Nowadays, business organizations embrace open-source container-orchestration systems, serverless, and other cloud-based technologies at a faster face. So, cloud-native security has become a critical concern. Here, software development teams need new tools and processes to protect their IT assets with a practice that builds security throughout SDLC stages. That is why the broad adoption of DevSecOps is on the cards. DevSecOps is an agile coding methodology targeting the implementation of security into software early in development. Read this content to find out more about the growing importance of DevSecOps and why security will no longer be an afterthought in DevOps pipelines.
The Growing Importance of DevSecOps
The study of a market research report, conducted by leading Global Research and Consulting firm Verified Market Research, valued DevSecOps Market at USD 2.18 Billion in 2019. The same market is likely to reach USD 17.16 Billion by 2027. It projects that it will grow at a CAGR of 30.76% from 2020 to 2027.
Recently, the U.S. Navy launched Black Pearl, a new software development tool, to implement DevSecOp practices within their services to have security into software early in the development process.
“Implementation of development, security, and operations (devsecops) in our pursuit of modern software development and delivery is critical to accelerating capability to the fleet and improving the security of our information,” says Navy CIO Aaron Weis.
“The “Sec” part of DevSecOps will become more and more an integral part of the Software Development Lifecycle. A real security “shift left” approach will be the new norm. There will be less dedicated security steps in the CI/CD pipelines and security automatic awareness and actions will be part of all pipeline steps. Starting from developer’s IDE, into the dependency and static code analysis. A software component will not be released without proper (automatic?) mediation of these issues. Customers will be delivered with true security issues free software.” – Eldad Assis, DevOps Architect at the CTO office at JFrog, a California-based software company
These interesting facts, quotes, and reports show the growing importance of security in DevOps pipelines. The integration of DevSecOps offerings with standard CI/CD testing tools will help business enterprises get visible improvements in IT effectiveness, safety, compliance, protocol enforcement, etc.
DevSecOps Model Makes Security Everyone Responsibility
DevSecOps sticks to the notion that security is everyone’s responsibility. Companies need to focus on a collective effort to lower security risk across engineering and security effort. The prime purpose of employing DevSecOps in the software development process is to integrate security control and principles in the DevOps cycle and create a Security as Code approach. The achievement of DevSecOps impacts security in the following ways. These include:
- It will integrate security controls across the entire software lifecycle at an initial stage.
- It will let you embrace a ‘shift left’ approach that improves security and reduces operational overheads.
- It will make both DevOps end-users and development engineers security users.
DevOps Security Pain Points/Challenges
In software development, DevOps amalgamates the separate roles of software development and IT operations. There are still some challenges that make overall security vulnerable to unwanted attacks. These include:
- Security teams struggle to keep up with the pace of DevOps
- DevOps teams neglect security
- Some tools carry potential risks for DevOps environments
- Inadequate controls provide an opening for attack
DevSecOps ensures a better alignment of engineering and security teams. Here, companies need to integrate DevSecOps principles into the tools and processes. Expect the following benefits:
- Reduced time spent on configuring security consoles
- Developer teams see security as an enabler, not an impediment
- Early identification of vulnerabilities
- Greater agility and speed for security teams
- Increase observability and traceability
- Reduce the danger of mistakes and maladministration
Get Ready for DevSecOps Adoption
Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Analysis Security Testing (DAST), Software Composition Analysis (SCA), and container security models are prime models for DevOps security. Organizations can choose any one of them to implement DevSecOps. Generally, security and development teams work separately. This culture is the biggest obstacle to DevSecOps adoption. The following are some practical ways for the successful adoption of DevSecOps practice. These include:
- Adopt the right DevSecOps tools.
- Analyze code and do a vulnerability assessment.
- Automate the process as much as possible.
- Evaluate existing security measures
- Find ways to overcome problems.
- Make security mandatory at every stage.
- Monitor the continuous integration and continuous delivery.
- Train the team to code securely.
Once you have implemented the strategy, it is vital to know whether the adoption of DevSecOps is successful or not. Remember that the successful adoption of the security practice depends upon factors like lead time, test coverage, deployment frequency, detection of threats, security defects, and flaws, and meantime to repair and recovery, etc.
Companies can integrate DevSecOps tools like ThreatModeler, Contrast Security, Continuum Security, Elastalert, Kibana, and Grafana throughout DevOps pipeline to build security throughout the software development journey.
Summing Up
No business enterprise can take security for granted. Hence, it is vital to embrace DevSecOps as an integral part of DevOps. The adoption of DevSecOps addresses all challenges faced by security and development during all phases of SDLC. DevOps-driven adoption of new processes and technologies confirms that security is not an afterthought. Â It automates security to protect the IT environment, data, and CI/CD pipeline. DevSecOps investment is rising rapidly, and companies need to gear up to make the most out of new technology adoption. You should take help from a professional cloud and DevOps consulting company as they can help you get instant security benefits in software development processes.
