Devops Solution – Integrate Security In CI CD Pipeline

The software development industry has witnessed a sea of changes with the advent of DevOps solutions. Thankfully most of these changes have been instrumental for bettermentSoftware development teams are extensively utilizing these new methodologiesHowever, the security aspect of the software is often being compromised.

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Addressing the existing problem of Waterfall Model to security

Generally, vulnerability checks are scheduled for execution at the end of the software development processThe usual outcomes of such an approach are extensive documentationthe possibility of massive code rewritesIn a setting where developers are trying their best to enhance value through quick releases, a waterfall model to security seriously falls short to complementresults in slowing down the processSuch friction between teams is undesirableManual testing is a time-intensive activityDevelopers may not have the necessary tools to thwart the problem in the first instance.

The Benefits of DevOps

A DevOps service provider can render effective solutions to these problems. Before DevOps came into existence, there was a friction of perceptions between developersthe operation team. The operation team was looked upon as an inhibitor of innovation that slows down releasesDevelopers were considered to be reckless about the cost, reliability,security of the environment.

Bringing automation with a significant focus on collaboration changes the landscape for goodOperations teams are now a catalyst to deliver added valuerender agility to the development processNow every build is subjected to unitintegration testsUnless a build is broken after executing a commit, there is no need to send the code to the main branchesWith DevOps, the release of new builds has become a normalfrequent event. Together with test automation, it complements shorter feedback cycles. An organization implementing DevOps solutions becomes agile as a whole.

There are instances where these principles are subjected to boundary value analysis as the code is written, integratedtested in an automated wayA waterfall model to security proves infeasibleundesirable.

The prospect of DevOps for better security

DevOps solution providers have been around for quite some time,it has been playing its role in optimizing the performance of the software development teamIt coined the term DevSecOps that integrates security into the development pipeline.

Challengesopportunities go hand-in-hand for teams that are willing to embrace the concept of Continuous IntegrationContinuous Deliveryimplement them through an automated pipelineThe essence of DevSecOps lies in embedding security processes all over the pipelineimplements the DevOps principles to all endeavours related to software security. As security analysis is performed right at the beginning, it somehow mitigates the consequences of security bugs that are uncovered later in the development lifecycle.

Security elements that could be integrated into the pipeline

The security aspects that could be integrated are a variable of the constraintsrequirements of the specific productsolutionsInfoSec teams can use a plethora of these to perform their routine jobsIn this regard, mention could be made to Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), Static Application Security Testing (SAST),tools for software composition analysis. Each of these is capable of addressing specific security risksplays a major role in the agile development life cycle on the grounds of DevOps principle.

In a pipeline, it is possible to integrate both DSATSAST providing a cover for runtime vulnerabilitiescodebaseOn the other hand, SAST solutions like OWASP Find Sec Bugs could be used in earlier stagesYou can also integrate them into the developers’ IDE, DSAT tools like ZAP or ArachniIt supports automated deployment during the build step.

A look to the security techniques that could be inserted in the pipeline

You can use the software composition analysis tool to check the imported librariesFor instance, you can use the Retire.js or OWASP Dependency-Check for detecting licensing risksother weaknesses related to the open-source libraries that are used by developers.

Use of cloud-based tools like Nmap or Inspec for hardeninganalyzing the infrastructure.
Using solutions like got-secrets.
Using SSLyze, SQLMap,others to target specific issues.
Open source tools can be automated through a common interface with wrappers like GauntltOWASP Glue.

Conclusion

The tools discussed above are available on an open-source licenseHowever, there are commercial solutions tooThey are offered at a costcan serve you with additional featuresdetailed reportsIt is possible to plug them in the CI/CD pipeline. It is important to keep in mind that the implementation of a complete security chain can be challengingthere is a possibility of a pushback. You have to take care that every new step added in the pipeline is rendering valueaccepted by the teamall stakeholders.