Top 5 DevSecOps Best Practices to Secure DevOps Workflow

Organizations today face relentless pressure to deliver applications quickly. To achieve this, many have adopted DevOps, a methodology that promotes communication, collaboration, and integration between software development and IT operations teams. While speed is being focused, security cannot be an afterthought, especially considering the numerous security breaches that have recently impacted businesses.

DevOps initially focused on integrating development and operations teams to streamline software development. However, as the methodology evolved, it became clear that security needed to be a top priority. This was especially true for public cloud platforms. Public cloud providers manage the underlying infrastructure security, but the responsibility for securing applications and data within the cloud environment falls on the customer. This shared responsibility model necessitates a proactive security posture from development and operations teams. As a result, security best practices were incorporated into the DevOps framework. This shift gave rise to "DevSecOps," where security is integrated into every stage of the DevOps process.

What is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps is a software development methodology that unifies Development, Security, and Operations with a consistent focus on security throughout every stage of the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). This means security factors are prioritized alongside development and operations tasks rather than being addressed at the final phase (just before deployment). DevSecOps automates tasks like code scanning and issue reporting to help organizations minimize vulnerabilities and secure their applications.

How Does DevSecOps Resolve Traditional Security Challenges?

In the past, security teams often treated application security as a second thought, focusing on building firewalls around the infrastructure. This "perimeter security" approach worked for traditional on-premises deployments, but it fails when applications move to the cloud, containers, or serverless computing.

Additionally, introducing security checks at the very end of the development process caused friction between development and security teams. This slowed down the entire process and hindered businesses from reaping the benefits of faster deployment cycles promised by DevOps.

Let's explore how DevSecOps addresses these challenges and integrates security seamlessly throughout the development process.

• Faster Application Delivery through Ongoing Security Integration

  Security checks at the end of the development process created bottlenecks among developers, forcing them to wait for security approval before moving forward. This delay could significantly slow down software delivery and frustrate development teams. DevSecOps integrates security controls across the entire Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). By catching security issues early, DevSecOps eliminates the need for last-minute fixes that can delay releases.

• Advanced Security Testing to Check Your Code

  DevSecOps utilizes a variety of testing methods to examine potential security weaknesses. Static Application Security Testing (SAST) scans the codebase for vulnerabilities, while Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) evaluates running applications for security issues. This approach helps DevSecOps identify vulnerabilities in both the application and its runtime environment.

• Automates Security Checks

  Repetitive tasks such as code scanning, vulnerability assessments, and compliance checks can be automated with security automation tools. These tools significantly reduce the manual workload for security experts, allowing developers to get faster feedback on potential security problems.

• Breaking Down Silos

  DevSecOps fosters collaboration between developers and security teams, breaking down the traditional silos that often hinder effective communication and cooperation. This collaborative approach enables them to identify potential security issues early, share insights, and develop strategies to address vulnerabilities as they arise. This mutual understanding leads to more effective problem-solving and a shared commitment to producing secure, high-quality software.

• Cost Saving Opportunities

  Implementing DevSecOps principles can lead to significant cost savings by streamlining development and software delivery processes. By detecting and resolving security issues in real-time, DevSecOps reduces the need for extensive fixes later, saving time and resources. This efficiency allows DevOps teams to complete projects with fewer working hours, reducing labor costs.

  To fully reap these benefits of DevSecOps, you must implement the following best practices. Here are six essential DevSecOps best practices for enhancing DevOps security, which will help you build secure, reliable, and high-performing applications from the ground up.

6 DevSecOps Best Practices for DevOps Security

1. Implement Continuous Threat Modeling

   Threat modeling involves a structured approach to identifying potential threats to your systems and data, analyzing their impact, and implementing mitigation strategies. This proactive method helps developers build applications that are "secure by design" by foreseeing and countering potential vulnerabilities.

   Implementation Best Practices

   • Conduct Threat Modeling Workshops early in the development lifecycle during the design and planning stages. These sessions should involve brainstorming potential threats, assessing their impact and likelihood, and creating mitigation strategies. Utilizing Threat Modeling Frameworks like STRIDE enables systematic identification and analysis of security threats across six key risk categories:
   • Spoofing: Involves the impersonation of someone else, potentially leading to unauthorized access.
   • Tampering: Refers to the unauthorized modification of data, compromising its integrity.
   • Repudiation: Denial of an action's occurrence, creating challenges in establishing accountability.
   • Information Disclosure Unauthorized access to sensitive data, leading to potential privacy breaches.
   • Denial of Service: Disruption of service access, rendering systems unavailable to legitimate users.
   • Elevation of Privilege: Unauthorized access to system or data, allowing attackers to gain elevated permissions and control.
   • Make threat modeling an ongoing process throughout the development lifecycle. As new threats emerge or the application evolves, continuously update the threat model to address new vulnerabilities.

2. Automate Security Checks

   Manual security testing can be time-consuming, prone to human error, and hinder development speed. Automating security processes is a fundamental aspect of DevSecOps, designed to streamline workflows and minimize human error. By automating security testing, vulnerability scanning, and configuration management, you can ensure consistent security checks on your development and testing environment.

   Implementation Best Practices

   • Integrate Security Testing Tools into the CI/CD Pipeline

     Integrate security tools into your CI/CD pipeline to automatically initiate security tests upon code commits or deployments. This ensures that security testing is continuously conducted throughout the development lifecycle.

     Example Tools Jenkins, Travis CI, and GitLab CI/CD are widely-used tools that enable automated testing and security checks at various stages of the development pipeline.

