DEVOPSdigest

The prevalence of team silos and point solutions throughout the DevSecOps lifecycle make it increasingly difficult for development, security, and operational teams to have comprehensive visibility into the threats affecting their cloud environments. In fact, according to a recent Dynatrace study, 77% of chief information security officers (CISOs) say it's a significant challenge to prioritize vulnerabilities because of a lack of information about the risks they pose. This issue underscores the critical role that risk assessment plays in effective vulnerability management.

As organizations modernize their application stacks around cloud-native technologies such as microservices and containers, a best practice is to adopt both shift-left and shift-right strategies. Shifting security left means identifying security vulnerabilities in development through testing, while shifting right means identifying vulnerabilities in production through runtime vulnerability analysis and other methods.

Combining these strategies helps to reduce the time it takes to find vulnerabilities from days or weeks to minutes and enables teams to be more effective in their resolution strategies. By using shift-left and -right strategies, organizations can enhance their overall cybersecurity posture and effectively address vulnerabilities throughout the software development lifecycle.

While the advantages of these practices and DevSecOps are widely recognized, many organizations are still in the initial phases of implementation.

Overcoming the Challenges of Siloed Tools

Siloed vulnerability management tools make it difficult for companies to identify and mitigate risks. Switching between and reconciling the insights from siloed tools also proves to be extremely time-consuming, as it hinders IT teams from gaining a holistic view. According to the Dynatrace study, more than 40% of CISOs say analysis is time-consuming, and managing alerts from different tools is labor-intensive.

Time spent on manual analysis detracts from time spent on innovation and problem resolution. According to the study, each member of development and application security teams spends nearly a third (28%) of their time — or 11 hours each week — on vulnerability management tasks that could be automated. Further, only 33% of CISOs have automated handoffs across functions.

The integration and automation of workflows streamline cross-functional collaboration, enabling faster response times and smoother coordination across teams. Organizations must look to adopt a platform approach to eliminate manual processes and error. In fact, 88% of CISOs say DevSecOps would be more effective if all teams worked from one platform integrated into their process.

Implementing an Approach That Converges Observability and Security

By leveraging observability and security across DevSecOps and integrating application security principles and practices into software development and operations, organizations can deliver software and services at speed without compromising application security. IT leaders need to adopt platform solutions that converge observability and security data and are powered by trusted AI and intelligent automation. Solutions that converge observability and security improve an organization's overall security posture and reduce the risk of cyberattacks, helping companies protect their reputation, minimize manual intervention, and deliver precise answers through explainable, intelligent automation.

Looking Ahead with DevSecOps: The Importance of AI and Automation

According to the study, 86% of CISOs say AI and automation are critical to the success of DevSecOps and overcoming resource challenges. By adopting AI and automation and using tools that converge observability and security, customers have reduced the time they spend identifying and prioritizing vulnerabilities by up to 95%, helping them deliver faster, more secure innovation that keeps them at the forefront of their industries.