The holidays are here and many of us are thinking about all the wonderful gifts we’re going to be giving this year. A new fishing pole for dad, some nice jewelry for mom, and a good self-help book for that one stepbrother. Well, maybe. We’ll leave that last one up to you.
There’s one other incredible present you can give and that’s the gift of DevSecOps to your business. How does that sound? Exciting? Maybe not. But that’s actually the beauty of DevSecOps. When done right, it eliminates all the “excitement” of hacks, attacks, data breaches, and everything else that comes along with vulnerable software.
DevSecOps, also known as Development-Security-Operations, is an approach to security integration at all stages of the software development lifecycle, beginning with the initial design and extending through the integration, testing, deployment, and delivery.
And you might say that it’s a “popular gift” this year. A survey of more than 500 DevSecOps professionals in the United States found that 73% of organizations intend on increasing their total investment in application security in 2023. The total global market for DevSecOps is expected to be $17 billion by 2026.
Below are a few key features your DevSecOps approach needs to include so that your business can enjoy the peace of mind that comes with having a secure software development lifecycle process and knowing that your holiday won’t be spoiled by hackers.
Security needs to be an intentional, active part of the software development process from the beginning, not an afterthought once the project is nearly complete. And one strategy to ensure that it is a priority from the beginning is for development teams to document software security requirements alongside the functional requirements. This helps to build security into the program right from the start.
Authentication and password management, authorization and role management, network and data security, encryption and key management — these are just a few of the key areas that need to be securely accounted for when project requirements are hashed out. It’s not enough to simply accomplish the task — it has to be done in such a way that companies’ and customers’ data is protected.
Imagine that you’re building a house and the plumber just finished installing all the piping. Would you want them to turn on the water and test the pipes before the drywall crew sealed up all the walls? Just in case there was a leak? It’s a whole lot easier to find and fix it now than wonder why the hardwood floors are wet the third day after moving in.
Engineering software is the same way. Code is only as secure as its most insecure component. So in addition to building security into the specs, make sure that your testing process includes security testing, too — often and early.
Security isn’t a checkbox on a list, rather it’s the watermarked paper that the list is written upon. It’s the fortified walls from which you sit and check off the items on the list. It’s the verifiable, magnetic ink in the pen you use to check the boxes. It’s the notary stamp on the checklist document when you’re finished. And when creating software, security needs to be a fundamental aspect of the framework itself.
There are a few ways to accomplish this. Keep the development team aware of all current best security practices; account for it in the planning, architecture, production, and development stages; consider using security specialists or providers to bring agility and expertise into QA cycles.
The number of vulnerabilities that can and do affect applications is far too vast for any one person or team to simply know and remember while they’re coding. And the very idea of trying is inefficient because we have tools that do it for us. And isn’t that the whole purpose of coding anyway?
DevSecOps tools like PreEmptive make it easy. Our obfuscation solutions for .NET, Java, JavaScript, Android, and iOS ensure that your applications are more resistant and resilient to hacking and tampering to protect intellectual property, sensitive data, and revenue.
Engineering the software to do everything the specs call for is just the start. Then it has to go out into the world and not only function but also not break. And not give up the keys to the kingdom in the form of a data breach. How do you do that? Implement safety protocols that continue after the software is deployed.
Runtime app self-protection is one way to ensure your apps detect and block hackers’ attempts to gain access to source code, find vulnerabilities, create exploits, and all the other malicious activities they’re not supposed to do.
An ironclad DevSecOps process is totally achievable with PreEmptive. Android, .NET, Java and more — we’re professional app shielding. Helping organizations all over the world protect their apps and customer data from passive and active attacks is what we do. We can do it for you, too.
Request a free trial and let us show you how to make your holidays merry and bright with the industry’s best DevSecOps solution!