DevSecOps helps identify and highlight security vulnerabilities early on and integrates security into DevOps methods. It doesn’t wait for a product to be made available. Security considerations are made at every pertinent stage, including development, testing, problem-solving, and go-live. This prevents security concerns from being postponed until the very end of the software development lifecycle. This approach works best in a fast insecure and developing environment since teams may concentrate on quality rather than chasing deadlines alone to achieve their development goals. Finding problems is simple, closing gaps is quicker, and maintaining security expenditures are reduced. Compliance is increased, security vulnerabilities are addressed, and security bottlenecks are decreased. Nevertheless, employing DevSecOps within the SDLC does benefit from some DevSecOps best practices.
The best practices for DevSecOps
Plan well and proceed slowly.
The implementation of any change will be quite challenging when there are several stakeholders. A methodology like DevSecOps might not be used right away. Every team will have its objectives, and everyone will be (understandably) working toward deadlines. But setting sensible security objectives is crucial and beneficial. To find and close potential security gaps, development, operations, testing, and security teams must work closely together.
Team Member Education and Training
Your teams should be informed about the fact that security is not just the responsibility of the core security team. It will be easier to ensure that the technique is understood and ingrained by team members if it is emphasized that it is a shared duty. By making difficult, necessary decisions, security champions can assist in addressing security challenges in a concentrated manner.
The Right Combination of Teams
It is a wise idea to set up several teams (such as red teams for external ethical hacking, blue teams for internal response to incidents and hacks carried out by the red teams, and bug bounty programs for recognizing and compensating team members who report vulnerabilities).
Make Security Culture a Priority
An intentional focus on people, processes, and technology can assist achieve the level of seriousness desired. An excellent place to start would also be with the support of top management. Security becomes automatic when everyone agrees on goals and objectives. Furthermore, establishing guidelines and SLAs for problem-solving will encourage teams to take security seriously. In essence, having a security attitude is essential.
Practice makes perfect.
True perfection comes through practice. Every project will offer important insights into DevSecOps, which is not a one-time endeavor. Teams can work around bottlenecks or miscommunication as they encounter similar situations. As one transitions from one project to another, practices can be improved.
Control incidents
A dedicated incident management/issue-fixing plan will go a long way in ensuring that issues are resolved in a phased-out, planned manner because security will now be the focus. Workflows, well-defined roles, and action plans can be useful in this situation.
Develop straightforward yet secure coding techniques
Proper testing and verification are essential as programs are developed. Everyone’s jobs are made simpler by implementing solid coding techniques that address security in advance. Developers will be able to debug the code and improve it further by using straightforward coding techniques. It will be simple for additional developers and testers to work on the coding and testing tasks.
Create internal coding standards and change management procedures
While adhering to best practices for coding is crucial, creating internal standards and training procedures will assist add additional layers of security. Improved change management procedures must also be developed, and the application must undergo frequent security audits.
Count on thorough audits
Here, we are referring to both internal and external audits. These audits cover a lot of ground in terms of understanding risk exposure and system preparedness to battle hazards. It would be beneficial to have an audit once a year to verify the development of security strategies from a DevSecOps perspective.
Vigorously test
Testing the code and application during its entire lifecycle will assist find problems before they become more serious. Live testing, input parameter analysis, process flow fine-tuning, etc. are all crucial elements. Testing open-source software and third-party dependencies can also benefit from automation. Now that applications are interacting with one another and the outside world, this is relevant.
Use tools and automation Smartly
Thanks to automation, meeting deadlines are not that difficult. Because testing and deploying apps are so simple thanks to automation and technologies, security does not need to constantly cause bottlenecks. While dynamic application security testing (DAST) can test an application while it is running, static application security testing (SAST) can help scan specific code changes. Teams can also learn how to optimize processes by customizing alerts, establishing thresholds, and utilizing comprehensive reporting. Teams will benefit from receiving training for the various tools not just to ensure quick issue resolution but also to advance their skills.
Prospects for DevSecOps
Shifting security, a little to the left is necessary right now because when security is prioritized, problems tend to be resolved more quickly and for much less money. Teams will be required to deliver on time going the future. Businesses should anticipate harsher timelines. To ensure that every team adopts the culture of security and utilizes technology to be at the top of their game from both a development and a security standpoint, the key is to bring people, process, and technology together. The era of transferring development and operations to the cloud for a more seamless experience will also be ushered in by DevSecOps. Frameworks for continuous integration (CI) will aid in automating security checks.
AppSealing comes to the rescue
Since applications are being created at an unprecedented rate. However, controlling security at the end or checking the security boxes when the product is set to be published tomorrow and development is complete may cause more harm than good. AppSealing, be aware that maintaining security might occasionally be challenging. Thus, solutions are created to guarantee that you handle security seamlessly with the least amount of effort. Our zero-coding application security solution comes into play here. We offer 24/7 threat analytics so you can concentrate on creating excellent applications. Give us a call if this sounds interesting; we’d be pleased to help you take a proactive yet zero-coding approach to mobile application security.
