The power of DevSecOps and AI: security redefined

It is something nobody wants to hear (anymore), but it is unfortunately a reality: German companies are now more often digitally attacked than US organisations and rank second in the ranking of "Companies that have experienced a cyber attack in the last 12 months in selected countries in 2023". Only Ireland tops it with a whopping 71% - probably due to its status as a tax haven for Silicon Valley and the companies based there such as Facebook, Apple and more. The damage done in Germany? 205.9 billion euros in Germany in 2023, according to Statista, and rising.

The DevOps concept has gained widespread acceptance in the software industry and is seen as an essential approach to support agile and flexible software development practices. Companies that implement DevOps practices report faster time-to-market, higher quality software and better adaptability to changing business requirements. With increasing digitisation and the growing number of cyberattacks, the integration of security measures into the development process has become increasingly urgent. DevSecOps addresses this issue - let's take a look at how this is done in practice.

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What is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps stands for Development, Security and Operations and seamlessly integrates security practices into the entire software development cycle. This means that security checks are carried out continuously during development and deployment, rather than only being considered at the end. The approach is based on the so-called "shift-left" principle, which means that security measures are integrated into the development process at an early stage.

Differences and advantages compared to traditional development models

Traditional models such as the waterfall model often only carry out security checks at the end, which leads to late discovery of security vulnerabilities and higher costs. DevSecOps, on the other hand, enables security problems to be identified and rectified at an early stage. At the same time, team collaboration is improved and efficiency is increased through automated security checks.

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Core elements of DevSecOps

1. continuous integration (CI): code is integrated into a shared repository several times a day and automatically tested.

2. continuous delivery (CD): Automated deployment of code to a staging environment to ensure it meets requirements.

3. continuous security: security measures and tests are integrated throughout the development cycle.

4. communication and collaboration: Effective collaboration between developers, security teams and operations is critical.

Technologies and tools

Various technologies and tools are required to successfully implement DevSecOps:

• Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Tools such as Terraform to manage infrastructure through code.
• Automated security tests: Tools for static and dynamic application security tests (SAST and DAST).
• Container and cloud security: Specific security tools for containers and cloud environments.

To summarise again: DevSecOps offers a comprehensive approach to improving software and IT security by integrating security measures continuously and early on in the development process. This leads to more secure software, more efficient workflows and better collaboration between teams.

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Why is DevSecOps so important?

As we wrote in our previous article "7 tech talents your company can't afford to lose", DevOps as a concept for software development is becoming increasingly prevalent in organisations. Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent and more sophisticated, so software needs to be designed and written as securely as possible. DevSecOps offers a whole range of improvements:

Integration of security into the entire development cycle

As we've written before, DevSecOps seamlessly integrates security practices into the entire development process, from planning to deployment. By implementing security measures early on, potential security vulnerabilities can be identified and fixed immediately. This reduces the risk of vulnerabilities entering production and ensures more secure software overall.

Example: A developer who checks his code into a shared repository several times a day uses automated security checking tools. These tools identify vulnerabilities immediately and allow for quick remediation before the code moves to the next phase.

Faster detection and resolution of security vulnerabilities

Through these continuous security checks throughout the development cycle, security vulnerabilities are detected and fixed earlier. This leads to faster time to market and reduces the costs associated with fixing security issues at the end of the development process.

Improving team collaboration and efficiency

DevSecOps promotes collaboration between developers, security experts and operations departments. This close collaboration leads to better coordination and faster problem resolution, which increases efficiency and ultimately improves the quality of the software.

Automation of security processes

Automation is an essential part of DevSecOps. By using automated tools for security checks and continuous monitoring, security vulnerabilities are proactively identified and rectified. 

Example: Tools for static and dynamic application security testing (SAST and DAST) are integrated into the development process to continuously check for vulnerabilities. These automated tests enable security vulnerabilities to be identified and rectified quickly without slowing down the development process.

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How are artificial intelligence (AI) and DevSecOps interlinked?

With the combination of AI and DevSecOps, a powerful technology meets a no less powerful concept and significantly increases the overall security and efficiency of the development process. This is because AI is excellent at detecting anomalies of all kinds when it comes to code, processes or network behaviour.

Automation and increased efficiency

Artificial intelligence plays an important role in the automation of DevSecOps processes. By using AI, many security checks and tasks can be automated, which has a positive impact on efficiency and reducing the susceptibility to errors. For example, AI-supported tools continuously check the code for security vulnerabilities and use machine learning to identify and prevent new threats (anomalies in the code).

Threat detection and response

AI is particularly good at analysing large amounts of data and recognising patterns that indicate potential security threats. Through machine learning, these systems can continuously learn and adapt to new threats. This enables faster and more accurate detection of security incidents and a prompt response.

Security monitoring and anomaly detection

AI-powered analytics tools continuously monitor the entire infrastructure and network traffic for anomalies that could indicate a security incident. These tools automatically detect unusual behaviour and can prevent security incidents in real time.

Improving code quality and security

AI can help developers write better and more secure code by providing continuous feedback and suggestions for improvement based on the latest security practices. AI tools can also perform automated code reviews and identify potential security vulnerabilities before the code goes into the production environment.

The classic example is, of course, GitHub Copilot: this uses machine learning to make suggestions to developers as they write code.  These are based on security best practices to identify and fix potential vulnerabilities.

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Challenges and solutions

Needless to say, there are also a number of challenges that the implementation of DevSecOps presents. The most common challenges include:

1. Cultural changes: DevSecOps and the integration of security practices into the entire development process requires a change in software development and corporate culture. Teams are now required to share responsibility for security.

2. Tool integration: Selecting and integrating the right tools to automate security testing can be complex. Organisations need to ensure that these tools migrate seamlessly into the existing development infrastructure.

3. Lack of expertise: Many developers do not have the necessary security knowledge. Training and ongoing advanced training are critical to promote this knowledge.

Successful strategies and proven methods

However, there are several best practices and strategies that organisations can use to address these and other challenges:

1. Phased implementation: instead of implementing all security practices at once, take a gradual approach. Start with the processes that cause the least resistance (both technically and among employees) and offer the greatest possible security benefit.

2. Automate safety checks: Use automated tools for security checks and continuous monitoring. On the one hand, this directly relieves your employees. On the other hand, these tools identify security gaps at an early stage and enable them to be rectified quickly.

3. Training and advanced training: This is a point that basically all companies know. Invest in your software developers and security teams. DevSecOps is a new type of culture and offers the opportunity to combine culture, automation, collaboration and security - including learning.

Practical solutions for common problems

Finally, we want to share some practical solutions for overcoming the challenges of implementing DevSecOps:

1. Utilising container and cloud security tools: These tools provide specific security features for containers and cloud environments that are commonly used in modern DevOps environments. Examples include Docker Security Scanning and AWS Inspector.

2. Continuous security monitoring: Implement continuous monitoring and logging tools to detect and remediate security threats in real time. Examples include Splunk and ELK Stack.

3. Integration of security into CI/CD pipelines: Add security testing into your CI/CD pipelines to ensure that every code commit is automatically checked for security vulnerabilities. Tools like Jenkins and GitLab CI offer integrated security checks.