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Microsoft Security
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What is DevSecOps?

Learn how to integrate security practices into every phase of the software development lifecycle across your multicloud environment.
Microsoft Defender Cloud Security Posture Management

DevSecOps defined

DevSecOps, which stands for development, security, and operations, is a framework that integrates security into all phases of the software development lifecycle. Organizations adopt this approach to reduce the risk of releasing code with security vulnerabilities. Through collaboration, automation, and clear processes, teams share responsibility for security, rather than leaving it to the end when issues can be much more difficult and costly to address. DevSecOps is a critical component of a multicloud security strategy.

DevSecOps versus DevOps

In traditional software development, projects are split into distinct phases for planning, design, development, integration, and testing, which happen sequentially over several months or even years. Although this approach is very methodical, many organizations have found it to be too slow, making it difficult to meet customers’ expectations for continuous product improvements. Additionally, security typically gets bolted on at the very end, which puts companies at risk of a breach.

To remain competitive, many companies have adopted a DevOps model that prioritizes delivery of smaller packets of high-quality code rather than feature-rich projects that take longer. In this framework, software development and operations teams collaborate to incorporate testing and integration throughout the process. Automation, standardized processes, and collaboration help teams move quickly without sacrificing quality.

DevSecOps is an enhancement to DevOps that builds security into all aspects of the process. The goal is to address security issues from the very start of the project. In this framework, not only does the entire team take responsibility for quality assurance and code integration but also security. In practice, this means teams discuss security implications during planning and begin testing for security issues in development environments, rather than waiting until the end. Another name for this approach is shift left security.

Why is DevSecOps Important?

There are many methods that attackers use to gain access to an organization’s data and assets, but a common tactic is to exploit software vulnerabilities. These types of breaches are costly, time consuming, and depending on the severity, damaging to a company’s reputation. The DevSecOps framework reduces the risk of deploying software with misconfigurations and other vulnerabilities that bad actors can take advantage of.

More about DevSecOps

Adding security to your DevOps process requires careful planning. Start slowly with processes that introduce the least friction for the team and offer the biggest security payoff. Here are a few ways to add security to a typical DevOps sprint.

Continuous integration

With continuous integration developers commit their code to a central repository multiple times a day. Then the code is automatically integrated and tested. This approach enables teams to catch integration issues and bugs early in the process rather than waiting until the end when there could be several issues that need to be resolved.

Continuous delivery

Continuous delivery builds upon continuous integration to automate the process of moving code from the build environment to a staging environment. Once in staging, in addition to unit testing, the software is automatically tested to ensure the user interface is working, the code is successfully integrated, that APIs are reliable, and that the software can handle the expected traffic volumes. The goal of this approach is to consistently deliver production-ready code that provides value to customers.

Continuous security

Building security into the entire software development lifecycle is a key component of DevSecOps. This includes threat modeling early in the process and automated security testing throughout the entire lifecycle, starting with developers’ own environments. By thoroughly testing the software for security issues early and frequently, organizations can efficiently deliver software with minimal issues.

Communication and collaboration

DevSecOps is highly dependent on individuals and teams working closely together. Continuous integration requires people to collaborate to address conflicts in code, and teams need to effectively communicate to unify around the same goals.
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DevSecOps for cloud-native applications

Cloud-native applications are architected for the cloud and are usually vendor neutral, allowing them to be ported from one cloud to another. Designed to be highly scalable and resilient, development teams typically build them using microservices, containers, and automation, making them ideally suited for a DevSecOps process. Building continuous security, continuous integration, and continuous delivery into the development process for cloud-native applications enables scalability without compromising on security. Cloud security posture management (CSPM) solutions, like Microsoft Defender Security Posture Management, discover and address misconfigurations and vulnerabilities across your environment to help you secure your code and the entire DevOps pipeline. Once you’ve deployed your application to the cloud, cloud workload protection platforms (CWPP) help safeguard them and the underlying data by detecting and mitigating threats to workloads across multicloud environments.
Resources

Learn more about Microsoft Security

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Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Protect multicloud and hybrid environments from development to runtime with a comprehensive cloud-native application protection platform.
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Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Modernize how you secure your apps, protect your data, and elevate your app security posture with this software as a service solution.
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Microsoft Defender for Cloud Security Posture Management

Focus on your most critical risks across your multicloud environment with contextual cloud security posture management.
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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

  • DevSecOps is a process that integrates security into the entire software development lifecycle. Organizations adopt this approach to reduce the risk of releasing code with security vulnerabilities. Through collaboration, automation, and clear processes, teams share responsibility for security, rather than leaving it to the end when it can be much more difficult and costly to address issues.
  • DevSecOps stands for development, security, and operations. It refers to the process of integrating security into all phases of software development.
  • Shift left is a concept in DevSecOps that refers to incorporating security practices starting from the very beginning of the development process.
  • The DevSecOps framework includes continuous integration, continuous delivery, and continuous security. It is a method by which security, operations, and security teams work together and share the responsibility for quickly delivering quality software, while reducing security vulnerabilities.
  • There is no one DevSecOps process, but a common way that people run these projects is by dividing work into sprints each of which includes the following components: planning and development, build and test, and production. Throughout the sprint, teams use automation to continuously address quality assurance issues, continuously integrate, and continuously test for security risks.

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