Best Practices for Implementing DevSecOps: A Technical Guide

In the era of continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD), security needs to be integrated into every phase of the development cycle. This shift has led to the rise of DevSecOps — the practice of embedding security into DevOps workflows. It’s no longer enough to treat security as an afterthought that occurs post-development. Instead, security must become an integral, automated part of the development and deployment processes.

This article will guide you through best practices for successfully implementing DevSecOps, including techniques for automated security testing, vulnerability scanning, compliance checks, and more.

What Is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps is a development practice that integrates security into every phase of the DevOps lifecycle. Traditionally, security was handled at the end of the development process, but DevSecOps emphasizes shifting security “left,” meaning it is incorporated from the very beginning, alongside development and operations. This approach aims to automate security checks, enforce policies, and reduce vulnerabilities early in the pipeline, improving software quality and making applications more secure without slowing down delivery cycles.

By adopting DevSecOps, organizations can:

1. Automate security: Security is built into the CI/CD pipeline, enabling continuous monitoring and automated testing throughout the development process.
2. Improve collaboration: It fosters collaboration between development, operations, and security teams, ensuring that security is prioritized without delaying releases.
3. Reduce risks: Identifying and fixing vulnerabilities earlier in the development lifecycle reduces security risks, lowers remediation costs, and ensures compliance.

DevSecOps requires a cultural shift, automation, and the use of tools to integrate security effectively into every phase of development.

Best Practices for Implementing DevSecOps

1. Automating Security in CI/CD Pipelines

Speed and agility are essential in modern software development, but this cannot come at the expense of security. By automating security checks within CI/CD pipelines, organizations can identify vulnerabilities early in the development lifecycle.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

SAST tools analyze source code to find vulnerabilities before the application is even built. Implementing SAST in the pipeline allows teams to catch issues like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure code practices.

Tools:

• SonarQube
• Checkmarx
• Fortify

Example setup:
In a Jenkins pipeline, you can integrate SonarQube to perform SAST:

pipeline {
    stages {
        stage('Code Analysis') {
            steps {
                script {
                    sh 'mvn clean verify sonar:sonar -Dsonar.projectKey=my-project -Dsonar.host.url=http://localhost:9000 -Dsonar.login=my-token'
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

DAST tools perform security testing on running applications to identify vulnerabilities from an external perspective. Unlike SAST, which examines the codebase, DAST tools look for vulnerabilities like open ports, unpatched servers, and insecure APIs.

Tools:

• OWASP ZAP
• Acunetix
• Burp Suite

Example setup:
To use OWASP ZAP in an automated security pipeline:

docker run \
  -v $(pwd):/zap/wrk/:rw \
  -t owasp/zap2docker-stable \
  zap-baseline.py \
  -t http://my-app-url \
  -r zap_report.html

Source: https://github.com/zaproxy/zaproxy/blob/main/docker/zap-baseline.py

This Docker command runs an automated OWASP ZAP scan against a deployed app and generates a report.

2. Vulnerability Scanning

Containers, while convenient for portability and scaling, can introduce security risks. Vulnerabilities in base images or dependencies within containers are common, so it’s critical to scan them as part of the DevSecOps workflow.

Container Image Scanning

Container image vulnerabilities can be introduced by insecure base images or outdated dependencies. Scanning container images before deployment helps detect these issues early.

Tools:

• Clair (integrates with Docker)
• Trivy
• Anchore

Example setup:
To use Trivy in a pipeline to scan a Docker image:

trivy image \
  myapp:latest

This command scans the Docker image myapp:latest for known vulnerabilities.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Scanning

Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) defines and provisions infrastructure using code, such as Terraform or CloudFormation. Misconfigurations in IaC scripts, like open S3 buckets or weak IAM policies, can lead to security risks.

Tools:

• Checkov
• TFLint

Example setup:
To scan a Terraform file using Checkov:

checkov \
  -f main.tf

Conclusion