Development Under the DevSecOps Model – How Is It Different?
While DevOps Approach to software development has been around for over a decade now, bringing software development and operating teams closer together. DevSecOps is an upgraded version of it.
With the DevOps Approach, companies were able to overcome most of their time and capital constraints. But maintaining security protocols in an accelerated dynamic environment was still a huge obstacle.
With the DevSecOps model, we can effortlessly overcome this obstacle. Let’s find out how DevSecOps adds value to a firm compared to other software development methods.
What Is DevOps?
In a conventional software department, a development team would develop software, and an operations team would test it under a production environment. This process of developing large codes, testing in production environments, creating feedback, and implementing this feedback was both time-consuming and expensive.
DevOps is simply an acronym for the two major divisions in a company’s software department.
Under DevOps-
- Companies use advanced automation techniques to ensure development and operations teams can collaborate their activities efficiently in terms of time and money.
- Development and operations, testing under the production environment happens simultaneously.
What is DevSecOps?
DevSecOps is a more advanced approach to software development that adds software security into the DevOps approach.
The basic idea is to integrate security into the development operation cycle as early as possible.
How does DevSecOps Work?
DevSecOps applies the same basic principles as the DevOps approach. By using infrastructure as code approach, otherwise, infrastructure resource configurations have to be done manually. Except for this time, these infrastructure resource configurations are inclusive of the best security practices.
How Does DevSecOps Compare to Other Development Models?
DevSecOps vs DevOps
DevSecOps is an upgraded version of DevOps. While the DevOps approach aligns with the shared responsibility of development and operations, DevSecOps takes it a step further by integrating the security objective as a fundamental part of the final goal, increased efficiency.
The DevOps development system works by implementing the IaC concept into software development, overlooking the concept of code security. Under the DevOps approach, code security was adopted after the code was fully developed. However, under DevSecOps, security measures are adopted early on, even before the code is deployed.
While a DevOps team focuses on a faster system with efficient communication, the DevSecOps teams work on keeping the code secure while maintaining its fast development and deployment.
DevSecOps vs Agile
The DevSecOps and Agile methodologies differ in one basic aspect of the software, i.e. code security. The main point of difference lies between the timing at which the security element of software development is taken up into the development process and who is responsible for implementing it.
Under the Agile methodology, software developers continuously develop their code while receiving and implementing feedback on it. The main focus here is tailoring the perfect code according to the client’s needs before focusing on its security. Once the final software is approved by the client, it will then be passed on to the security team before it can be released.
This means that under Agile, code security is not the responsibility of a software developer. Rather the responsibility of code security befalls the security team.
Under DevSecOps, a program code is kept secure at its earliest level. While the developers develop code and integrate client feedback into it, they also ensure it’s kept protected from unauthorized access by VPN, SSL, etc., while in transit.
Under this ideology, a high-quality code isn’t just one that’s written correctly, meets the clients’ needs, is delivered on time, and can be deployed repeatedly without flaw. But one that is written securely as well.
DevSecOps vs Waterfall
The Waterfall methodology has been around for over 50 years now. Under the waterfall SDLC approach, the development cycle progresses in stages. The next stage can’t commence unless the previous one is performed to completion.
This system is problematic for large-scale projects. Another shortfall of the Waterfall system is that its high time and resource-consuming. Plus, under this modality, the code is unprotected during the transit phase, which in this case, is much longer.
The DevSecOps system, on the other hand, isn’t a process that comes with the limitations of a step-by-step approach. Development, operations, and basic code security procedures all happen simultaneously from the earliest stages of software design.
DevSecOps vs SecOps
SecOpss and DevSecOps ideologies are almost identical with one key difference. SecOps ideology brings the security teams and the IT operations team under one banner. Once the developers develop their code, it’s sent to the SecOps team to implement code testing and ensure code security.
On the other hand, DevSecOps brings the development team into the equation to aid the security and operations team. This means that smaller chunks of a smaller code are being tested by the operations team and kept secured by the security team while the rest of the code is being developed.
By bringing all these professionals under one umbrella, the developers, operations experts, and security personnel work together to make the code better, rather than waiting on the other to finish their job.
However, the basic ideology of both is the same, to integrate the security element of code development into its earliest stages rather than considering it as an afterthought. DevSecOps takes things further by breaking down the barriers of silos that exist in software development.
Conclusion
Different methodologies of software development lead to different outcomes. With the aid of IaC, code development took a huge leap from the conventional step-by-step approach to a modern collaborative approach. Thus the key takeaway is that under these new models, teams work more efficiently with improved communication, shared responsibilities, automated processes, and incorporating security.
Among these methodologies, DevSecOps is the most efficient manifestation of the model software development team. Under DevSecOps, companies develop high-quality, secure code and time efficiently. The result is high customer satisfaction, an improved working environment, and substantially reduced capital costs.
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