(Last Updated On: April 4, 2022)

When shifting to a DevSecOps goal-oriented model companies need to understand that it’s not as simple as it seems. It takes hard work and a bit of psychology to make the leap. Adoption can be stressful and you’re bound to take some hits along the way. There are 3 non-obvious areas, when it comes to the future of DevSecOps, that will be the most harrowing. In this article, we’ll break them down and help you understand how you can better your chances of success. 

What is DevSecOps?

To understand the DevSecOps meaning, you need to know that it is a combination of two words: Development and Security. It is an approach to software development that integrates security at every stage of the development process.

DevSecOps is not just about making sure that the application has a secure codebase, but also making sure that it is secure in its design and deployment. DevSecOps is a relatively new approach to security. It’s at its core an innovative way of thinking about the process, not as an add-on to the product or software or app, but as part of its original DNA — as part of the code that made it. This means that it’s not a feature or something thought of after inception and development but something that was input into it from the get-go. 

This creates less friction, when it comes to security implementations, attributes more value to the product, and makes software of higher utility. The DevSecOp is a mindset and paradigm shift that fosters innovation, ensures data security, and makes privacy issues as important as the product’s design goal — its reason for existing, what it does. By developing security as code, by taking that leap, businesses strive to create better products and services, adhere to compliance issues, provide better insight to developers, and optimize product launch and deployment. 

Businesses that incorporate the DevSecOp methodology at a company scale are more efficient and streamlined. They don’t have to wait until the testing phase, weeks from deployment, to wake up to the fact that the boat is leaking. They can rapidly invest in finding solutions, without having to sprint or scramble at the last second. This means that workers can act faster, be more efficient, and have a less stressful environment with fewer frustrations. And, it also means that production costs are reduced. Patching and error, fixing a weakness or dealing with a vulnerability late in the development stage cost company 10x more than if said bug or error was patched sooner. 

Non-Obvious DevSecOps goals

DevSecOps is normally defined by 7 traits. 

• De-Siloing IT
• Security Shifts Left protocols. 
• Agile security.
• Security automation.
• Continuous monitoring.
• Culture security. 

If applied properly, and working in unison, all these traits can boost your security measures and shift your whole company model. Most of those traits, at least 7 of them are fairly obvious. Continually monitor your networks, codes, apps; apply automation when possible since it safeguards your company against human error: think on your toes and act quickly: break down boundaries and stop thinking that each department is isolated — But there’s one particular linchpin, one trait, that brings all of those other characteristics together: CULTURE SECURITY. 

Culture security is really about coming to crips that security is “everyone’s responsibility.” It establishes a team culture that embraces all security concerns, at every step of the development and operations process — all through the product’s lifecycle. This is by far one of the toughest tarts to implement and foment in an organization, particularly when it comes to creative types. Security, for some time now, has been regarded by designers, coders, and engineers as a hassle. Something that ultimately hinders them and doesn’t interest them a bit. It’s a necessary feature that slows their process. 

That’s why, to change the paradigm, it’s important to embrace 3 goals and change the value-set of 3 focus areas. Let’s talk about them.

Team Collaborations 

To truly meet your DevSecOps goals, you’ll need to erode boundaries and join teams. Make them collaborate and stop thinking of each department as a separate ecosystem. Part of the DevSecOps model is the idea that building bridges between departments is important. Your teams must feel as if they are part of a collective unit, not isolated from one another. 

Create training seminars, team-building exercises, and foment camaraderie among your employees. 

Shift the mindset 

Incorporate tools and security features into your culture seamlessly. Your team has to feel as if everything you are doing is for their benefit. Automate as much as possible and, when implementing tools into their workflow, try to make it as inviting as possible — not intrusive. Today, with the myriad of possibilities, and tech wonders, your security consultant can implement key features into the ecosystem and no one in your team will notice. 

A great way to foment the use of tools and the shift in the culture is by implanting a security champion. 

Measure twice cut once — and repeat 

You’ll need to take a few hits while implementing all these changes. Why? Unless you’re working with newcomers, that have zero experience in the field and can be molded to your needs and current desires, you will have to deal with extremely obtuse and, sometimes, pigheaded personalities. With deeply ingrained systems and habits. That means it will take time for the change to actually set in. You will need to monitor and measure your progress, hear folks out and take their advice or objections to heart, and use all that feedback to better your platform. 

Why are these 3 focus areas hard?

These 3 DevSecOps goals are hard because they have less to do with your tech and your parameters and your metrics and more to do with changing a person’s habits — less about science and business metrics or BI, and more about psychology. The benefits of taking the time, and doing the work, really pay off in the end. It leads to better products, more efficient launches, and fewer headaches on deployment.