Tips to Make DevSecOps a Reality

Security vulnerabilities are not leaving us even in 2020 and it is the major concern among IT organizations. In 2019, web application vulnerabilities had doubled as per the latest data from the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. If you are in software development, you need to do something about it and DevSecOps is a name you need to remember to address those security vulnerabilities. 

IT organizations need to change their approach a bit. They need to ensure that security is the first concern to avoid any vulnerabilities that can lead to a breach. Yes, speed of delivery is essential, but not the only concern. They need to focus more on the quality of software and security measures to accelerate the pace of digital transformation. 

How to achieve DevSecOps?

Most of the organizations are striving hard to achieve DevSecOps, but they sometimes fail to take the necessary steps. Here is a list of steps you need to follow throughout your entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). 

Make security a priority from day one

You cannot take care of security at the end of the SDLC. It is not the way. If you want to develop software with innovative features and functionalities, you need to ensure security measures from day one. Take for example the recent fiasco of Zoom where security vulnerabilities make the company suffer. 

Schedule a team meeting with everyone from technical developers to architects to testers to scrum developers and ask them to keep security the first concern. From day one, it should be your priority to make DevSecOps a reality. During each stage of software development, ensure that security measures are placed before moving to the next stage. 

However, you also need to ensure that you are not jeopardizing the quality of the product. You cannot blunder there as it will lead to functionality issues and you will be creating more and more versions of your software. This should not be the case. 

One Size Fits All does not happen with Security 

Security is not a monolith that can be fitted in any software product. It is a wide-ranging term that incorporates different areas such as authentication, access control, confidentiality, integrity, non-repudiation, and others. When you apply a single approach, you are going to fail as it might not address all these areas. 

When you develop software, you need to think from a user’s perspective. What they look for and what are their issues. It might be keeping your users’ personal information confidential and what to do when such security breaches happen. If you are making a corporate product, you can imagine types of attacks such as compromised credentials and password attacks. 

All team members must be trained professionals when it comes to security threats and techniques. They can develop various types of threat models and work on that to achieve expertise while countering security threat issues. It will ensure that the applications you develop are secure and safe to use. 

Don’t overcomplicate security

There is a common misconception among IT organizations that security is a problem that can be solved by only highly trained and skilled individuals who charge higher payouts. Well, skills are necessary for some high-end architecture reviews and audits, but not for basic security checks. For example, if you want to ensure the latest release of the product, you don’t need to hire a skilled professional for that. By using standard static and dynamic analysis tools, you can resolve security issues with the help of testers and developers. 

Conclusion

DevSecOps is the need of the hour, to ensure that you have taken all security measures into considerations before releasing the product. Security vulnerabilities are annoying and you can make DevSecOps a reality by following steps discussed in this post.