Secure Your Business With DevSecOps Tools

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled."  ― Hermione Granger 

Hermione ensured every magical adventure was coupled with security, to avoid her worst nightmare – getting expelled. She is an absolute boss!

From escaping the Devil’s snare and saving Harry from the Cruciatus Curse to setting up protective enchantments; she was always eight steps ahead and honestly, saving her friends most of the time.

The tech world may not have Hermione to ensure safety at every step but we have our ways. Much like Harry, Ron and Hermione — the three pillars of Harry Potter — IT professionals rely on the holy tech trinity called DevSecOps.

Is DevSecOps just a new buzzword? Is it the same as DevOps? How does it work? How does this affect you?

Ron said when in doubt, go to the library read about it on TechDogs.com. The library is in session, read on for all about DevSecOps Tools!
 

What Are DevSecOps Tools?

Simply put, DevSecOps stands for Development, Security and Operations. It promotes a blameless culture that allows shared responsibility by teams to integrate security at each step of Application Security (AppSec).

How is this important? Imagine if the Ministry of Magic at Hogwarts started building the Azkaban prison and considered the security aspect only in its final stages. It’s too late because the operations and development team are busy filling the cracks which could lead to serious threats such as Bellatrix Lestrange breaking out or security breaches by dark wizards and witches unknown. #Scary

In our world, they are commonly known as hackers.


Traditionally, security was tested in the final stages of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). Today, it is weaved into every step of the SDLC, ensuring a secure foundation.  While this sounds fundamental today, let’s understand how it all began and where did it come from.
 

History Of DevSecOps Tools

Just as Harry Potter became a hero through a series of books, each one better than the last, DevSecOps Tools became smarter with each iteration. Here’s a look:
 

• The 1950s

  Waterfall – as the name suggests this process flows in a direction. When developing an app or software, there are countless complex steps involved. Basics such as writing code, developing, debugging, QA and so on. The developers worked on a code and the QA team worked tirelessly to test it. Glitches caused this cycle to go back and forth meaning it was generally a slow method for software development. It was also a siloed approach consisting of developers, operations and security – but this model endured for decades.

• 2001

  Agile – a community reaction to this old process. This new model aimed to meet Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) expectations. Agile required teams to work on multiple phases at the same time in shorter durations making a giant leap from Waterfall but it didn’t solve everything.

• The 2000s

  The detected errors or bugs by the security team were volleyed between the development and operations teams, each saying the matter was the other teams to fix. All three teams were siloed and IT operations and software development teams raised concerns about a level of dysfunction in the industry. Development and Operations collaborated but Security was left for the final stages.  

• The 2010s

  The development and operations teams became DevOps in 2009 but security continued to remain an afterthought. Soon, the security paradigm was changing but it continued to be a bottleneck in the SDLC. By the time the product reached security, the product was lacking, bugs and vulnerabilities were bursting and pressure from production was rampant for approvals. DevOps has produced a more dynamic environment for development.   

• The 2020s

  DevOps with security was now a no-brainer for younger cloud-centric companies. DevSecOps integrated security into DevOps processes but became primarily about collaboration, a blameless culture and setting the right process. With automated security testing constructed into each step of DevSecOps, this practice became an integral component of testing and development.

While the present may seem like it always existed, at TechDogs we pay homage to all the steps that came before to make the brilliant tech we leverage today. Now, let’s see how the magic happens!
 

How Do DevSecOps Tools Work?

Let’s recap – DevSecOps is the process of integrating security into every part of the SDLC, right from build to production. It uses a ‘Shift-left’ approach which means shifting security to the left side of the SDLC instead of the final stage. Different DevSecOps tools and processes involve ongoing, flexible collaboration between development, release management (or operations) and security teams.

DevSecOps integrates application and infrastructure security seamlessly into processes and tools, so security is built into each step of development, rather than applying it to the final stage. It addresses security issues as they emerge and focus on speed, cost to production and ease of operations helping maintain velocity without compromising security.


There are different stages of DevSecOps Tools based on the intent of the process:
 

• Plan

  This is the least automated stage which involves collaboration, discussion, review and strategy of security aspects.

• Build

  The build phase begins once developers commit code to the source repository. DevSecOps tools help write a more secure code in the code phase and can be automated and directly plugged into the CI/CD pipeline.

• Test

  The test phase is launched after the build is created and deployed to staging and testing environments.

• Deploy

  If the previous stages are successful, the plan moves to deployment into the live production system. By the release phase of the DevSecOps cycle, the application code and execution ability must be thoroughly tested.

• Observe

  Once an application is deployed and stable in a live production environment, companies must monitor and observe for attacks and leaks with automated security checks and security monitoring loops.  

