What is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps is a philosophical framework that combines aspects of software development, security, and operations into a cohesive whole.

As the software development life cycle speeds up and scales out into the global marketplace, organizations must adapt their processes to become more efficient while providing a high-quality user experience that is secure and compliant. DevSecOps allows organizations to combine previously separate teams and processes into a single unit to demolish silos and embrace a “shift left” approach to security.

With DevSecOps, developers are more aware of and responsible for maintaining security best practices within their code. It also means operations and security teams implement tools and policies that provide regular security checks throughout the continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline.

What is the DevSecOps methodology?

The following features characterize the DevSecOps methodology:

• Shift Left Security: Traditional development pipelines place security checks near or after deployment. Shifting security processes left reduces the likelihood of data exposure or security breaches while decreasing security-related bottlenecks.
• Automation: Relying on automated processes speeds up routine development and testing tasks and minimizes the risk of introducing human error into the product.
• Collaboration and Communication: Teams work together to apply best practices throughout the development processes and address vulnerabilities as they arise.
• A Culture of Shared Responsibility: Developers, security, and operations teams are all responsible for the quality of the final product. This sense of ownership leads to developer autonomy and improves collaboration. Rather than focusing on shifting blame when things go wrong, DevSecOps reframes regular constructive feedback as a positive outcome designed to iterate on and improve processes.
• Continuous Monitoring and Feedback: Regular monitoring of development pipelines ensures teams catch vulnerabilities quickly and flag them for remediation.
• Scalability and Flexibility: DevSecOps applies best practices that allow developers to maintain high levels of security, even when they scale up their products to a global audience of millions of users.
• Integration of Security Into Development Pipelines: Rather than placing security checks at or near the end of the CI/CD pipeline, DevSecOps shifts them left and places them at regular intervals to catch vulnerabilities before they enter production.
• Risk-Based Approach: Effective risk assessment and remediation processes allow teams to work more efficiently, targeting vulnerabilities that immediately impact business risk.
• Compliance and Governance: DevSecOps treats compliance as a core part of development rather than an afterthought through regular automated checks against robust control sets.

How DevSecOps fits into the development pipeline

Before applying DevSecOps

Traditionally, CI/CD pipelines place security checks at the end of the process, which works well as long as everything runs smoothly. But the moment security teams discover a vulnerability, development bottlenecks rapidly begin to form. The security team reports the vulnerability to the development team, who is likely already working on the next update. Now, the developers must drop what they’re doing and address this vulnerability along with the other work piling up on their already busy schedules.

In addition to negatively impacting development workflows, putting security checks at the end of the pipeline increases the likelihood of security flaws finding their way into production, making bottlenecks all but inevitable.

This approach made more sense before the advent of microservices and the need for rapid, daily updates. Now, development infrastructure is far more complex and attack surfaces are much larger, so organizations need a more robust approach that aligns developers, security, and operations toward a unified goal.

After applying DevSecOps

With a DevSecOps philosophy, organizations develop and foster cross-team collaboration throughout the CI/CD pipeline. The security team is no longer a separate entity — it is now embedded into development and operations processes, working with everyone to optimize the organization’s security posture.

DevSecOps shifts security responsibilities to developers, who must implement best practices while they work. Doing so will reduce the likelihood of security vulnerabilities entering the CI/CD pipeline in the first place.

However, even the best developer can’t catch everything. A DevSecOps approach also incorporates security checks into the build, test, deliver, and deploy phases of the CI/CD pipeline, relying on automated tools to monitor and analyze code against security and compliance control sets. As these checks discover new vulnerabilities, developers can prioritize and remediate these issues to avoid introducing potential security risks into production.

Benefits of DevSecOps

• More Secure Environments: A proactive approach to security is less likely to introduce flawed code into production and is more likely to catch vulnerabilities when they arise.
• More Efficient Processes: Development teams are less likely to drop everything to implement security fixes that security teams discover at the last minute, and a well-tuned machine can deploy quality code faster and more reliably.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Developers no longer view security requests as impediments to delivering code, so there’s less friction between teams. Security teams are more aware of development and operational needs, and developers and operations teams can implement security best practices into the infrastructure.
• Better Use of Developer Time: With developers spending less time patching security vulnerabilities, they can spend more time adding value to the product.
• Compliant Framework: Meet and enforce security and legal requirements more predictably by strategically placing automated compliance checks.

DevSecOps best practices

Building DevSecOps processes won’t happen overnight. You must find ways to integrate its framework into all aspects of the development pipeline. To start your transition on the right foot, consider implementing the following best practices.

• Shift Company Culture Toward DevSecOps: DevSecOps requires a fundamental change in how teams think about security. Rather than keeping security checks at the end of the CI/CD pipeline, you must break down the silos formed between teams and integrate security checks throughout development processes. Bring the security team into developer meetings, train IT employees on security processes, and encourage development and operations teams to contact the security team for insight.
• Automate Security Processes: The CI/CD pipeline already uses automated testing, building, and deployment processes to maximize developer efficiency and speed up deployment times. Likewise, you should lean on automated security tools to detect vulnerabilities as code moves through the pipeline.
• Continuously Monitor the Pipeline: Employ monitoring and automation tools to detect issues and improve process efficiencies. Tools like CrowdStrike Falcon® Cloud Security regularly scan your entire infrastructure for blind spots or misconfigurations that could lead to security risks, making them essential for speeding up deployment times without sacrificing quality.
• Regularly Evaluate and Iterate Processes: Adopting a DevSecOps approach isn’t a one-and-done process. Malicious actors continuously evolve their tactics, and security teams are constantly discovering new vulnerabilities. As a result, your organization should analyze its own processes regularly and adapt them based on what works for your team and your product.
• Use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to Enhance Security: IaC makes infrastructure provisioning more manageable by automating and systematizing configuration. Likewise, IaC offers similar benefits to managing security configurations and compliance policies, ensuring everyone in your organization works from a similar foundation.

DevSecOps tools

Get started with CrowdStrike

A successful shift to a DevSecOps framework requires a solid foundation. Learn how CrowdStrike Falcon Cloud Security enables this approach with robust workload protection, container security, posture management, and automated compliance tools.

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