testing to build a fool-proof pen testing plan.
However, exposing potential vulnerabilities through penetration testing can be a tedious and pain-staking process. Automated penetration tests that are a part of the CI/CD pipeline help in advanced identification of the security vulnerabilities. This can be followed up with manual testing so that no stone is left unturned during the process of security testing.
Manual and automated penetration testing will help in making the most of DevSecOps.
In today’s fast-paced software world, it is imperative to give software security equal priority as a compromised piece of software can result in loss of sales (and reputation). This is where DevSecOps comes into the picture, as it integrates security tests into the CI pipeline.
Faster developer feedback and shift ‘security’ left are some of the advantages of incorporating DevSecOps practices into the project. Since security checks and tests are a part of the CI/CD pipeline, you can release a functional and super-secure product at a much faster pace.
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