DevSecOps Services: Benefits, Best Practices, and Challenges

Adding security as an afterthought is ineffective. Yet, only some companies can afford full-time experts. DevSecOps-as-a-service can assist you in creating a secure software development lifecycle.

In 2022, the global DevSecOps market generated $4.4 billion in revenue, projected to exceed $26.2 billion by 2033, with a 17.8% CAGR. This growth is fueled by increased adoption in sectors like BFSI, healthcare, IT & telecom, government, and manufacturing.

Rising cyber threats drive the need for secure applications, promoting market growth from 2023 to 2033. Small and medium enterprises adopting advanced tech, 5G penetration, and cloud-based services will also boost demand for DevSecOps.

Want to know more about its benefits, best practices, and challenges? Or understand the difference between DevOps and DevSecOps? As a custom software development company prioritizing security and DevOps approach, Integrio will share its expertise and answer all of these questions.

What Are DevSecOps Consulting Services?

DevSecOps service combines development, security, and operations, integrating security throughout the software and web development lifecycle. This strategy aligns with DevOps, emphasizing collaboration, automation, and rapid application delivery.

DevSecOps-as-a-service offers this approach via subscription-based cloud computing, embedding security as a standard practice. It's accessible to businesses of different sizes, providing ready solutions for immediate adoption.

Differences between DevOps and DevSecOps

DevOps and DevSecOps are related but have distinct differences:

• DevOps brings together development and operations teams for continuous delivery.

• DevSecOps extends DevOps by integrating security from the start, involving related teams as key stakeholders.

While the DevOps team focuses on collaboration, automation, and efficiency, DevSecOps emphasizes security as a top priority. At the same time, DevSecOps employs more rigorous security testing and scanning and ensures compliance with regulations.

As for the preferred stack, DevOps tools are more centered on development and operations collaboration. DevSecOps tools address security concerns like configuration management and composition analysis.

Main Benefits of DevSecOps

DevSecOps offers significant enhancements for software by prioritizing security at every stage of development:

• Enhanced Security

Throughout the development process, DevSecOps teams conduct code reviews, audits, tests, scans, and debugging to ensure the application meets vital security standards. It involves automated security tools for real-time code testing, allowing for audits without impeding building speed.

When vulnerabilities surface, security and development teams collaborate to address them at the code level. This proactive approach enables the early identification and remediation of vulnerabilities.

• Reduced Risk

Implementing DevSecOps minimizes the chances of security and data breaches. Automated tools help detect, manage, and patch common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE), reducing the risk of exploitation. That means companies can eliminate unpredictable elements that disrupt product release timelines.

DevSecOps introduces security measures that mitigate risk and provide valuable insights to development teams. This way, they remediate vulnerabilities swiftly upon discovery.

• Better Compliance

Automated enforcement includes automatically verifying that security measures are consistently applied throughout the development and deployment pipeline. DevSecOps incorporates continuous monitoring to ensure compliance over time, not just as a one-time effort.

By tracking and documenting security practices and policy enforcement, DevSecOps enables organizations to provide clear evidence of compliance during audits and regulatory assessments. Also, this approach reduces the effort and time required for compliance checks.

• Improved Efficiency

DevSecOps automates security checks and scans, eliminating the need for manual, time-consuming inspections. It enables development teams to focus on coding and innovation rather than spending excessive time on such tasks.

Automating security processes in DevSecOps improves efficiency and accelerates the development and release of secure software. At the same time, you ensure that security is a continuous and integral part of the process, avoiding bottlenecks.

• Increased Collaboration

Knowledge-sharing and collective problem-solving are much better than isolated operations that hinder innovation and create division.

DevSecOps enhances teamwork among development, operations, and security teams by instilling a shared sense of responsibility. Their collaboration from the start of the building process fosters a cross-team partnership, breaking down organizational barriers.

• Faster Time to Market

DevSecOps facilitates a quicker time to market by automating security checks and reducing manual efforts and delays. A quality code with minimized vulnerabilities enables businesses to respond swiftly to market demands and gain a competitive advantage.

As a result, embedding security from the start and automating related processes accelerates development cycles.

• High Quality

Improved quality is a fundamental benefit of DevSecOps. It is achieved by detecting security vulnerabilities early in the development process.

In DevSecOps, quality is not a standalone phase but an ongoing priority throughout the development process. Get higher-quality software aligning with customer expectations, boosting customer satisfaction and loyalty.

• Reduced costs

By automating security testing, scanning, and monitoring processes, DevSecOps minimizes the need for extensive manual efforts. Also, you can detect vulnerabilities and threats early in the development process. This reduces the potential for expensive post-release fixes and data breach recovery costs.

• Improved visibility

DevSecOps integrates security practices and measures at every stage of the software development lifecycle. This integration gives companies a holistic view of their security posture, allowing them to assess the effectiveness of existing controls and practices.

Also, DevSecOps leverages automation and data analytics to generate valuable insights. They allow companies to prioritize security measures based on actual risk factors and vulnerabilities.

What Are DevSecOps Best Practices?