   • Automate Infrastructure Provisioning and Configuration Management with IaC Tools

     Use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools to automate infrastructure provisioning and configuration management. This simplifies infrastructure management and promotes secure practices through defined infrastructure settings.

     Example Tools Terraform, Ansible, and AWS CloudFormation help automate and secure infrastructure provisioning.

   • Automate Security Incident Response

     Develop automated workflows for security incident response. These workflows should include threat detection, containment, and remediation tasks to minimize the impact of security incidents.

     Example Tools Splunk, PagerDuty, and AWS Lambda can help automate and streamline incident response processes.

3. Perform Vulnerability Scan on Containers

   Container security has become a critical aspect of DevSecOps due to the widespread adoption of containerization. This practice helps prevent unauthorized access and ensures that containers remain free from vulnerabilities. This approach includes:

   • Scan Container Images for Vulnerabilities

     Always perform vulnerability scans on container images before deploying them. This helps to identify and fix security issues early in the development process.

     Example Tools Docker Security Scanning, Clair, and Anchore to perform thorough vulnerability scans on container images. These tools can automatically detect known vulnerabilities and provide guidance on how to address them.

   • Secure Container Runtimes

     Ensure that containers run with the least privilege necessary and are isolated from each other to minimize the impact of a potential compromise. Deploy runtime security tools to continuously monitor container activity and generate alerts for suspicious behavior or policy violations.

     Example Tools gVisor and Kata Containers to provide additional layers of isolation and security for container runtimes.

   • Implement Security Best Practices in Container Orchestration Platforms

     Configure Kubernetes with security best practices to protect against potential threats. This includes setting up role-based access control (RBAC), network policies, and secrets management.

     Example Tools Kubernetes-native security tools like Open Policy Agent (OPA) for policy enforcement and Kubernetes Security Posture Management (KSPM) tools to continuously monitor and manage the security posture of your Kubernetes clusters.

   • Use Image Signing and Verification

     Use image signing to verify the integrity and authenticity of container images. This ensures that only trusted and verified images are deployed.

     Example Tools Notary or Cosign to sign and verify container images.

   • Regularly Update and Patch Containers

     Regularly update container images with the latest security patches to address newly discovered vulnerabilities. Implement automated systems to track and apply updates to container images, ensuring that they are always up to date.

4. Use Secure Coding Practices

   Secure coding practices are fundamental in preventing security vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers. By educating developers on these practices, you can minimize the risk of human error, which is the main cause of security flaws in code.

   Best Practices for Implementing Secure Coding

   • Educate Your Developers

     Invest in training programs that teach developers about secure coding practices and common security vulnerabilities. Familiarize them with resources like the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) list and the OWASP Top Ten, which highlight frequent security issues and how to avoid them.

   • Establish Coding Standards
     • Develop and enforce coding guidelines that incorporate secure coding practices. These standards should cover aspects such as input validation, error handling, authentication, and authorization.
     • Implement a rigorous code review process where code is checked against the established security standards. Peer reviews help identify potential security issues early in the development cycle.
     • Create detailed documentation of secure coding standards and ensure it is easily accessible to all developers.
     • Regularly review and update coding standards to align with new security practices and technologies.

5. Implement Strong Secret Management Practices

   In a DevOps environment, the collaboration between development and operations teams often requires sharing privileged information such as account credentials, API access tokens, and SSH keys. Without proper secrets management, this sensitive data can be exposed, leading to potential security breaches. Implementing strong secrets management practices helps prevent your DevOps infrastructure from unauthorized access.

   Best Practices for Implementing Secrets Management

   • Adopt a Centralized Secrets Management Solution
     • Use platforms like HashiCorp's Vault or AWS Secrets Manager to securely store, access, and manage secrets. These solutions provide encryption, access controls, and automated secret rotation.
     • Ensure that access to secrets is tightly controlled and monitored. Implement role-based access controls (RBAC) to limit who can view or use specific secrets.
   • Rotate Secrets Regularly
     • Establish a schedule for rotating secrets, such as API keys and database credentials, to minimize the window of opportunity for attackers to exploit compromised secrets.
     • Utilize automated tools to handle secret rotation. This reduces the risk of human error and ensures that secrets are updated consistently.
   • Avoid Hardcoding Secrets in Code
     • Use environment variables to inject secrets into applications during runtime. Ensure that they are not exposed to the codebase or version control systems.
     • Leverage secrets management platforms to dynamically inject secrets into your applications, keeping them secure and out of the code.
   • Implement Secure Secret Sharing Practices
     • Ensure secrets are encrypted both during transmission and while stored to prevent unauthorized access.
     • Maintain logs of all access and changes to secrets to detect any unauthorized access or anomalies promptly.
   • Educate Teams on Secure Practices
     • Provide training to development and operations teams on the importance of secrets management and best practices for handling sensitive information.
     • Develop and enforce policies for secrets management to ensure that all team members follow secure practices.

   Encouraging a security-first mindset is fundamental to the success of DevSecOps. By promoting the concept of 'shift left' security, organizations aim to prioritize security as the top consideration from the beginning of the SDLC timeline rather than as an afterthought. Additionally, by adopting the shared security responsibility model, you can ensure that both development and operations teams collaborate closely with security professionals and distribute security responsibilities across the entire lifecycle.

Optimize Security Integration with Gsoft’s Managed Security Services

Modern software development demands both speed and security. Gsoft Cloud's unified approach addresses both, boosting development efficiency while fostering a "security-first" culture. By adopting DevSecOps methodologies with Gsoft Cloud, you can safeguard your applications and data without compromising on agility or development speed.

Schedule a demo today to learn more about our developer-first DevSecOps tools and take the next step toward securing your software development lifecycle with Gsoft Cloud.