How can you align security testing with security development?

A well-known quote from management guru Peter Drucker sagely posits that "You can't manage what you don't measure". In defining the security goals and metrics we are establishing a baseline upon which we will measure the rate of success or failure. Within the DevSecOps space, we are not only striving for increased process efficiency, but for faster identification, mitigation, and remediation of security threats as they emerge. A practical example is the total number of vulnerabilities identified in an application for a specific period. This could be further broken down to reflect the total vulnerabilities per sprint, release or test cycle. The vulnerabilities themselves can also be categorized by the OWASP Top 10 list of common threats.

Incorporate security requirements: Define security requirements early in the development process. These requirements should be documented and communicated to the development team. Developers can build security controls directly into the code by integrating security requirements into the development process.

To align security testing with security development, you need to integrate security practices throughout the software development lifecycle. Start by identifying security requirements early in the development process. Then, incorporate security controls and coding best practices during development. Automate security testing as part of the continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline to catch vulnerabilities early. Conduct regular security reviews and collaborate closely between development and security teams to ensure security measures are implemented effectively.

Continuous integration and deployment: Implement continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) practices to automate the build, testing, and deployment processes. Include security testing as part of the CI/CD pipeline to ensure that security measures are validated at each stage. This helps identify security regressions and enables rapid feedback and remediation. Conduct threat modeling: Perform threat modeling exercises during the design phase to identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities. This helps determine the critical areas that require focused security testing. Developers and security professionals can collaborate to analyze potential threats and design appropriate security measures.

Security testing throughout the development cycle: Embed security testing activities at different stages of the development process. This includes unit testing, integration testing, and system testing. Use a combination of manual and automated security testing techniques, such as static analysis, dynamic analysis, and penetration testing, to identify vulnerabilities in the system. Integrate security tools into the development environment: Integrate security testing tools into the development environment to facilitate continuous security testing. This allows developers to identify and address security issues early in development. Automated security testing tools can scan code, analyze dependencies, and provide real-time feedback.

Collaborate between security and development teams: Foster collaboration between security professionals and developers to share knowledge and best practices. Encourage regular communication and knowledge-sharing sessions to raise awareness about security threats and mitigation techniques. Establish a feedback loop to address security issues and incorporate lessons learned into future development cycles.

Implement secure coding practices: Encourage developers to follow secure coding practices, such as input validation, proper error handling, and secure authentication and authorization mechanisms. Provide them with training and resources on secure coding techniques. Conduct code reviews to identify security issues and provide feedback to developers. Monitor and respond to security incidents: Establish mechanisms to monitor the application and infrastructure for security incidents. Implement logging, monitoring, and incident response processes to promptly detect and respond to security events. Capture and analyze security-related data to improve future security testing and development practices.