Whether your organization is pushing for a move to cloud data security or not, there are still many challenges that need addressing before actual adoption and accountability take hold.
Many organizations are simply starting with one security team responsible for all security concerns while others are separating the responsibilities into more defined roles.
Regardless of where you fall in this spectrum, if you work in information technology or hope to implement dev sec ops at your organization, there may be several things that need to be addressed.
For dev sec ops to be successful, security and development teams need to work together more closely than ever before. Security needs to provide feedback early and often in the software development process, while developers also need to consider safety when coding.
The following are some mistakes that you need to avoid to establish successful dev sec ops. The article also discusses some of the mitigation measures that can be adopted to tackle these issues.
Lack of Communication Between Teams
The main challenge most organizations face when implementing dev sec ops is a lack of communication between teams. Security teams often work in silos, separate from the rest of the organization.
They may not be aware of what’s going on in the development department, and vice versa. The lack of communication can lead to security vulnerabilities going undetected and unaddressed.
Lack of Awareness and Understanding
Even if security and development teams communicate effectively, there may still be a lack of understanding and awareness of dev sec ops among team members. Security teams may not understand how the development process works, and developers may not know the best security practices. This can lead to misunderstandings and conflicts between teams.
Lack of Resources
Implementing this requires time and resources that many organizations don’t have. Security teams may not have the workforce to keep up with the demands of the development department, and developers may not have the time or expertise to learn about security. It can lead to frustration for both teams and result in a lack of cooperation. Developers may also need the training to learn how to code securely.
Lack of Accountability
One more big challenge with this is a lack of accountability. Developers may not feel accountable for any security vulnerabilities their code causes; they often think these issues are the responsibility of other teams, such as security or operations.
Security teams also don’t always feel like they’re accountable to the rest of the organization, leading to a lack of trust and respect.
Legacy Applications and Systems
Most organizations have many legacy applications that are still in use. The problem is that these applications often don’t follow the same security standards as newer systems. Security teams may not understand how these older applications work, while developers may lack the time or resources to update them.
They often pose a significant security challenge for dev sec ops teams. Modernizing old applications can be extremely expensive, but leaving them as they are might introduce significant vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit.
Fragmented Tooling
It also requires a lot of different tools, and often these tools don’t work well together or are challenging to use. Security teams may have to use several various tools to monitor all the applications in their environment, and these tools often don’t communicate with each other. It can lead to data fragmentation and a lack of visibility and situational awareness for security teams.
A Limited Understanding of Threats
Even if all the challenges above are eventually addressed, team members may still have a limited understanding of severe application security threats. Vulnerabilities such as insecure direct object references and cross-site scripting (XSS) aren’t always taken seriously, and this can leave applications open to attack.
How to Mitigate These Challenges?
When asked about adopting cloud computing, around 66 percent of IT professionals say security is their primary concern.
There are many things organizations can do to mitigate these challenges and improve communication between teams. These include:
Create Security Standards
One way to improve communication is to create security standards that everyone can follow. It will ensure that everyone is on the same page regarding security, making it easier for security teams to create a secure environment.
Get Involved Early
Security teams should be involved as early as possible in the development process, ideally before any code is written. It can help prevent vulnerabilities from being introduced into applications and guide how to design them securely. Security audits are also an effective way to find any mistakes that have been made during development.
Use Automated Tools and Platforms
Tools and platforms that provide continuous monitoring, security testing, and other capabilities can help dev sec ops teams identify vulnerabilities in applications. These tools often work well together, so organizations only need to integrate them once for everything to work together.
Security teams should use standard communication channels, such as email, chat, and collaboration platforms, to make it easier for everyone to communicate. It will ensure that everyone is on the same page and that critical information isn’t missed.