Incorporating security by design: Managing risk in DevSecOps

Today’s risk environment is constantly evolving as threat actors exploit the complexity of modern software. That's why it's crucial to prioritize security throughout the entire application lifecycle, from beginning to end. However, many software teams only start thinking about security when application development is well underway. 

By embedding security at every stage — from design, coding, and testing to deployment — teams can proactively mitigate risks, reduce the cost of late-stage fixes, and ensure more secure, resilient software applications. This is especially important at the onset of application development. 

In this article, we’ll discuss the business value of mitigating security threats early in the development process and some of the most effective ways to adopt a secure-by-design approach.

The value of mitigating threats early

While traditional development postpones security until production, this is no longer effective in today’s fast-moving software development process. DevOps and agile methodologies have enabled developers to rapidly push code, and this increased rate of change requires a new approach to application security. 

To truly embrace DevSecOps, companies must have a strategy that prioritizes continuously mitigating threats from the beginning to reduce risk and prevent bottlenecks. This strategy is crucial for DevOps and software teams because it’s far more efficient and much cheaper to fix these issues early on. A software defect discovered in the later stages of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) can cost up to 100 times more to fix than if it was identified early on. 

While many organizations have embraced the principles of shift-left security for years — aiming to integrate security checks early in the development lifecycle — these efforts have often fallen short of their potential, as they relied on static, isolated processes that didn’t align with developer workflows. To truly shift left, organizations need to take a more pragmatic approach that allows everyone to adopt a security-first mindset. 

For example, automated code reviews make it easy to identify potential vulnerabilities before they become problematic and costly. Organizations can improve security without disrupting developers by adopting tools that automatically scan code and open source dependencies for vulnerabilities while providing fast and actionable feedback. This enables a necessary pivot from reactively remediating vulnerabilities to proactive delivering secure software.

Introducing security by design 

Security by design takes shifting left a step further by ensuring software is planned and built securely from the ground up. Adopting secure design principles can make security the default choice for developers and prevent the introduction of vulnerabilities or weaknesses in the first place.

In addition, integrating security into the requirements and design phases is a key aspect of building a secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC), where security is considered at every stage of application delivery. As functional requirements for new features are defined, any security concerns should be identified to avoid introducing weaknesses or creating a larger attack surface.

Beyond the design phase, transparent and relevant security controls can guide developers to make more security choices. Security controls based on real-world threat models can automate many security decisions and help development teams move beyond the cycle of detecting, triaging, and remediating vulnerabilities after every code change.

Best practices for implementing security by design

Here are some best practices for adopting a secure-by-design approach:

• Define clear responsibilities: The software design process should have clearly defined responsibilities and require input from security stakeholders to include risk-driven thinking in the earliest stages of ideation.

• Build threat models: To minimize the attack surface, a detailed and version-controlled threat model should be collaboratively built, verified, and continuously re-assessed throughout every software asset's full lifecycle.

• Set relevant standards: Relevant governing standards for application security should be fully integrated into the approval process for new code changes. Developers should also be encouraged to follow secure coding standards to prevent the introduction of vulnerabilities.

• Source suitable security tools: Informed by each application asset’s risk profile and threat model, security tooling should be thoughtfully sourced. This requires choosing developer-first tools that reduce friction and integrate with existing development workflows.

• Implement security controls: Automated security controls should be designed so software teams can easily make secure development choices and avoid accidentally introducing risk. Security should be transparent, and software engineers should be enabled to use self-service when possible. 

Managing application risk with Snyk

A secure-by-design approach is essential for managing the risk of modern software. Applications should be designed with security in mind, and threat models should be built to understand and minimize risk. Developers should also follow secure coding standards and adhere to security controls that make security the default choice.

Snyk is a developer-first security platform designed to make it easy to integrate security checks throughout the entire software delivery process — from development to production. Automated scanning, scoring, and remediation capabilities allow organizations to address security threats as early as possible without slowing development.

Looking for more practical advice on how to make developer-driven security a reality in your organization? Download 5 Critical Capabilities for Progressing Your DevSecOps Program.