Automation.
Automation is one of the key features of DevSecOps, because, after all, the point of the system is its speed of delivery over other, more traditional, processes. The more automated you can make a system while retaining security, the better you can scale your product, meet your customer’s demands and grow as a business, agency or organization.
A DevSecOps process benefits a product manager by emphasizing automation to improve security, reduce risk, and deliver high-quality software to customers more efficiently.
Why would you want Automation in DevSecOps?
No system is completely hands-off, but a well-automated system is like a well-designed car in reverse — it should automatically alert you to any dangers present and place the security of your product first.
Automation is best suited for larger, customer-facing products or large governmental agencies with a complex internal structure, where an automated process can help the speed and delivery of information.
The DevSecOps automation process is critical to ensuring enhanced security, reduced risk, and the delivery of high-quality software to customers. By having a streamlined process for automation, we can reduce the time and effort required to identify and remediate vulnerabilities, reduce the risk of human error, and respond more quickly to security threats.
Why would you want Automation in DevSecOps?
Automation is a design process that uses code to recognize certain ‘things’ that happen often and other ‘things’ that, when they do happen, are unusual and/or unwanted. Automating processing means coding a system to behave in a certain way when it sees a set of commands, such as direct input from a customer or a request for authentication by someone attempting to use your program.
By automating manual and repetitive processes into integration networks and delivery ‘pipelines’ (the channels you direct your customers or users down), you can increase the workflow efficiency of your product. This allows automatic sharing and usability, with an inbuilt security and compliance feature that fixes and addresses ongoing issues.
An automation process also allows for:
- The use of tools like continuous integration and delivery, infrastructure-as-code, and automated testing to ensure security is integrated throughout the software development lifecycle.
- The involvement of security teams in the development process.
- Embedded security in the development process from the outset.
- Regularly reviewing and testing for vulnerabilities.
- Implemented code scanning and analysis tools to identify vulnerabilities and security issues early in development.
- The use of a risk-based approach to prioritize security issues and allocate resources for remediation.
- Automated testing to ensure consistency and reduce the risk of human error
- An assurance that security requirements are included in the definition of done for user stories and other development tasks.
- The creation of a security training program for developers to ensure that security best practices are followed throughout development.
- Regularly monitored and analyzed security logs and alerts to identify potential security threats and respond to them quickly.
- Continuous improvement of the security process.
The value of automation in DevSecOps
By creating a DevSecOps process that places stress on automation, teams can expect improved security, reduced risk, and increased efficiency in delivering high-quality software to customers.
In addition, this process can help teams respond more quickly to security threats, reduce the time and effort required to identify and remediate vulnerabilities and deliver software that meets customer needs while maintaining the highest security standards.
If you’re still on the fence about whether you need to automate your product, you might consider;
- The development, deployment and recovery procedure. An automation framework can be used to speed up the SCLV (Software Development Lifecycle) with new integrations and updates to your product while maintaining a backup system.
- Eilimating remedial tasks. The biggest hurdle of any business is repetitive, unnecessary tasks. An automated process can take over those tasks, including;
- Vetting and auto-verification checks. If you have a large customer or user base, verifying each user is not particularly practical. An automated framework can check for red flags, identify errors and help the user through the process without slowing down for updates or human judgement.
- Uniform security procedures. An automated process has a built-in security foundation, which is the same no matter where in the process lifecycle the user or customer encounters you.
- Self-service. Perhaps the largest asset is self-service, which allows users or customers to complete tasks and automates vulnerability checks normally performed by IT security checks, including bug checks and vulnerability hacks.
- AI-threat analysis. An automated process like DevSecOps can learn from AI techniques to monitor any bad software or identity issues, particularly from dodgy coding.
- Scalability. The more automated the process, the more streamlined and scalable the operation, from a few users to a few thousand. A streamlined process also ensures that all the industrial policies and government compliance mandates are complied with, ensuring the accuracy and relevance of information.
Main advantages of Automation in DevSecOps
- Improves efficiency and reduces manual effort
- Enables more frequent and reliable software releases
- Facilitates faster detection and remediation of defects and vulnerabilities
- Enhances consistency and standardization of infrastructure and configurations
- Enables more efficient and effective security incident response
- Improves team collaboration and communication
- Helps reduce the risk of human error.
Examples of software using DecSecOps.
- GitHub
- AWS
- Azure
A common user story
“As a Product Manager, I want to create a DevSecOps process emphasizing automation so that our team can improve security, reduce risk, and deliver high-quality software to customers more efficiently. By using tools like continuous integration and delivery, infrastructure-as-code, automated testing, and involving security teams in the development process, we can integrate security throughout the software development lifecycle, identify vulnerabilities quickly, and respond more quickly to security threats. This process can help us reduce the time and effort required to identify and remediate vulnerabilities, reduce the risk of human error, and deliver high-quality software to customers that meet the highest security standards. In addition, regular reviews and testing can help identify and address vulnerabilities quickly, ensuring that our software remains secure over time.”
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