Talking about IT security today means talking about how companies approach the topic and how they intend to mitigate risks. The stakes are too high: companies affected by a cyberattack record damages quantifiable in millions of euros. And cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and more frequent every year.
Therefore, working on IT security can no longer be a icing on the cake: it must be the cake. Strengthening IT security by applying DevSecOps (crasis of “development”, “security” and “operations”) methods means optimizing and configuring the processes linked to the software development cycle. The objective is to ensure that risks are inherently mitigated and that the organization approaches application development in a phased manner, taking advantage of expected good practices, from shift left through to the integration of tools that automate the search for possible vulnerabilities and risks in the code.
IT security: an increasingly delicate situation
Nowadays, IT security is one of the priorities of organizations. It shouldn’t be surprising. In fact, an analysis by Clusit, recorded that from 2022 to 2023, serious attacks increased by 12% with a peak of 270 serious attacks in April. But above all, it is the Italian situation that is worrying: in our country, in fact, attacks grew by 65% from 2022 to 2023.
IT security, then, must become the cornerstone of application development processes: instead of reacting, companies are called upon to prevent possible vulnerabilities, even critical ones, in the code from putting internal systems and those of customers at risk, in the case of applications provided to third parties. Or that a third-party tool, perhaps in the cloud, can represent an open door to the company network.
DevOps good practices are the first line of defense to protect your business and employees from cyberattacks.
IT Security: DevSecOps Best Practices
The DevSecOps methodology is a significant paradigm shift. Applied to the software development cycle, it encompasses a set of good practices that ensure more robust and secure applications and consequently avoid the inherent security risks in the conventional method.
Establish clear processes
One of the first initiatives to implement is to establish security processes and implement them. This is an important phase because, first of all, it establishes the priorities to follow, but also because it ensures that all the figures involved are aware of what to do in each situation. Moreover, it represents a time for reflection on what vulnerabilities can affect the company and with what impact. Not all vulnerabilities are created equal, and some are far worse than others.
IT Security: Switch to “shift left”
Imagining the software development cycle as a line that extends from the left (the beginning) to the right (the end), the “shift left” approach – which means, precisely, moving to the left – implies ensuring that security is integrated already at the beginning of software development. Even before starting to write the code, during the design phase, it is essential that IT security experts are involved and inserted into the context of that specific application. In doing so, risk assessment and threat modeling moments will be added already in the design phase, so that risk mitigation systems can be evaluated and configured. This is the only way to ensure that security policies are adopted and respected.
Automate vulnerability search
A further good practice of DevSecOps that offers significant benefits to the corporate IT security level is the integration of tools, such as asset management software, that can automate the search for vulnerabilities while the developer writes the code. This means that in near real-time the changes are checked: in case of a possible vulnerability, the user is notified by the system. In this way, it can immediately intercept the problem and solve it, or apply an exception if necessary. Automated systems allow you to take action before a problem becomes bigger to manage, but without hindering or slowing down the work of developers.
Training is relevant
In the process of optimizing processes related to IT security, it is central that the organization provides training courses, which can also be vertical on specific aspects of development or on specific roles. The workshops help bring developers closer to the needs of cybersecurity and allow them to metabolize a new working method, which will then be used daily at work.
What is meant by DevSecOps?
DevSecOps is an increasingly popular practice in application security that involves introducing security early in the software development lifecycle. It also incentivizes and facilitates collaboration between development and operational teams (as was already the case in DevOps, whose evolution it represents in many ways) to include security teams in software deployment cycles. It was born as a response to the growing need for security, allowing the concept of security by design theorized for some time to materialize.
DevSecOps requires a further paradigm shift, both at a process and cultural level, on the part of the teams involved. In fact, it introduces the principle that sees security as a shared responsibility. Everyone involved in the software lifecycle has a role and task to integrate security into the workflow and to drive continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD).
DevSecOps procedure implementation strategies
Implementing DevSecOps procedures requires, first of all, great organizational capacity, since it involves coordinating three contexts with different and specific characteristics and needs. The first step is undoubtedly to evaluate the existing infrastructure and define a roadmap with clear objectives.
An important starting point is undoubtedly the training of teams: everyone must be educated on the techniques used and the processes, even those in which they are not directly involved, in order to have an overall vision that favors collaboration.
When it comes to integrating security into, CI/CD pipeline automated tools such as SAST, DAST, and SCA can be used to identify and resolve vulnerabilities in a timely manner. From a soft point of view, however, it is necessary to adopt a culture of shared security, where everyone is appropriately empowered.
Finally, we must not forget application monitoring also thanks to SIEM and SOAR systems, for example, capable of detecting suspicious activities and threats in real time.
Finally, with a view to continuous improvement, provision must be made for a periodic review of procedures and the updating of tools and training, in order to deal successfully with new threats.
IT security is a process facilitated by DevSecOps
One thing must be clear: IT security is not a product, but it is a process. And as such, it must be continuously monitored, improved and evolved, keeping track of what is working and what is not; of which aspects must be made more efficient and which improved; of what kind of skills are still lacking in the company.
DevSecOps is the perfect example: it is a long-term commitment, which is continuously calibrated and needs constant adjustments to ensure that it has been metabolised in the company.
IT security can no longer wait: integrating new processes is essential to protect company assets from intrusions and data breaches. DevSecOps is the track to follow.