Kickstarting Your DevSecOps Journey: Embracing Culture and Practice

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Introduction

Many organizations struggle with integrating security into their operations, often discussing their challenges and obstacles. This blog series aims to empower you to start your DevSecOps journey effectively. This part focuses on the non-technical aspects that influence your organization and its people. We’ll explore the technical details in future posts, applying Flow, Feedback, and Continuous Learning principles.

What is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps extends the DevOps philosophy, which combines cultural practices and tools to enhance an organization’s delivery speed. DevOps prioritizes rapid service delivery, which traditional security methods can’t always accommodate. This is where DevSecOps comes in, integrating security as a continuous, shared responsibility across all IT processes.

The DevSecOps Manifesto

The DevSecOps manifesto redefines security within organizations, emphasizing:

• Proactive Involvement Over Passivity: Encouraging open contribution and collaboration, not just security mandates.
• Practical Tools Over Theoretical Controls: Using APIs for security services instead of relying solely on mandatory controls.
• Empirical Data Over Fear Tactics: Choosing data and security science over fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
• Dynamic Testing Over Static Checks: Preferring hands-on exploit testing by red and blue teams over mere scans.
• Continuous Monitoring Over Reactive Measures: Implementing round-the-clock security monitoring instead of reacting post-incident.
• Shared Knowledge Over Siloed Information: Promoting shared threat intelligence and collaborative compliance.

Source: https://www.devsecops.org/

Why DevSecOps?

Traditional security often acts as a bottleneck in the fast-paced DevOps environment, slowing down processes and elongating feedback loops. DevSecOps integrates security into the developmental pipeline, enhancing flow, reducing risks, and enabling quicker, more effective learning opportunities.

How to Start It Up?

To effectively integrate DevSecOps:

1. Embrace the Service-Oriented Approach: Shift from viewing security as an overseeing body to a service that aids development.
2. Integrate Security Within Your Code Pipelines: Initiate security tests that run in parallel without halting the pipeline, using the feedback to refine processes.
3. Build a Security Champions Program: Form a group of security-focused team members who can pioneer security initiatives and share insights across the organization.

Next Steps

Stay tuned for the following posts, which will delve into the technical specifics of implementing security measures directly into your value streams. I am eager to engage with you and tailor the upcoming content to your interests. Leave a comment with topics you’d like me to cover.