You know DevSecOps is important, but implementing it can still be a challenge. What do you need to know, and where do you start?

This is the second blog in a two-part series. The first looked at Why We Need DevSecOps, while this one turns its attention to the actions that an organization can take to make DevSecOps a reality.

Both articles are based on a whitepaper, “DevSecOps: Speed and Security, Together at Last”, from CloudBees, which we encourage you to download and read.

What Prevents Organizations from Implementing DevSecOps?

When CloudBees looked more closely at the topic, it identified three obstacles or “ABC Challenges”:

•         A lack of automated workflow.
•         Bridging the gap between software development security and compliance.
•         Clear lack of application security skills, tools, and methods.

Do you want to view the full whitepaper from CloudBees? Click here to download it now!

Understanding and implementing DevSecOps can be aided by focusing on five key principles.

Phase 1: Understand the 5 Principles of DevSecOps

DevSecOps represents a mentality about security as much as a list of best practices. The security-first mentality involves proactively implementing security into the process and continuously anticipating and checking for problems, rather than applying security after the fact, when it may be too late.

5 principles of the security-first mentality include:

1.       Security as Code: Instead of seeing security as a manual and later step that slows development down, this reframes it as a central part of the process and integrates scans and tests throughout.
2.       Shift Left: This means starting security activities earlier and continuing them during the entire process (development, deployment, and production).
3.       Empower Teams: To really make DevSecOps work, security needs to become everyone’s responsibility. Security experts can still provide guidance and informed opinion, but developers and quality assurance teams also need to be prepared to take ownership and play their parts.
4.       Visibility: Security can’t be an afterthought. It needs to be tracked and measured like any other part of the process.
5.       Continuous Security: Setting up triggers and tests enables organizations to respond to threats at any phase, both proactively and reactively.

Phase 2: Create a Culture That Will Drive Your DevSecOps Transformation

Ultimately, DevSecOps comes down to more than just a list of best practices. It’s also about the larger cultural shift that drives them.

1. Optimize Processes

This comes down to implementing new workflows, governance models, and processes and mechanisms that will open up new lines of communication:

• Eliminate the silos keeping teams separated.
•  Put in place tools and technologies that streamline communication.
• Track progress with reports and metrics.
•  Promote feedback on processes with the creation of feedback loops.

This all boils down to continuous improvement. Remember, DevSecOps doesn’t assume that threats will ever be eradicated completely. Rather, it’s about realizing they will always be there, finding ways to avoid them or intercept them before they happen and react appropriately and promptly when they do.

2. Transform Technology

Automating testing processes allows you to detect vulnerabilities earlier and create better workflows while also giving teams the time to focus on higher value projects. Look for tools that enable end-to-end testing, perform scripting, and carry out analyses (static, dynamic, and composite).

3. Bridge the Gap

To make DevSecOps a success, you need to establish new chains of communication between teams and get complete buy-in for changes. That means making sure security always has a seat at the table, which will foster trust and encourage teams to work together to keep security front and centre, and building cross-functional teams that are ready to break down those silos.

Making the Most of Enterprise DevSecOps

A managed DevOps toolchain is the smarter solution for automating software development and delivery:

•  Unified, Collaborative CI/CD Tool Chain: We integrate configure, and manage your favourite tools-as-a-service into one flexible toolchain to simplify and streamline development processes.
• DevOps Consulting Service: Our DevOps experts are here to understand your DevOps and business objectives so we can help make recommendations and implement changes to get you to the end goal quicker. We can also accelerate your team’s onboarding by providing DevOps tool chain and processes best practices.
• Overcome Resource Complexity and Challenges: Spend more time on your core business and rely on experts for your DevOps initiatives. We offer a turnkey toolchain-as-a-service as well as DevOps-as-a-service to be an extension of your DevOps team.

iTMethods enables companies with a fully-managed toolchain on our DevOps SaaS platform and supports a broad variety of leading development tools including CloudBees Jenkins Enterprise, GitHub, JFrog, Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, Hipchat, Trello, and many more.

About iTMethods:

iTMethods helps companies accelerate software delivery capabilities through their Cloud-native DevOps SaaS Platform. The Enterprise SaaS offering features a toolchain catalog comprised of best-of-breed DevOps tools including CloudBees Jenkins, Github, Atlassian, Sonatype, and many more. These tools are deployed to each customer’s specific requirements, including security, scalability, and 24/7 customer support. Learn more at itmethods.com.

Read more from iTMethods:

• 6 Tips for Scaling Your DevOps Transformation
• Why You Need to Care about DevOps
• Aligning Developers with a DevOps Cloud Strategy