Explaining The Difference Between AppSec And DevSecOps – How They Impact Security

As of 2022, the recent spike of cyberattacks around the world has made many organizations more attentive to cyber risk and IT threats, so it’s no secret that cyber security has become more important than ever. In fact, security teams are doing their best to stay ahead of the curve, and many new modern security solutions like oxeye.io have been developed as a result. Additionally, the way companies look at cyber security has changed, and it has found its place at the top priorities for many organizations.

This has led numerous companies to change their methodology and ways of operation. Namely, DevSecOps is one of the latest frameworks that require accountability regarding security from all teams in the organization, rather than just the security team. This culture change means that security decisions need to be made early in the software development life cycle by a continuous collaboration between all teams.

Defining AppSec and DevSecOps

AppSec is an abbreviation for application security. It is a broad term that is used to define the security process throughout the entire software development life cycle. This includes identifying, patching, and remediating vulnerabilities in the app. The goal of AppSec is to find all of the security weaknesses of the application as early as possible so that they can be taken care of before they become a severe problem. The benefit of AppSec is delivering a secure product on time while keeping the expenses at a minimum.

On the other hand, DevSecOps refers to Development, Security, and Operations. Most experts refer to it as an upgrade to DevOps, which is a set of practices that combine software development and IT operations in order to shorten the software development life cycle and provide continuous delivery. When AppSec is added to the mix, you get DevSecOps. 

The main difference between AppSec and DevSecOps is that the former is a process in the cycle, and the latter refers to the methodology and culture in the organization. But, ultimately, both of them share the same goal of continuously delivering a reliable product with high quality and keeping costs low.

What Is the Effect of AppSec and DevSecOps On Application Security?

Adopting DevSecOps essentially means integrating AppSec in your software development life cycle, and the best way to do that is through automation. There are quite a few software solutions you can find online that will allow you to achieve continuous security:

Static application security testing solutions

Commonly known as SAST, this type of toolset is often comprised of frameworks that will enable you to scan proprietary code and detect flaws that may lead to vulnerabilities. SAST tools are usually used during the code, build, and development phase. 

Software composition analysis

Usually referred to as SCA, software compassion analysis is a solution that scans the source code in a third-party app or any open-source components used in the life cycle. In addition to detecting vulnerabilities, SCA tools also provide visibility into licensing, which by itself can be a whole other security risk. They can be easily integrated into the CI/CD pipeline and continuously detect vulnerabilities from the build to the pre-production phase.

Dynamic application security testing

This is a software framework that can be used to find all the liabilities in a website or web app, though it has to be running in production. Software solutions like this give you a chance to identify vulnerabilities by mimicking a hacker before the real hacker gets an opportunity to exploit them.

Why These Tools Are Worth Looking At

All of these types of tools can have a massive impact on your organization’s security, and you need to find the one that will suit you the most. They will allow you to detect and eliminate threats sooner rather than later, which is the least painful way to do it. With them, you can test the findings and identify all major & minor vulnerabilities, allowing you to report the details to the security team in due time.

Conclusion

If you understand the importance of cyber security, then you’ll probably also understand how beneficial AppSec and DevSecOps can be for your business. Effective implementation of security into the software development life cycle can make a great difference. Identifying vulnerabilities throughout the entire process is the right way to go, as it will allow you to quickly deal with minor issues rather than face huge problems before release.