DevSecOps provides an integrated approach for developing new platforms where security is one of the vital attributes of every process. It works to remove any kind of silos and try to uphold the holistic model where the code will design the security layers blended in the architecture. Organizations witnessed several benefits with the adoption of DevSecOps and its best practices. In this article, we will look into the practices, trends, and benefits of DevSecOps.

The best practices according to our observation to transform the entire IT infrastructure that has a component of DevSecOps include,

There should be a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) solution that will check for any security errors in every step of the process from build to deployment.

The continuous delivery of code along with its deployment should come with transparency.

Risk Analysis reports framed for any project should be shared before the project life-cycle initiates. It will help the team design a better architecture and foster the addition of security protocols.

Concurrent plans should allow the R&D team of any organization to go for the development of security models that can suit the production of applications and sit perfectly within the framework of the platform. It can design the plug-and-play models fitted with a framework to enhance the security system.

An integrated testing approach should be adopted. The integrated testing model needs a holistic circle that has Unit, API, Database, Front-end, Back-end testing, etc. that detects bugs earlier.

Knowledge of security-based coding should become a mandate. Therefore, enhanced libraries will need to be developed by the R&D teams of the IT firms and data organizations to add security architecture in the system easily.

The inception of AI and ML to detect leakages will help to generate assessment reports for DevSecOps to modify the projects accordingly.

DevSecOps Trends:

Left-Shifting Automation & Adaptation:  Whenever a project is planned, the team should focus to bring the security development shift to the left so that holistic development takes place instead of working in silos. Apart from this, automation will enable an automatic code review to detect any vulnerabilities. This cognitive and adaptive process will help to make sure that the product team understands future risks and security vulnerabilities.

Runtime Application Self Protection:  RASP senses the system in runtime using the instrumentation model to detect any attacks by reading and understanding the internal information running codes and devices. Using dynamic testing (testing during runtime) techniques and integrating Interactive Application Security tools with RASP strengthens the organizations’ security system.

Threat & Risk Analysis: It is necessary to build the analytics of any threats or forecast any threats that may hit the entire organization which, in turn, may dismantle the complete infrastructure. Threat Analysis will help the team know the vulnerabilities existing in the system in a much better way. A UI based dashboard will give a better visualization of such assessments. The smart threat engines will help to bolster the entire product to update protection. Risk assessment using a Risk Analytics tool will help to understand the magnitude of risk one keeps in the product and what will be the amount of hit an organization is going to take if there is any kind of breach in the security.

Cloud Infrastructure Protection: Cloud Infrastructure, especially the public cloud infrastructure needs more focus. Any dent may decrease the trust and confidence of the users to store the data in the concerned public cloud system or not.

Benefits of DevSecOps:

It reduces the cost of the organization that is incurring to pay the developers. Developers who make the product now are required to learn the skills related to security that construct protection sheath around the production.

There will be skillset amplification for the quality assurance team who do the testing part of the project. This will enhance their skills to test the security portion of the product as 47% of the organizations reported that it is the testing part that creates the delay.

The life cycle of the project is reduced by 5-10% of the total period as the security development and security testing of the product are integrated during the normal phase.

Development of an agile and resilient infrastructure that senses the vulnerabilities of the system in real-time. The automation helps to bring better mutation of the codes to strengthen the security.

Conclusion:

The establishment of DevSecOps will enhance the entire IT ecosystem of Organizations. With 27% of the organizations already switching to DevSecOps, it displays the significance and penetration of these practices. The firms will hold a much better-skilled team of developers and quality assurance personnel. Real-time analysis of risks and threats enhance the protective sheath of the product. At the user-level, the user will get better assurance regarding the security system of the products due to continuous adaptability and harnessing the upgrade.