Gone are the days when efficiency alone was the primary concern in software development. DevOps methodology emerged as a logical response to the call for increased efficiency and shorter development times. However, as new technologies and modern approaches such as agile processes impact software development processes, there is now a rising demand for sophisticated security measures alongside efficiency.
This security gap wasn’t fully appreciated until many businesses experienced data breaches. In 2024, the global average data breach cost reached $4.88M, emphasizing the critical need for robust security measures to protect organizations from costly cyber threats. Fortunately, a solution has emerged.
DevSecOps, a portmanteau of Development, Security, and Operations, bridges this security gap in DevOps processes. It aims to elevate security to the same level as development and operations by integrating it seamlessly into the development lifecycle.
The beauty of DevSecOps is that addressing the security issue unlocks numerous other benefits. In the sections below, we’ll explore the top 5 benefits of adopting DevSecOps in your organization.
1. Cost-Saving on Resource Management
Abraham Lincoln stated, “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
There is always a price to pay, whether for getting the right knowledge or ignoring it. In the case of software/app management, not investing in DevSecOps because of a lack of funds or expertise to support your team could lead to spending heavily on fixing vulnerabilities, data breaches, or cybersecurity threats on a completed project.
As software development usually involves several dependencies, components, or applications to achieve a working system, vulnerability is possible at any point. However, when software development teams and project managers have a good knowledge of DevSecOps, security becomes a critical consideration throughout the project lifecycle. With DevSecOps in view, fixing code errors early is more cost-effective, saving organizations from further financial stress, time, and human overhead.
2. Risk Reduction
As mentioned earlier, DevSecOps considers security from the ground up through automation, so data breaches or software errors become minimal or eliminated by the end of the project. DevSecOps’ reliance on automation improves developers’ efficiency throughout the development and deployment pipeline and eliminates potential human error.
Even when new components are being introduced during the project, security tools will quickly detect, flag, and patch vulnerabilities that may lead to future cybersecurity breaches. The goal is to reduce/eliminate risk by fixing flaws at every stage of the SDLC. DevSecOps’ integrated security workflow for risk assessment ensures code quality and continuous security, and prevents bugs during the process. This makes it a better approach compared to DevOps, which addresses risks in the deployment stage, exposing organizations to potential vulnerabilities from flaws in web application coding.
3. Compliance Management
The software engineering process goes beyond code writing and testing for functionality before deployment. There are also critical compliance checks for every software project, such as regulatory, privacy, ethical, industry, quality assurance, etc. With these broad checklists, work efficiency and security management may be compromised.
As continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) are already the core of DevSecOps, implementing continuous compliance checks will be advantageous. Also, continuously auditing and reporting compliance status are helpful approaches to maintaining compliance during development.
With DevSecOps, organizations can ensure that all security procedures in the pipeline comply with all legal requirements, protecting data and eliminating legal risks.
4. Increased Collaboration
In the traditional DevOps processes, security may be done at a separate phase or team. Still, with the DevSecOps approach, security is a shared responsibility from the beginning, involving developers, operations, and security teams equally. So rather than having a team of experts work separately on the security compliance of a software project, DevSecOps brings everyone together.
Also, instead of each project team developers, security experts, and operation managers working separately on their core responsibilities, DevSecOps aligns them on a common goal of quickly delivering secure, high-quality software. This alignment fosters knowledge-sharing, trust, collaboration, creativity, and team cooperation, reducing potential conflicts.
Finally, it encourages everyone to openly discuss security challenges and solutions, improving collaboration across the board.
5. Improved Security & Quality
DevSecOps is a security-first culture where security is considered a core component at every stage of the development process. By integrating security at every stage, from planning to post-production, there’s a higher possibility of delivering robust software with fewer/no bugs and vulnerabilities. This results in the release of reliable products that build customer trust, improving brand reputation and customer satisfaction.
To avoid security compromises, the DevSecOps security framework integrates automated vulnerability management tools like scanners, static code analysis, and security testing into the CI/CD pipeline. This ensures continuous security monitoring without slowing down the development process.
Even after the software project, DevSecOps ensures security is shifted to the right through automation for security breaches, compliance issues, and potential risks. This provides real-time threat detection and prompt response.
DevSecOps Best Practices
The ever-increasing security needs in software projects have made DevSecOps an essential topic in the IT space. But what working principles make it a more effective alternative to DevOps? Here are some DevSecOps best practices guiding its success.
Automation
As much as delivering software products quickly is critical, quality and security matters. And the best way to achieve this is by automating critical and repetitive tasks. Therefore, DevSecOps integrates automated workflows in the security management of software processes. This helps organizations enforce security policies and procedures early in development, reducing the risk of security incidents.
Threat Modeling
As part of the security-first approach, DevSecOps integrate threat modeling into its processes to help project teams identify possible risky events that may show up and the countermeasures to combat them. This fosters a proactive approach to security management.
Continuous Testing
Continuous testing is one of the core principles of DevSecOps as it helps developers work with bug-free codes by identifying vulnerabilities during the early development phase. One of the best approaches to continuous testing in DevSecOps is using dynamic application security testing (DAST) to spot those vulnerabilities quickly and access real-time results.
Shift-Left and Shift-Right
DevSecOps security-first approach doesn’t imply a once-for-all security check but security at the core of every software development lifecycle (SDLC) and operational level. In DevSecOps, this concept is considered shift left and shift right. Shift left involves automating security checks at the earliest stage of development such as the planning, coding, designing, and implementation phases.
The shift right concept concerns the production stage security checks which may extend into the post-production phase. The goal is to ensure that applications are secure throughout their lifecycle as you don’t want to lose sight of new vulnerabilities and loopholes for attackers to launch. Therefore, shift right implements continuous monitoring to catch and fix any new errors promptly.
Conclusion – Enhance Your DevSecOps Approach With GAP
Till now, manual security and compliance procedures have proven insufficient in mitigating the tactics of cyber attackers. As highlighted above, DevSecOps, an extension of DevOps in software development, is a proactive approach to quickly getting your products to the market without compromising security and quality. This builds customers’, stakeholders’, and collaborators’ trust.
If you need DevSecOps consulting service, partner with GAP today. We have proven records of technical expertise in security infrastructure management, application development, and operation to increase your projects’ security and reliability. We can work with you on your next project by augmenting your existing team of software engineers or by guiding you with new best practices toward achieving a successful DevSecOps-oriented application/software management.
Are you ready to plunge in and experience security-driven app development workflow? Contact us to build a secure workflow for your software processes.
DevSecOps FAQs
How does DevSecOps differ from traditional software development?
DevSecOps differs from traditional software in that it automates security integration at every stage of software development.
What role does automation play in DevSecOps?
While security is the primary concern of DevSecOps, automation is its driving force. Automation helps DevSecOps by minimizing human errors due to manual checks, streamlining workflows, and optimizing available resources.
How can the gap between development and security teams be bridged?
The best way to bridge the gap between development and security in software development is by leveraging DevSecOps best practices such as automation, shift left measures, continuous testing, and more.
How does DevSecOps align with agile and continuous delivery practices?
DevSecOps aligns with agile and continuous delivery by ensuring security checks at every stage of frequent releases of the agile approach and ensuring team collaboration in maintaining high-quality and security-focused projects.
