In today’s ever-evolving threat landscape, it is critical to have security woven as an essential feature and attribute of system and process rather than being bolted on in reaction to security incidents. And to keep pace with the speed and scalability needs of rapid software development and deployment, it is necessary for security to be accessible, agile and automated. This is where the concept of “security-as-code” (SaC) comes into play.
Imagine a world where security protocols, configurations and best practices are not just manually implemented but are automated and integrated directly into every aspect of the software development lifecycle.
DevSecOps and Security-as-Code
DevSecOps is a framework that knits the development, security and operation teams, and their functions, into a cohesive unit that focuses on delivering high-quality secure code to meet the pace of business needs. Culture, collaboration and automation are the key elements of DevSecOps.
Security-as-Code is thus a foundational building block of DevSecOps. SaC provides the automation, consistency and reliability of ensuring security in the DevSecOps ecosystem. It treats every security measure as code artifacts that are version-controlled, tested and deployed alongside the actual software.
SaC in Action
Here is what SaC in action looks like:
Requirements: The security requirements for every security measure that requires automation are clearly defined. This includes specifying configurations, policies, rules and best practices.
Tools and technologies: The tools and technologies required for implementing SaC are identified and selected. This includes static code scanners, configuration management tools, secret management technologies and vulnerability analyzers.
Custom code: Tailored code is created to codify security controls, configurations and best practices, and convert them into reusable code modules.
Version control and documentation: The code is stored in a version control system. This ensures that all changes to the code are tracked, documented and auditable over time, enabling collaboration and continuous improvement.
Pipeline integration: The codified security checks are integrated into various points in the continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.
Code reviews and security testing: Much like the software it is working to protect, every line of the custom SaC code goes through reviews and security testing to provide assurance on its quality and security. This process includes the use of static analysis tools, dynamic scanning tools and manual reviews.
Monitoring: Monitoring and auditing mechanisms are enabled to track security events, detect anomalies and ensure compliance with security policies. This includes Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tools to centralize security logs and alert management.
Continuous improvement and maturity: All elements of the SaC implementation are in the process of continuous assessment and improvement. Changing business objectives, process, improved tools and root cause analysis from security incidents serve as inputs to enhance the SaC program.
Benefits of SaC
The key features of Security-as-Code include automation, codification, version control, integration and reusability. This provides several benefits resulting in improved security posture, operational efficiency, and agility for organizations. These benefits include:
Early detection and remediation of security Issues: SaC allows security controls and checks to be integrated into the development pipeline, enabling early detection of security vulnerabilities and issues. By identifying and addressing security issues during the development process, organizations can reduce the likelihood of security breaches and minimize the associated risks.
Consistency and standardization: SaC promotes consistency and standardization in security configurations and practices across development, testing and production environments. By defining security measures as code artifacts, organizations can ensure that security policies are uniformly applied and enforced throughout the software development lifecycle.
Agility and efficiency: SaC automates security processes, such as vulnerability scanning, compliance checks, and configuration management, leading to increased agility and efficiency.
Scalability and flexibility: Given its codified nature, SaC scales easily to accommodate changes in infrastructure, applications and security requirements. This enables organizations to adapt security measures to evolving threats, business needs and regulatory mandates.
Improved collaboration and communication: SaC fosters collaboration and communication between development, security and operations teams by enabling cross-functional collaboration and shared responsibility for security.
Enhanced visibility and auditability: The codification and version control features of SaC provide visibility and enable organizations to track changes, maintain an audit trail and demonstrate compliance more effectively.
Cost savings: By automating repetitive tasks and streamlining security processes, organizations can optimize resource allocation and minimize operational overhead.
Reduced time to market: Given that security is automated and included in the pipeline, organizations can reduce delays and expedite time-to-market for their applications and services.
Key “-as-Code" concepts
Security-as-Code encompasses several other “-as-code" concepts and implementations.
All "-as-code" approaches share the core principle of SaC: automating processes with code for improved agility, consistency and reduced human error. Some of the key concepts are mentioned below:
Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC): This approach defines infrastructure as code. This allows for automated provisioning and configuration, leading to consistency, efficiency and easier management. This can also include Network-as-Code (NaC) and Container Security-as-Code (CSaC).
Policy-as-Code (PaC): PaC defines security policies as code and can enable the codification of individual policy statements. This allows for automated enforcement and easier integration with existing workflows.
Configuration-as-Code (CaC): CaC focuses on managing configurations of various systems and applications as code. This ensures consistency and reduces errors in manual configuration.
Data-as-Code (DaC): DaC involves managing and treating data assets as code, enabling automated provisioning, versioning and deployment of datasets. It facilitates data governance, collaboration and reproducibility in data-centric workflows.
Secrets Management-as-Code (SMaC): SMaC focuses on managing and securely storing sensitive information such as passwords, API keys and cryptographic keys as code artifacts. It ensures that secrets are managed consistently and securely across applications and environments.
About the author: Divya Aradhya (Div-yuh Uh-RAHD-yuh) is a Senior Application Security Architect at Citi with a career spanning 20 years. She holds an MS in Cybersecurity and the CISM and CISSP certifications. Divya spent the first half of her career as a C++ and .NET developer and then meandered into the application security and DevSecOps space. She works as a strong empathetic ally for the developer community even while diffusing security into every developer practice.
Divya is passionate about protecting digital assets, safeguarding children and the elderly from cybercrimes, and is focused on making information security simple, de facto, and intrinsically adaptive.