DevOps and System Security: Best Practices and Security Challenges

DevOps and System Security: Best Practices and Security Challenges

If you are a professional who is working in a profound digital organization then you know better than most the very definition of security and how it can pose several problems if not attended in the right way. The security of information and data has been of critical importance to the digital organizations at all times, which means that not a single second passes where nothing is being done to ensure not only the company but all the assets and resources working within it are fully secured from external threats.

But this again is a misconception because nothing is ever secured in a decisive manner. There are always setbacks, vulnerabilities which can lead to a cyber breach or a successful cyber-attack. The most obvious triggers which can disrupt the security of an organization are human errors, lack of processing as well as external threats being posed by cyber criminals and hackers alike.

Since we are now exposed to many technical advancements, there is less a need to worry, because DevOps along with other various metrics can help you fight these invulnerabilities which exist within your security systems in a brief and controlled manner. Acquiring the DevOps project management certification can become the real career change that you might require to propel further as a security professional within the realm of DevOps.

DevOps and Security

Role of DevOps in Development

As far as the job being done by DevOps is concerned then it won’t let you down when illuminating toxicity surrounding the software security. When a security problem persists, professionals are often scared to do anything about it using their personal inside. They feel more confident to stick with guidelines and rules prescribed by the organization and this is where the loophole begins. DevOps can help these professionals to come around with different insights and creative ways to solve these security related issues. Let’s have a clear insight into how DevOps can help the professionals to solve security related issues;

Human error

Humans aren’t perfect, they make mistakes and often blow the whole thing up because we are a creature of habit. Developers are humans too which means they can make typos and other mistakes while coding or programming different sections of an application, software or any particular digital entity. Even the smallest of errors made while writing the code can have drastic and catastrophic comebacks in the later stages of application development and implementation.

Developers can make certain mistakes relying on their brain which at different times might not be easy to identify. It is then when they type something other than what should be, and it comes up as a whole different thing on the screen or in reality. This is where DevOps can extend its arms to help things around, this can be done by automating these common tasks of writing the same code which can be fitted across various channels depending on its customizability. 

Lack of process

Shortcuts are taken everywhere and there is no denying the fact that DevOps professionals do it too, within the production environment better configure the start, change an shutdown services developers use scripts which can help them define certain processes and to distinguish between them. If a developer denies the fact that they do shortcuts like using scripts then they are of course lying. 

The most common problem here is that scripts are not reviewed in any way possible because there is no process or system in place to do it. But with the help of DevOps you can clearly define the process of deployment and development allowing you to eliminate any inconsistencies that remains within deployment or development of the systems. After that you can easily orchestrate your products or applications you have developed to be funneled down to the customers reflecting an agile approach. DevOps can even help you to develop certain processes for reviewing the scripts used within processing and deployment.

External threats

Many professionals wouldn’t agree on the fact that DevOps can actually help them to deal with external threats better than any other tool they have ever worked with. Malware and DDoS attacks are the most common payloads used in the modern world to bring down the concept of security and integrity of the data and information stored by the organizations. Reviewing the code and manual detections by the developers can uncover various vulnerabilities before production can begin. But when things are rolling and in production the extensive testing just can’t be carried out which once again leaves the applications which are developed in a constant dilemma. 

The DevOps can be of huge help here as it can help the professionals to develop certain processes which can then allow the professionals to perform thorough testing and modifications within the core structure of application before it can be shipped to the customers. DevOps also urges you to treat everything as code and develop certain policies and standards for developing and deploying applications and still treat them like a code.

In order to make sure that everything is going smoothly and that no manual integration or human Inception can interfere with the quality, you need to let DevOps automate the processing and development for the applications. You need to take security features quite seriously because only then you can have them reviewed and standardized according to the various requirements of the organization you are working in.

Another thing which can help you in this regard is to first understand your security requirements and where the vulnerabilities exist. Because when you have found these two most important things you can begin to collaborate and understand your security problems in a better way. Review any and all policies in order to strengthen them, making sure they are aligned with corporate policy, customer policy or user policy. Wherever modifications are needed you will nneed to implement them with or without DevOps, that is your only choice.

Make sure to customize all of your DevOps practices around the very requirements of the organization you are working for and what lies in best interest of the customer and product security.