DevSecOps practices empower companies to identify and mitigate vulnerabilities and enhance the efficiency of the development process.

• Security Awareness

  Everyone involved in software development and operations should understand security fundamentals and take responsibility for the outcomes.

  Your team should identify potential security risks as early as the design stage to create secure code from the beginning. For this, dedicated developers must be equipped with DevSecOps technology that seamlessly integrates with their existing processes. Automation is a key component, ensuring security becomes an intrinsic part of development workflows.

• Automation

  DevSecOps tools should seamlessly integrate into CI/CD pipelines, providing information without causing significant delays. It is crucial, as developers may hesitate to run security tests if they believe it will slow down the development process.

  Use these automation practices:

  • For static application security testing (SAST), avoid scanning the entire source code daily, as it can be time-consuming and provide too much information. Instead, focus on scanning for specific code changes committed each day.

  • Utilize dynamic application security testing (DAST) continuously to identify vulnerabilities during runtime, as it provides real-time results.

  • Use automated DAST scans to check vulnerability lists from authoritative sources like the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) and other databases.

  • Implement smart features within automated testing to prioritize alerts and prevent alert fatigue. Teams should be notified only when a genuine security issue is detected to avoid disrupting productivity.

• Comprehensive Coverage

  Security tooling should be designed to function across various environments, including containers, Kubernetes, serverless, PaaS (Platform as a Service), hybrid clouds, etc. The goal is to provide security without gaps in coverage, ensuring that no environment is left unprotected.

  At the same time, such tooling should be capable of assessing the security of different types of applications. This includes systems primarily based on open-source software as well as those purchased from third-party vendors.

  To efficiently address security issues, teams must first correlate and deduplicate information provided by various testing methods, such as SAST, DAST, etc. DevSecOps teams should use tools that prioritize alerts, ensuring that the team is alerted only to real security issues and minimizing false positives.

• Shift-Left and Shift-Right

  Conduct security assessments at multiple stages of the software development and operational lifecycle.

  • The "shift left" practice involves integrating security checks into the earliest stages of development, such as during the planning, design, and coding phases.

  • "Shift right" extends the application of DevSecOps principles to production environments.

  Production environments are the main targets for security attacks. Observing running applications in production provides unique insights not achievable through source code scans, helping to uncover vulnerabilities.

  Continuous production monitoring is crucial to detect new (zero-day) vulnerabilities and respond promptly to security threats.

• Accuracy

  False positives (incorrectly identifying issues as vulnerabilities) and false negatives (missing real vulnerabilities) can hinder the effectiveness of security testing. DevSecOps practices aim to reduce these inaccuracies.

  Security, development, and operations teams have different priorities and responsibilities. Provide them with data and alerts that align with their roles.

  Also, improve the signal-to-noise ratio by filtering out irrelevant or redundant information. This ensures that teams are not overwhelmed with alerts and can focus on significant security issues.

• Developer Acceptance

  Developers run tests, scan for vulnerabilities, and address security issues. Therefore, their acceptance and buy-in are crucial for the program's effectiveness.

  Developers, like everyone, can make mistakes. To mitigate this risk, DevSecOps teams should prioritize training experts in secure coding practices.

  DevSecOps teams should start by providing developers with knowledge about common security mistakes, such as those listed in the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) and the OWASP Top Ten. These resources can serve as valuable references to understand and address vulnerabilities.

• Regular Tool Updates

  Traditional IT security tools were not originally designed to accommodate the demands of modern DevOps practices and cloud-native technologies. Ensure that your DevSecOps process is well-equipped to address the unique development challenges.

  Proficient DevSecOps candidates will help you select the right tools and ensure they are regularly updated to meet the evolving needs of the development and security landscape.

Challenges in Implementing DevSecOps

Implementing DevSecOps comes with its set of challenges:

• People and culture challenges. DevSecOps requires a shift in mindset and culture. Teams need to recognize that they share responsibility for software security alongside other development aspects. Pay attention to retraining and a cultural shift toward embracing best practices.

• Tooling integration challenge. Integrating security tooling into the DevOps workflow can be complex. More automation and seamless integration with your CI/CD pipeline can reduce the need for extensive training and cultural transformation. However, simply opting for automated versions of traditional tools may not be the right choice.

• Evolving development environments. Most contemporary software relies heavily on open-source instruments, making it challenging to accurately detect vulnerabilities using traditional security tools. Additionally, cloud-native applications running in containers introduce a new level of complexity.

To address these challenges effectively, you should adapt your people, processes, and tooling to the changing landscape of DevSecOps.

Enhance Your Security with DevSecOps from Integrio

Adopting DevSecOps not only bolsters your defenses against security threats but also accelerates software delivery, fosters compliance, and builds trust with customers and stakeholders.

If you need DevSecOps consulting, partner with Integrio. We have already created 200+ secure solutions for companies in aviation, manufacturing, real estate, telecommunications, transportation, digital marketing, health and fitness, and other industries. Our specialists use a progressive tech stack and the latest approaches to ensure a quality product. Contact us to secure your software.

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