Aneesh Bhargav
Vishnu Prasad K
November 7, 2022

How to Get Started with DevSecOps

Table of Contents:
  1. Introduction
  2.  5 Crucial steps to Initiate DevSecOps
  • Plan ahead, develop threat models, and understand your app
  • Mold security to your existing workflow
  • Automate CI/CD pipeline
  • Gradually Shift Security Left
  • Train your whole product team
  1. Conclusion

Introduction

Product teams hate security because it 'disrupts' the dev cycle; they feel the security features, and bug fixes slow down the process. But you can't exactly deploy software with vulnerabilities, can you?

Software deployment without security entails a lack of IT control, crucial data breaches, application flaws and vulnerabilities, financial hazards, etc.

There's a clear solution: Implementing DevSecOps. But it's not easy to pull off.

With DevSecOps, one must understand that it is not just a tech-based change. Instead, one should see this as a paradigm shift for the entire team associated with the software development life cycle. You want to foster a culture that sees security as equal to Dev & Ops, not just a problem-causing 'add-on' that must be tolerated.

Crucially, your team needs to know that security does not equal delays in the SDLC. With the right approach & planning, security can easily keep up with DevOps.

The paramount reason to care about security along with DevOps is that the end-users or the customers highly rely on security. DevSecOps resolves security issues and enhances software quality. But one needs to know how to use DevSecOps. 

So, here are 5 infallible steps that every team leader can adopt while launching DevSecOps as their strategy. 

5 Crucial Steps to Initiate DevSecOps 

Step 1: Plan ahead, develop threat models and understand your app.

If one has to leverage all the benefits of DevSecOps, one must first get familiar with the application and the associated vulnerabilities. The best time to integrate threat modeling services in your SDLC is during the building phase of your application; the earlier the problem is identified, the faster it can be resolved. Threat models are highly recommended to get a clear understanding of the security issues that the application has. It also helps decipher the required security tests one needs to prioritize. 

Step 2: Integrate security into your existing development workflow.

Security shouldn't dictate how your app is developed. Instead, one should seek flexibility in it. If a security model is dictating the app development time, it will unnecessarily hamper the usual workflow of the team.

That said, you should still ensure product security isn't less effective as a result.

Step 3: Automate Your CI/CD Pipeline

Implementing the automated code verification for the DevSecOps framework is essential as it helps to identify the errors and point out remedies. One needs to automate security scans in the CI/CD pipelines for scalable and adequate security. Using SAST, DAST, IAST, and SCA can boost automating and have massive efficiency in the entire system. 

Step 4: Gradually Shift Security Left

Generally, one has to start with system monitoring post-deployment during the initial stage. But gradually, you need to shift your approach to security into the SDLC, to adopt 'Shifting left' and embrace it as a core part of the development pipeline. This will stop the security glitches at the nascent stage of the software delivery process. 

Step 5: Train Your Whole Product Team

Running software successfully needs collaboration within the team. It will only be possible when the unit is well-trained. But training the security team alone will not aid an organization. To obtain the maximum outcome with DevSecOps, the product team also requires sound security knowledge. 

One should focus on an array of team skill development through:

  • hands-on training
  • real-world skills
  • updated knowledge 

AppSecEngineer offers 7 courses in DevSecOps with the facility of 30 hands-on labs. Train your team for better results with the security measures with our multiple courses available on the subject.

Conclusion

We45 is a leading DevSecOps solutions provider, and we help to simplify its deployment for your company. Our vulnerability correlation engine, Orchestron, is deployed after the development, testing, and deployment phases. It automatically correlates and deduplicates vulnerabilities, manages false positives, and provides exhaustive information on each vulnerability. It provides the best of both worlds by combining the efficiency of security automation and the accuracy of manual testing.

We45 helps bring speed and security simultaneously to your company through our tailored DevSecOps solution.