By Di Sun, Chief Solution Architect, Cloud and Platform Services
The ability to adapt and iterate quickly has never been more crucial.
Many organizations have shifted to agile methodologies and continuous delivery practices to speed up software development and deployment. However, traditional security practices often struggle to keep pace with these fast development cycles for several reasons:
- They are usually separate processes conducted at specific stages, such as before deployment or during testing.
- They typically require specialized security expertise for assessments and tests, which are time-consuming.
- They often depend on security specialists from separate teams or departments, leading to additional communication costs and potential misalignment of priorities.
DevSecOps is a methodology that integrates security practices into the DevOps process. Combining "development" and "operations," DevOps automates and integrates the processes between software development and IT teams to build, test, and release software faster and more reliably. By incorporating "security," DevSecOps aims to ensure quicker, safer software releases.
Key benefits of DevSecOps
Incorporating DevSecOps into the organization and software development life cycle (SDLC) can yield these benefits:
- Enhanced security. DevSecOps promotes the idea of addressing security early in the SDLC rather than as an afterthought. Detecting and fixing security issues earlier in the development process not only builds robust security but is also generally more cost-effective and time-efficient compared to addressing issues later in the deployment or post-production stages.
- Increased productivity. DevSecOps streamlines workflows by integrating security into the CI/CD pipeline, leading to quicker and safer releases. Automating security tasks allows developers to focus on core development while enabling secure development.
- Compliance. DevSecOps helps organizations meet compliance requirements by incorporating security controls and practices into the development and deployment process.
- Customer trust. DevSecOps consistently secured products enhance customer confidence.
Common components and OSS tools to build a DevSecOps pipeline
In a typical DevSecOps pipeline, there are several processes that are essential for ensuring pipeline security.
Credentials leakage check
Implement automated tools that integrate with version control systems to scan for and alert on hard-coded credentials (e.g., security tokens, connection strings) in real time before code is pushed or merged. Secret information should be managed by secret management solutions and inserted into the execution environment only when needed. OSS tools like TruffleHog and GitLeaks fit well in this space. Furthermore, TruffleHog can scan for credentials stored in S3, Google Cloud Storage, and Docker images, making it a versatile tool for credentials leakage checking.
Static application security testing
Static application security testing (SAST) is a foundational element of a robust DevSecOps pipeline, offering a proactive approach to identifying vulnerabilities, coding errors, and security weaknesses in source code, bytecode, or binary code without executing the application. SonarQube is indeed a well-known and widely used tool in the field of software development and quality assurance. By analyzing code, it checks for bugs, code smells, security hotspots, security vulnerabilities, test coverage, and duplications. It also features "deeper SAST," which identifies and resolves issues in application code originating from interactions with third-party open-source libraries.
Software composition analysis
Software composition analysis (SCA) scans and analyzes third-party and open-source components used in software applications to identify known vulnerabilities, security risks, and even illegal open-source license usage. It is an essential part of ensuring software supply chain security. OWASP Dependency Check is an open-source tool developed by the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) community and is well regarded in the SCA area. It utilizes the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) to check for publicly disclosed vulnerabilities.
Container vulnerability scanning
This process scans container images to detect known vulnerabilities and security weaknesses in the software packages and libraries included in the containers, ensuring the security of containerized applications. Given containerization's role as the de facto standard in modern software deployment strategies, the importance of container vulnerability scanning cannot be overstated. Clair and Trivy are excellent tools that can help you understand the vulnerabilities present in your container images.
Dynamic application security test
Dynamic application security tests (DAST) assess the security of an application during runtime by sending various inputs and monitoring the responses. Unlike SAST, DAST simulates external attacks on a running application, providing insights into vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is an open-source web application security scanner that is widely recognized in the industry. It supports various modes, providing users with the flexibility to adjust the aggressiveness based on the status of the target system.
Infrastructure as Code security scan
This involves scanning Infrastructure as Code (IaC) configurations, such as Kubernetes manifests and Terraform files in the codebase, to prevent the introduction of insecure or non-compliant infrastructure configurations into the system. As IaC practices become increasingly prevalent, allowing teams to manage infrastructure via code, ensuring the security of these IaC configurations is paramount. Tools like SonarQube and Trivy, which were mentioned earlier, can also be used to scan IaC files. Additionally, Checkov is an excellent tool that can be used to find misconfigurations, insecure configurations, and non-compliant configurations.
Figure 1. DevSecOps pipeline constructed using OSS tools, with some of them capable of integration with git hooks for improved usability.
Your journey to integrating DevSecOps
We've explored the importance of DevSecOps and the benefits it offers. Following that, we discussed the essential components to build a DevSecOps pipeline. By leveraging open-source tools for key processes such as credentials leakage checks, static and dynamic application security testing, software composition analysis, container vulnerability scanning, and IaC security scanning, you can address vulnerabilities early, enhance productivity, and build customer trust through compliance and improved security measures.
The journey toward integrating DevSecOps into your company’s workflow is not just about adopting new tools or processes; it's fundamentally about embracing a culture of security. This cultural shift involves recognizing that security is not a standalone phase in the development lifecycle but a crucial aspect of every stage, from planning through development and deployment to operations. As organizations continue to navigate the complexities of modern software development, the principles of DevSecOps offer a pathway to more secure, efficient, and reliable software delivery.
As each customer's DevSecOps requirements vary based on system architecture and specific needs, HPE Services can help create the optimal strategy, design, and implementation of a DevSecOps pipeline. This can be achieved by utilizing existing service offerings like DevSecOps Adoption Service for Azure DevOps. HPE Services can accelerate the adoption of DevSecOps and tailor it to your business needs.
Read part 1 of the series, Balancing act: How to successfully rebalance cloud workloads
Di Sun joined HPE in 2021 and has more than 10 years of experience in the IT industry. He started his career as a network engineer and provided consultation on network design and delivered LAN WAN and DC network solutions. He later joined an internet company where he gained experience in Docker, Kubernetes, Cloud Native Apps and Microservice architecture. Di Sun also has an interest in Big Data, ML/AI and IoT.
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