All you Need to Know about the DevSecOps Pipeline (2022 Edition)

The adoption of security practices and the DevOps process is called DevSecOps, a theory or a philosophy. Additionally, it can describe a software development life cycle emphasizing continuous delivery and security (SDLC). It is common practice to view DevOps security as a secondary system, which can lead to vulnerabilities. Information security is typically implemented last (SDLC) regarding the software development life cycle. The Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery process ensure that the code’s correctness is continuously tested and verified while the Agile process is being developed.
What Exactly Is Meant By The CI/CD Pipeline
Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment, abbreviated as CI/CD, is a practice in software development in which members of the development team frequently merge their versions of code changes into a central repository. Consequently, this results in the automation of the development process.
The next step is to push that code to a shared repository, such as Git, which may be available online. After that, all of the processes that CI/CD tools like Jenkins can do are many. Testing the system, performing security checks, and receiving email alerts whenever there is a change. You won’t have to worry about any of the processes because Jenkins will handle everything instead of you. Isn’t it boring? Because it can be done over and over again. It results in significant time and labor savings.
Why do We Need DevSecOps
In a nutshell, we can say that our technologically dependent ways of making a living will be jeopardized if we do not implement security measures, which is why we must do so in the earlier stages of the software development life cycle. Breach of data security has emerged as one of the most serious challenges governments and organizations must contend with in the modern era. In recent times, several organizations have been the victims of security breaches, which has caused customers to continue to lose trust in the companies, resulting in massive financial losses each year. Before you implemented DevSecOps, your product might have been discovered to have security flaws at the eleventh hour, which would have resulted in multiple expensive iterations. Following the DevSecOps process, your product will be baked with the highest possible security standards.
On the other hand, the likelihood of discovering unforeseen problems in the final minutes is significantly lower. Adopting DevSecops is a great way to boost your credibility in the market and earn the trust of your customers.
Benefits of DevSecOps to the CI/CD Pipeline
As mentioned, the CI/CD pipeline has room for additional security precautions to be implemented. When a piece of code is built, the developer executes a tool called a CI/CD pipeline. This tool performs all of the necessary processes, such as adding the code to a central repository and notifying the other members of the team. In addition to this, it also can check for the following things: Whether or not any external libraries are going to be incorporated into the project, the authenticity of those libraries, the license risks, and vulnerabilities, etc. A git repository stores the code and any sensitive data, such as passwords or log-in credentials, and pushes this data to the repository. It gives notice. Scanning container images with security tools to test their vulnerabilities eventually takes place before the images are pulled into the CI/CD pipeline. The DevOps continuous integration and delivery pipeline can use various tools to accomplish the above goals.
The Various Stages that Comprise the DevSecOps Pipeline
Phases such as “Plan,” “Code,” “Build,” “Test,” “Release,” and “Deploy” were typically included in a typical DevOps pipeline. Each phase of the DevOps pipeline is subjected to unique security checks when utilizing the DevSecOps methodology. This section will learn about the security checks performed by integrating DevSecOps into the CI/CD pipeline.
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Plan
During the planning phase, you should conduct a security analysis. Devise a plan for determining scenarios regarding how, where, and when testing will be conducted.
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Code
Deploy and use linting tools and Git controls to protect API Keys and Passwords.
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Build
Utilize tools for static application testing, also known as SAST, to locate and fix bugs in the code before releasing it to production.
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Test
While testing your application, the dynamic application security testing (DAST) tools are utilized while testing your application to identify errors associated with user authentication, authorization, SQL injection, and API-related endpoints.
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Release
Vulnerability scanning and penetration testing can be performed with security analysis tools. These tools ought to be utilized right up until the moment that the application is made public.
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Deploy
After you have finished the test described above while the application is running, you should send a secure infrastructure or build to production for the final deployment.
Embrace a CRA
Incorporated, proactive, complete security results from broad arranging and readiness. What’s less clear is the manner by which to guarantee your organization has fostered an arrangement that recognizes your necessities in all security areas and that the privileged prescriptive advances have been characterized to address them. The best method to do this is to embrace a cyber reference architecture.
The CRA is a structure of procedures, strategies, and abilities that gives a typical language, a predictable secure DevOps methodology, and long haul vision to assist your organization with adjusting security techniques to the business and speed up your computerized change. This methodology assists you with understanding what goals matter most, characterizes the security prerequisites expected to accomplish those destinations, and guide out the best methodology for execution.
The DevSecOps Pipeline: Implementing Continuous Security
The first step in implementing continuous security should be integrating it into the security unit tests. We place equal emphasis on meeting the requirements of the Security unit test in addition to those of the other unit tests we draught.
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SAST
The SAST(static analysis security testing) code analyzers analyze our code and the libraries you import. Any security flaws are reported. These tools are tailored to particular programming languages. You need to ensure that the SAST scanner you select is compatible with the programming language of your choice. A word of caution: SAST is also capable of reporting false positives. As a result, you should plan a persistent layer that assists pipelines in “remembering”. False positives have the potential to irritate the team to the point where they stop responding to the notification about the broken pipeline. This is a dangerous situation. After the group has identified the false notification and established it is warranted, the pipeline will be modified to flag it repeatedly.
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DAST
Instead of static analysis security, DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) validates your application while running from the outside, just as an attacker would. Since DAST scanners interact with the application being tested from the outside, they do not depend on any particular languages. Integrate both of these methods into our production pipeline. By this you can receive early feedback on any potential security flaws.
Summing up
Because it is such a complex subject, opting for DevSecOps consulting services can potentially be a source of contention between the team and the auditors. As a result, the deployment of this system ought to be broken down into smaller and smaller steps. Each one receiving undivided attention. We also keep in mind that finding vulnerabilities is only the first half of the job. Providing developers with the tools and resources allows them to fix any problems that are found quickly. The DevSecOps methodology is an innovative approach to security. Tools specifically aimed at this methodology ought to be widely adopted. We trust that this articlw will prove informative. Until next time, happy developing!