Security in DevOps is incredibly crucial for your business to reap the benefits of this agile practice adequately. Giants like Facebook, Netflix, Target and Amazon are all doing better than ever before since integrating the practice, and security is imperative for your business to thrive just as well. Hacks and data breaches will cause you hefty amounts in losses and damages for aggrieved clients, not to mention the bad PR that security events leave in their wake. This article takes a closer look at reliable ways in which you can improve the security of DevOps in your software business:
Have measures in place to protect sensitive data
If any security measures fail, that could lead to exposure of your code and sensitive data to hackers and cybercriminals. It is therefore crucial that you should have a strong layer of security to protect sensitive data from being accessed by hackers as a secondary security measures. Multi-factor authentications, SSL certificate, and the change of passwords on frequent base are tried and tested methods that will go a long way in preventing significant data breaches. If we look at SSL certificate, there are multiple SSL providers who are in race to provide cheap SSL to newbie with many attractive features.
Offer your team the right resources
While still in the development phase, you need to offer your development team the tools and facilities they will need to implement a solid security plan. This way, they will be able to add security at every stage of developing their applications and ensure scalability.
It will also help the software development process become more agile; with the iterative and continuous testing methods for any security issues, rather than the general QA process at the end of development. In addition to rapid product delivery, it will be easier to identify and fix any issues found before further damage is done and thus reduce the cost and time of project revision.
Bring in the aspect of security
When DevOps is integrated correctly, it can serve to reduce the security risks of software code once it is shipped out to the customer. This is why it is critical that you consider bringing in a security expert to assist in the rollout of DevOps in your business. Have them offer their insights into securing every initiative and let them guide the rest of your team in implementing the best DevOps security practices. These include access control, signing, and reliable encryption for every project, static source code analysis, automating PKI, and full vulnerability scans.
Consider integrating DevSecOps
The difference between traditional security policies and DevSecOps is that the former is far more rigid towards change and does not have the essential component of collaboration. This will contradict the concepts and culture of DevOps, which is flexible, dynamic and allows for a collaborative work environment where communication is key. A DevSecOps culture is a better option to ensure cohesion between security and DevOps. It ensures that your team readily accepts your security measures and integrates the advantageous factor of frequent meetings to determine any errors and quick problem-solving.
Hire team members that have security training
It is important to hire software developers with relevant security training to ensure a successful implementation of your security vision. Developers trained in security will effectively write foolproof code and come up with products that customers can trust. In addition to their training, you also need to have facilities for teaching your staff the latest developments in the area of security.
Carry out a comprehensive assessment of your risk factors
You and your security expert should work closely early in the DevOps implementation process to identify all the vulnerabilities that you will encounter and just how much risk you are willing to put up with. It is essential to know that it is impractical to eliminate all risk, and having your security expert will expound on your business’ vulnerabilities, how to mitigate them and agree upon a level of risk as per your business goals.
Ensure that your DevOps team is fully aware of their role in ensuring security
It is critical that everyone in your organization is fully accountable for the events that take place in your software development operations. At the start of every application development project, be sure to delegate simple but clear roles to every team member. This ensures accountability and responsibility in ensuring security measures implementation.
Integrate automation
One of the most significant advantages of DevOps is the speed at which operations are done within the software development department. However, tracking security in such an environment can be complicated and is often downplayed. Again, relying on human instinct to identify and keep up with security policies is hardly reliable, and opens up your projects to errors.
This is where automation comes in; with the right automation machinery, you can keep up with the security within the network and ensure that your PKI certificates are delivering authentication, encryption, and integrity. Automation is a reliable way of ensuring that your PKI certificates are correctly deployed and configured. Besides, automated systems can quickly detect and activate the relevant security protocols in time to avoid disaster.
Constant patch-ups and scans are critical for security but time-consuming in a fast environment. Thus, automation can also work in patch management and vulnerability scanning to ensure better protection.
Come up with robust standards for security in your firm
Many businesses are afraid to integrate DevOps because it does not have any regulations or compliance standards to ensure security. It may be challenging to have a specific organizational policy for security without the right framework or personnel to drive it. Despite the challenges you might face, it is vital that you define measures and controls for all the processes in your DevOps methodology that will guide your team in ensuring security. These measures will also work as benchmarks for monitoring and improvement.
Conclusion:
DevOps has made the operations in the development and IT departments of many a company far more efficient, faster and reliable, which is great for improving customer satisfaction and boosting profits. However, the tips above will ensure that DevOps remains an advantage for your business rather than a weak link.