Automated Security
Automated Security
"Automation allows development organizations to go fast without having to constantly worry about breaking security," said Himanshu Dwivedi, founder and CEO of Data Theorem. "Many software development teams are under pressure to ensure that apps comply with regulatory requirements and are adequately protected against external hackers and those with trusted access, but are often understaffed, overutilized, and in no real position to manually review each product, even with outside help, because of the sheer volume of code being pumped out," he said. "Baking security into the automated workflows is the best route."
Many security tests can be automated to varying degrees through the lifecycle of a software product. Integrating a static code analysis (SCA) mechanism directly into the development environment, for example, can help automate bug detection as code is being written. Changes to code can be automatically analyzed so developers can be quickly alerted of potential security issues and problems can be addressed with little of the delay and overhead involved in manual testing.
Security automation--the machine-based execution of security actions with the power to programmatically detect, investigate and remediate cyberthreats with or without human intervention has the potential to identify incoming threats, triaging and prioritizing alerts as they emerge, and then responding to them quickly. All of this can happen in seconds, without requiring staff action. Repetitive, time-consuming actions are removed from security analysts so they can focus on more important, value-adding work. Security automation can also provide rapid threat detection. According to research by ESG, IT teams ignore 74 percent of security events/alerts due to sheer volume. Security automation can detect and resolve these common issues, and can eliminate human error from inexperience, work overload and negligence.
Manual testing is a daunting task for developers as it involves a lot to time and concerted effort. On the other hand, automated testing offers several benefits, such as timely recognition of defects, improved accuracy, reduced labor overhead costs, the use of automated testing tools, high speed of software testing, increased reliability, stability, and consistency, and rapid response to changing business demands.
Organizations that have implemented DevOps and CI/CD models to accelerate application delivery are under intense pressure to integrate security into the software development lifecycle (SDLC), largely due to concern over data breaches. Application vulnerabilities have emerged as one of the leading causes of data breaches in recent years, and more than nine in ten web applications these days have one or more exploitable vulnerabilities in them. The other reason is compliance.
Top-performing DevOps organizations are already releasing code to production multiple times a day. Micro Focus estimates IT will be required to release applications as often as 120 times a year to meet business requirements. "To support application delivery at DevOps speed, security tests need to be automated, continuous, and baked into the SDLC so developers can get and act on notifications about security issues before code is committed," said James Rabon, senior product manager at Micro Focus Fortify. "You can't produce quality software at the pace of modern development without automated QA testing. The same is true with regards to security," he added.
DevOps is a software methodology that includes security automation. Software engineering teams often equate DevOps and automation as synonymous. With DevOps, various software development activities can be automated such as static code analysis, development and testing, and deployment. More important, the provision of automated security updates is also necessary. DevOps is playing a vital role in accelerating, developing, and delivering high-quality software applications.
According to Imam, commercial products can provide better customer service. Open-source tools are, he says, preferable because they are affordable and can easily be customized. Examples of automation testing tools he cites include Galen, Citrus, Robot Framework, and Karate-DSL. A few examples of commercial automated tools incorporate Katalon Studio, Sahi Pro, Ranorex, TestPlant eggplant, and TestComplete. "Automating tests have strengthened digital transformation projects. With the rapid growth of digital technologies, quality assurance teams in software houses must use the best test automation practices."
DevSecOps is the method that integrates security practices within the DevOps process. It creates and promotes a collaborative relationship between security teams and release engineers based on a 'Security as Code' philosophy. DevSecOps has gained popularity and importance, given the ever-increasing security risks to software applications. DevSecOps integrates security in an iterative process. The DevSecOps method needs development and operations teams to join in at an early stage of the iteration to ensure overall software security, from start to end. Consistent testing leads to secure code, and avoids last-minute delays by spreading the work predictably and consistently throughout the project.
Nearly 83% of developers in GitLab's 2020 DevSecOps survey say they are releasing code faster today than ever before thanks to DevOps. About two-thirds also say security is shifting, but not that far: Over 60% of developers don't actually run static application security testing (SAST) scans, and 73% don't conduct dynamic application security testing (DAST) scans. Security is seen as a bottleneck to faster releases. DevSecOps promises to bring security forward in the software development lifecycle (SDLC). While this can be done several ways, automated security testing streamlines adoption and scalability. A respondent to their DevSecOps Survey summarized it: "Automated testing and continuous integration have made our deployments safer and more optimized. Now everyone in the team has the permission to deploy the code."
Scans and policies can be programmed manually or out of the box; scans can be triggered automatically at code commit or manually initiated; and these scans can result in automated remediation and reports or may require human intervention. Four ways automated security testing can be integrated into software development practices are described. Automate security scans for every code change by running SAST scans. Results should be sorted by the priority level of the vulnerability. Scan results should automatically initiate a work ticket or may stop a build depending on the policy in place. Results should be presented to the developer for instant remediation. Policies are automatically applied upon code commit with the option to capture and approve exceptions as needed. Analyze running web applications for known vulnerabilities using DAST scans.
Automated Security Testing can occur in several ways. Static Application Security Testing tools examine source code (at rest) to detect and report weaknesses that can lead to security vulnerabilities. Dynamic Application Security Testing detect conditions that indicate a security vulnerability in an application in its running state. Software-governance processes that depend on manual inspection are prone to failure. Software Composition Analysis tools examine software to determine the origins of all components and libraries within the software. Database-security-scanning tools check for updated patches and versions, weak passwords, configuration errors, access control list issues, and more. Interactive Application Security Testing tools use knowledge of application flow and data flow to create advanced attack scenarios and use dynamic analysis results recursively: as a dynamic scan is being performed, the tool will learn things about the application based on how it responds to test cases. Some tools will use this knowledge to create additional test cases, which then could yield more knowledge for more test cases.
The integration of automated tools throughout the software development process and life cycle offers promise for improved security with faster development and deployment, continuous improvement, and reduced resource demands. Methods, tools and products are rapidly evolving to assist developers and entities to leverage their abilities and achieve increased security overall.