Cyberattacks are on the rise, and software vulnerabilities are becoming increasingly common. In May 2023, MOVEit (file transfer application) was exploited by SQL injection, a recent and substantial zero-day vulnerability attack. Around 2650 organizations have been impacted due to this attack.
This again implies the growing need to follow the ‘Secure-by-Design’ approach in the software development lifecycle(SDLC). The end product will resist all kinds of cyber attacks by implementing application security solutions at every stage of the software development process.
Security Risks in DevOps
DevOps follows an iterative software development process fostering streamlined and faster delivery. Developers see the security as an interference because they want to get the software into the pipeline as quickly as possible.
On the other hand, the security services wants to find and resolve as many vulnerabilities as possible. DevOps security issues start from this conflict and branch out. The security risks in DevOps include,
- Cloud Security: The attack surface on the cloud is large and has a potential risk of exposing critical data due to misconfiguration.
- Fragile Toolsets: A mix of open-source and commercial products can introduce security vulnerabilities.
- Collaboration Gap: Risk of exposing credentials due to the development and operations team collaboration gap.
- Untrustable containers: Publicly available container images can be malicious.
Usually, security is considered an afterthought rather than a foundational aspect. This can affect the fast-paced DevOps process while risking the application’s security. Secure-by-Design was introduced to overcome these challenges and to ensure web application security from design to operation.
How to Build a Secure-by-Design DevOps Pipeline
DevSecOps ensures that security is integrated at every stage of SDLC, that the software is safe from vulnerabilities for its entire lifespan, and that it improves overall resilience. Here’s a detailed breakdown of integrating security in the DevOps pipeline.
- Plan and Develop
Use a shift-left approach and move security activities earlier in the development cycle. This helps to identify and address potential risks at the early stages. Create a threat model and assess the possible dangers that could exploit the web application security. The threat model will help find the areas of weakness and prioritize the risks.
Clear security and functional requirements are crucial in the planning phase. Train the developers with secure coding practices that can help them write code by adhering to the security measures and will make the code resistant to common attacks like SQL injection and XSS in default.
- Build and Code
During the building phase, utilize Static Application Security Testing (SAST) tools to analyze the code without executing it. Complement SAST with Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) tools, which can help detect security weaknesses early.
Integrate automated security tests in the build pipeline to scan the code continuously and whenever changes are made. If the application uses containers, scan them for vulnerabilities and ensure that the libraries within the container are secure. Also, ensure the container images are signed and verified to prevent unauthorized modifications.
- Test and Deploy
Before deployment, tests like smoke and API testing should be performed to confirm that the application security solution is working. Smoke testing will provide feedback on the working of critical functionalities and features of the application. API testing tools can scan for vulnerabilities in the application’s exposed interfaces.
If there is any misconfiguration in the deployment scripts, it can also be a potential risk. Scan the scripts before deployment.
- Monitor and Respond
After the deployment, application security services implement continuous monitoring tools to track application activity and identify suspicious behavior. Establish a central logging system to collect security-related information and identify security issues.
Analyze the security logs in real time using SIEM. This can help to respond to security issues faster. Utilize threat detection tools to detect unusual activity, potential intrusions, or data exfiltration attempts. This helps to be proactive in remediation.
By implementing security at every step of the DevOps pipeline, the gap between the developer and security team can be filled, and we can make sure that the application built at the end of the pipeline is more secure from the ground up.
5 Crucial Benefits of Secure-by-Design
Integrating Secure-by-Design benefits the DevOps Lifecycle in many ways. Some of them are,
Offers Proactive Security: Security threats can be fixed as soon as they are detected and prevented from future threats.
- Quick Software Delivery: If the security issues were detected at the end of SDLC, it will take a long time to deliver. But now the problems will be resolved instantly, ensuring quick delivery time.
- Improved Collaboration: The Secure-by-Design approach allows the development, operational, and security teams to work together. This enhanced communication ensures that security issues are considered at every step.
- Continuous Monitoring: Continuous monitoring minimizes the attacker’s chance to breach the application security solution.
- Reduced Costs and Risks: Fixing the security problems when the application is live is more expensive than fixing it in the development stage. It also reduces the risk of security concerns on the customer side.
Bottom Line
As cyberattacks have become more frequent, it is the responsibility of enterprises to protect their users from any kind of security threats. Integrating security into the DevOps lifecycle is one acceptable approach to achieve this.
A secure-by-design strategy makes addressing security concerns easy and ensures faster software delivery. Moreover, it can benefit businesses in various ways, enhancing the security posture, reducing costs, and improving trust. It can also guarantee that the web application’s security can withstand future threats.
