Shifting Security Left in DevOps: How to Catch Bugs Early and Deliver Faster (and More Secure) Software

Modern software development approaches like DevOps have revolutionized speed and efficiency. However, tighter deadlines can sometimes push security practices aside. This can lead to buggy, insecure software that exposes your organization and your customers to risk.

This article explores how Shifting Security Left (SSL) introduces security measures into the early phases of the DevOps lifecycle. By integrating security throughout the development process, you can proactively fix bugs and prevent security vulnerabilities before they become a major headache.

Meaning of SLO in DevOps?

An SLO, or Service Level Objective, is a specific target within a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that defines the desired performance metric for a service. In the context of DevSecOps, an SLO could be the desired uptime for an application (e.g. 99.99%), the acceptable response time for a web service (e.g. under 2 seconds), or the rate of fixed security vulnerabilities (e.g. 90% within 24 hours). By setting SLOs early in the development process, teams can ensure they are building secure and reliable software that meets user expectations.

How to Implement Shift-Left Security

There are two key phases to implementing a Shift-Left approach:

• Planning: This crucial stage involves establishing a clear threat model, defining acceptance test criteria, and outlining SLOs. The threat model identifies potential security risks, while acceptance test criteria define the pass/fail conditions for each stage of development. SLOs set measurable goals for security performance throughout the lifecycle.
• Implementation: Automation is key here. Security tools can be integrated throughout the development pipeline to scan code for vulnerabilities, identify misconfigurations, and ensure secure deployments. For example, integrations can be made with IDEs (Integrated Development Environments) to flag potential security issues during coding. Code repositories can be scanned for leaked secrets or insecure dependencies. Automated security testing can be integrated into the CI/CD pipeline to identify vulnerabilities before applications are deployed.

Benefits of Shifting Security Left

• Early Bug Detection: Security vulnerabilities are identified and fixed earlier in the development process, saving time and money compared to fixing them in production.
• Improved Developer Awareness: By integrating security checks into their workflow, developers become more security-conscious and can write more secure code from the start.
• Faster Releases: Automating security testing throughout the pipeline can expedite releases by removing the need for manual security checks at the end of the development cycle.
• Reduced Risk: By proactively addressing security vulnerabilities, you can minimize the risk of data breaches and other security incidents.

Challenges of Shifting Security Left

• Cultural Shift: Security may have been an afterthought in the past. A successful shift left requires a cultural change within the organization, where security is seen as an integral part of the development process, not a roadblock.
• Training: Teams may need training on new security tools and processes to effectively implement a Shift-Left approach.

Squadcast: The Incident Management Alternative to Pagerduty

While shifting security left helps prevent incidents, having a robust incident response plan is still crucial. Even the most secure software can encounter unforeseen issues. This is where an effective incident management tool comes in.

Squadcast is an incident management tool built specifically for SRE (Site Reliability Engineering) teams. It offers features that streamline the modern incident response process, allowing you to resolve issues quickly and minimize downtime. Here’s how Squadcast can help:

• Eliminating unwanted alerts: Squadcast filters out irrelevant noise, ensuring your team receives only actionable notifications for critical incidents.
• Collaboration through virtual war rooms: Squadcast provides a central platform for your team to collaborate and troubleshoot incidents in real-time.
• Automation to reduce toil: Automated tasks and workflows can streamline repetitive tasks and free up your team to focus on resolving complex issues.
• Mobile Apps for On-the-Go Incident Management: Squadcast offers mobile apps for both iOS and Android, allowing your team to stay on top of incidents from anywhere.

Squadcast integrates with popular ChatOps tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, making communication and collaboration seamless.

Stop wasting time with ineffective alerting and try Squadcast today! See how it compares to other alternatives to Pagerduty and experience the difference a purpose-built incident management tool can make.