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Security as Code Explained: What It Means and How It Supports DevSecOps

Security as Code

Security should be part of the codebase, not stuck in documents. Security checks are still performed manually in many software teams. But software development has become fast and automated. Security needs to follow the same pace.

According to the recent survey done by StrongDM, 96% of total respondents said that their organization would benefit by adopting Security as Code and DevSecOps practices.

That’s why it is important to follow the Security as Code principle. It means writing security policies, checks, and rules as code. These can be stored in version control, reviewed in pull requests, and run automatically in CI tools. It makes security easier to manage, repeat, and trust across the whole development process.

Security as Code Explained
Security as Code (SaC) manages security through code and configuration files

Security as Code (SaC) is a way to handle security using scripts and files, just like you manage your app or infrastructure code. Instead of doing manual checks, you write security rules and policies as code that run on their own inside your CI/CD pipeline.

It can scan your code, check your configs, or block risky changes, all without manual effort. Just like you version your application code, you also version your security logic. For instance, you write security policies to validate the user password in the code format, and stored the file in GitHub with the application code. Now, you have updated the policies to ensure that app users always set strong passwords. In this case, you can check how security policies have evolved using the version control systems.

By integrating security as code into the development process, teams can find bugs during the development stage, which saves resources and costs associated with fixing bugs in a later stage.

Moreover, Security as Code is an important component of DevSecOps, a culture that encourages the development, operations, and security teams to work together throughout the software development life cycle.

Did you know?

According to IBM’s cost of data breach report, organizations can save around $2.22M per year by automating security checks. This shows the importance of adopting SaC in software development.

Key Principles of Security as Code

Understanding the below SaC principles will help you in implementing the Security as Code approach in DevOps:
  • Define Security Policies as Code: Security policies and rules should be defined and enforced as code.
  • Integrate Security in Software Development Processes: Security policies should be integrated at every phase of the SDLC, not only at the end.
  • Automate Security Checks: SaC motivates DevOps teams to automate repetitive security checks by integrating the security policies and tests into the CI/CD pipeline. This allows team members to focus on handling other essential security checks.
  • Version Control of Security Configurations: A version control system should be used to manage all security policies, rules, and configurations. This helps teams track change history and easily troubleshoot security issues.
  • Continuous Monitoring of Security Policies: It is very important to monitor security checks continuously. Teams should develop a dashboard, a log monitoring system, or an alerting mechanism to get notified when anything goes wrong.

Why use Security as Code: Real benefits for teams

  • Improves Team Collaboration: The SaC approach allows different teams, such as development, security, and operations, to work on the same code base. This reduces the issues that occur when security teams work in silos.
  • Reduces Human Errors: As security checks are directly integrated and automated with the CI/CD pipeline, they reduce the chances of human errors.
  • Addresses Security Issues Early: The SaC approach identifies vulnerabilities during the software development process and before it is launched.
  • Simplifies Post-release Security Maintenance: As security policies are enforced in the code format and version control systems are used to maintain security configuration, it simplifies the security maintenance after releasing the application.
  • Saves Time: Automating security checks saves time and shortens the product release cycle.
  • Improved Scalability: As the system grows, teams are required to introduce new security configurations. SaC can easily adapt to new security requirements.
  • Helps in Staying Compliant: It is very important to follow security compliance while developing software that is going to be used in regulatory industries, and SaC helps with the same.

Best practices to follow while implementing security as code

  • Define Security Rules for Each Stage: Start by defining the security rules for each stage of the development process. For example, “API keys should be written in the .env file and not exposed to the frontend” is one such rule. Similarly, you can define rules to run a security scan after the build process.
  • Automate Security Scans Using CI/CD Tools: Use security scanning tools with CI/CD tools. This will help you run auto security checks after each phase of the CI/CD pipeline, including development, build, test, and deployment.
  • Test Code in Staging Environments: Always test the code in staging environments, as it will be similar to the code that will be released in production.
  • Implement Backup System: To recover security policies from any disaster, make sure to take regular backups.
  • Keep Improving: Analyze the security issues you get, and always keep improving the security scripts accordingly.

Closing Thoughts

Security as Code is not just a buzzword. It helps teams catch issues early, avoid manual steps, and keep up with fast-moving projects. There are many tools for Security as Code that make this easier, from scanners to policy checkers, all designed to plug right into your CI/CD setup. The simple advice is to start small. Add one check, connect one tool, and build from there.
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