FeatureA tension between developers and security is often talked about and making the two sides work together might sound fanciful. But shifting left can make a real difference, moving security from the end of the software development lifecycle to an earlier point in the process.
By employing security tools as part of the development pipeline, developers can end their nightmare of trying to sort out security flaws at the end of a development process.
DevSecOps is the term that sums up the cultural change that needs to happen to end these and other shortcomings. With DevSecOps, teams creating applications should not just be aware of how code is developed and deployed in the cloud and elsewhere but also how it is secured in operations.
DevSecOps means embedding security into everything so that all touch points across the software development lifecycle contain a security element.
The goal of DevSecOps is to make both DevOps and security processes much more efficient and allow for spotting possible problems much earlier.
So, with this in mind, what are the critical elements for success?
One obvious one is how to break down the barriers that exist between development and security teams in a positive way. There are several approaches like embedding a security person in a development team or training developers on security best practices.
DevSecOps is the term that sums up the cultural change that needs to happen to end these and other shortcomings
Whatever approach is chosen, a critical step is overcoming communication barriers. A common misconception is that security is only about saying no—to any request—in the name of reducing risk. From a security perspective, there is another misconception that developers only care about delivering code, and security means less to them. Neither viewpoint is fundamentally true.
While open lines of communication and mutual understanding are key it is equally important that DevSecOps teams have a toolset that is similarly integrated and capable of tracking and addressing the changes that might be happening in your organisation.
DevSecOps means embedding security into everything so that all touch points across the software development lifecycle contain a security element.
Whether we are talking about changes in cloud providers, the deployment stack, or something else, there is a clear need to have a platform that will work where you are—in the cloud or on-premises.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty organisations encounter when trying to bake security into development is too often that everyone wants the easy answer. In other words, good enough security but that is never a great idea.
The goal of DevSecOps is to make both DevOps and security processes much more efficient and allow for spotting possible problems much earlier.
Challenging this requires some heavy lifting in how an organisation’s security mindset makes it clear that there is going to be some work on everybody’s part. There is no easy middle way on this.
Shifting left and cultivating DevSecOps will take time. There’s a dual job of investing in tools that enable developers and security teams to work together; and making real effort to erase communication barriers, develop the right culture, and establish processes that enable developers and security professionals to work together for common purpose.
A common misconception is security is about saying no—to any request, another misconception is developers only care about delivering code with security meaning less.
