In recent years, the rise of cyber threats has forced companies to rethink their security paradigm: it is no longer enough to protect infrastructure downstream in the process; security must be reconsidered from the very beginning of software development and deployment. DevSecOps is the outcome of this evolution.
DevSecOps: Integrating Security Throughout the Development Cycle
Traditionally, application security was a separate activity from code development and was performed afterward. There was also a clear distinction between developers (Dev), those responsible for application infrastructure (Ops), and security specialists (Sec), each working independently. This approach functioned without major issues for decades—at least as long as software updates were released at well-defined, predictable intervals.
Today, however, business pressure and the rise of cloud-native technologies have led to a profound revision of the software lifecycle. Agile paradigms like DevOps have introduced continuous synergy between development (Dev) and operations (Ops), with frequent iterations and even daily updates of mission-critical applications. In this context, security could no longer be an afterthought separate from development; it had to be integrated directly into the process, giving birth to DevSecOps.
DevSecOps and the Shift Left Principle
DevSecOps is a natural extension of DevOps and is based on integrating security specialists and practices throughout the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC). The goal is to ensure that applications are developed quickly and seamlessly, without compromising security now or in the future. Among the various definitions available, one of the most effective comes from IBM, which describes DevSecOps as "seamlessly integrating application and infrastructure security into Agile and DevOps processes and tools."
One of the key concepts in DevSecOps is shift left, which involves moving security activities as early as possible in the development cycle. In contrast to traditional methods, this approach strengthens the final product while making corrective actions less costly and complex. With shift left, security becomes a structural element of software from the earliest design and coding phases, minimizing vulnerabilities and ensuring faster, more secure releases.
How SecDevOps Works: From Design to Application Release
As mentioned earlier, DevSecOps aims to integrate security measures, activities, and processes into all phases of the traditional Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), from design to software release and all subsequent updates. Specifically:
- Planning and Design: at this stage, threat modeling is typically performed to identify potential vulnerabilities as early as the design phase. Security rules and best practices are also selected to be integrated into the subsequent development phases, including coding.
- Development: during the development phase, static code analysis tools can be integrated to detect vulnerabilities while the code is written.
- Testing and build: Automated security tests, such as penetration testing and dynamic application scans, are implemented to identify weaknesses before deployment. During the build generation phase, a dependency scan is crucial to assess the security of third-party libraries and packages used in the software. Tools like OWASP Dependency-Check can be used for this purpose.
- Deployment and continuous monitoring: advanced logging systems and continuous monitoring tools are developed and implemented to detect anomalies or suspicious activities after release.
It is important to emphasize that this is not a one-time activity but is fully integrated into DevOps practices and the related Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) processes. This means that security activities are not isolated into discrete phases but are part of a continuous cycle, where every code change or infrastructure update undergoes security checks before being released into production. Application security is thus combined with infrastructure security, forming a complete and dynamic protection ecosystem.
Why Adopt DevSecOps and How: 4 Key Benefits
Implementing a DevSecOps approach brings numerous benefits, both operational and strategic. Here are four key advantages:
Continuous and Proactive Security
DevSecOps eliminates the reactive mindset of traditional security and introduces a model where protection is part of software development. This allows vulnerabilities to be identified and resolved before they become serious issues.
Lower Remediation Costs
Fixing a vulnerability in production can be up to 100 times more expensive than detecting it during development. With DevSecOps, security flaws are identified earlier, reducing fix costs and speeding up release times.
Improved Regulatory Compliance
DevSecOps facilitates adherence to security standards and regulations (NIS 2, HIPAA, GDPR...) through automated controls and checks, ensuring easier audits and up-to-date documentation.
Faster Release Cycles
Business success largely depends on how quickly digital solutions are developed and updated. Integrating security into DevOps processes removes traditional bottlenecks, enabling teams to develop and deploy software faster without compromising security.
Better Communication
DevSecOps fosters closer collaboration between development, security, and operations teams, which have traditionally worked in silos. This approach promotes a common language, reducing inefficiencies and improving threat response capabilities.
Are DevSecOps and SecDevOps the same thing?
Although the term DevSecOps is the most common, another similar but distinct term often appears: SecDevOps. This raises the question of whether it is simply a typo or something fundamentally different.
While these terms are often used interchangeably, they have key differences, particularly regarding the shift left principle.
The DevSecOps approach, as previously mentioned, emerged from the need to integrate security into the software development and distribution cycle while maintaining a distinction between the three core areas: development (Dev), operations (Ops), and security (Sec). Even though they work in synergy through iterative and automated processes, each team retains its specialized expertise, ensuring a balance between innovation and application protection.
The SecDevOps approach, on the other hand, embraces a security-first philosophy. Here, security is not just an integrated element but the primary goal of the process, as well as a core competency for every professional involved in DevOps environments. In other words, developers and operations teams don’t just collaborate with security teams—they take on direct responsibility for security activities, such as vulnerability scans, dependency analysis, control management, and anomaly monitoring. This further accelerates development and release cycles.
However, it is important to note that this does not mean eliminating dedicated security teams. Instead, it relieves them of more routine tasks. In a SecDevOps environment, security specialists focus on advanced and less automatable tasks, such as defining policies, overseeing processes, and conducting complex tests like penetration testing.
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