So, does it work this way irrespective of the DevSecOps strategy? Well, no, there are some types you need to be aware of.
 

Types Of DevSecOps Tools 

Constantly managing risk, visibility, leaks, loopholes, security and breaches is not a one-team job. DevSecOps offer a comprehensive way to automate testing workflows and create a single source of truth of AppSec data. Given the countless complexities of modern software development, relying on manual testing slows even the most dynamic teams leaving plenty of room for error.

DevSecOps Tools have two main goals; to minimize risk in development pipelines by detecting and fixing security vulnerabilities through continuous security testing - without slowing down. The second, is to support security teams, allowing them to oversee the security of development projects without needing to manually review and approve every release. 

To achieve this, these are the most commonly used DevSecOps Tools:
 

• Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

  SAST allows developers to scan source code, binary code or byte codes in a non-running or static state identifying potential weaknesses and security issues that need fixing, frequently used in the build stage of the SDLC.

• Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

  This tool can scan the application and detects anomalies, quality issues and security vulnerabilities in open-source code mostly used in the build stage like SAST. If and when it detects a vulnerability, SCA provides a host of information like severity score, remediation guidance and the inclusion path to help users address the issue at hand.

• Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

  Checks for vulnerability in a running application and is often used later in the SDLC cycle. DAST tools inject malicious inputs within an application running state to identify potential security threats and do not require access to the source code. It identifies bugs that are important to security like cookie safety, content security policies, security headers and X-frame options.

• Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST)

  IAST tests the application in its running state, providing real-time analysis of security vulnerabilities while monitoring the application’s behavior and providing continuous feedback.

• Automated Testing Tools

  Testing is vast and some call it endless – it cannot be automated manually. DevSecOps Tools help automate processes by conducting unit tests (analyze individual units of the code), integrations tests (performed post-unit tests that deal with the interaction between units of code) and system tests (performed after integration tests, analyzes the entire application) and performance testing, regression testing and acceptance testing among areas that can be automated.

• Issue Tracking System

  These systems support several phases of DevSecOps activities. Key characteristics of the issue tracking system include automation, issue resolution tracking and history, change management, prioritization management and automated reporting capabilities.

You bet that comes with loads of benefits – scroll on!
 

Benefits Of DevSecOps Tools:

Whilst adopting this process and its wide range of applications sounds like a no-brainer, here are some benefits of DevSecOps tools:
 

• Improved Agility And Performance

  Security is always seen as a source of delay but this process inculcates faster development, increased delivery rate and faster speed of recovery in case of attacks and ensures continuous integration and development (CI/CD) in the SDLC. Advanced DevSecOps Tools take it a step ahead by leveraging AI-backed threat analysis.

• Automation And Scalability

  Speed is critical to software and by automating and implementing automated code verification checks into DevSecOps frameworks, one can ensure security uniformity. It also ensures that an application will be stable and less vulnerable to malicious attacks.

• Better Synergy

  DevSecOps Tools promote better collaboration and a blameless, symbiotic culture among IT professionals that are working towards the same goal. It helps streamline compliance reporting, which for all teams is an arduous task riddled with complications.

Talking about synergy – DevSecOps Tools will be needed across industries soon to develop better software solutions. Read on for the future!

Future: The New Era Of Cybersecurity

Gartner said DevSecOps was a natural and necessary evolution and can no longer be thought of as a consideration—it’s a necessity. Embracing DevSecOps means instigating a security-oriented culture and by building security into the SDLC from the start, organizations can ensure their AppSec to the best extent through all stages.

Automated security testing will be at the heart of DevSecOps, as security automation will become an integral component – from application security (AppSec) to CI/CD.  Today, DevOps teams are running more security scans than ever before: over 50% run SAST scans, 44% run DAST and around 50% scan containers and dependencies. Yet over 70% of the teams say the paradigm of security has shifted.

So, we expect the numbers to rise significantly in the future. So, what are you waiting for – adopt DevSecOps to secure your business’ future!
 

To Sum Up

We went through the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. Despite its dynamic nature, integration and transition take time but are essential. DevSecOps Tools can invariably make your software production processes more secure and reliable without excessively lengthening the SDLC or straining company resources.

To wrap this party up, we can conclude that DevSecOps Tools represent a workable, cost-efficient and robust solution to the present-day global cybersecurity landscape. Hey, to the DevOps teams that don’t let security a seat at the cool table, here’s something Hermione said: “It would be quite nice if you stopped jumping down our throats, Harry, because in case you haven’t noticed, Ron and I are on your side.”

We’re all on the same side – we all want AppSec to be better and what better way than DevSecOps Tools!