{"id":23597,"date":"2021-11-30T20:22:26","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T20:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zpesystems.com\/?p=23597"},"modified":"2022-07-29T19:01:46","modified_gmt":"2022-07-29T19:01:46","slug":"secops-best-practices-zs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zpesystems.com\/secops-best-practices-zs\/","title":{"rendered":"SecOps Best Practices for Enterprises"},"content":{"rendered":"

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SecOps is the blending of security and IT operations into one combined set of workflows, tools, and methodologies. This increases the speed at which new infrastructure can be spun up without impacting the quality or security of your systems. Let\u2019s discuss what SecOps means, how it works, and the SecOps best practices for enterprises.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is SecOps?<\/b><\/h2>\n

SecOps is based on the DevOps philosophy, which blends software development and IT operations teams. Infrastructure configurations are abstracted as software, which is integrated, tested, and deployed using the same processes that application developers use. The SecOps methodology takes this a step further, removing barriers between the security and IT operations teams. SecOps focuses on integrating security processes into the provisioning, deployment, and management of systems and infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why is SecOps important?<\/b><\/h2>\n

The operations team will spin up new virtual and physical systems completely independently of security teams in a traditional IT department. Once a machine is ready to deploy, the security team will perform security checks and vulnerability testing. If there are any issues, deployment will be delayed until Ops can remediate the problem and perform security testing again. In the meantime, any business units waiting on that system\u2014for instance, a development team trying to release new software on a tight schedule\u2014lose valuable time. And that\u2019s the best-case scenario.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sometimes, in their haste to meet business demands, Ops will ignore the red flags discovered by security teams so they can still deploy infrastructure on schedule. Or, even worse, they\u2019ll skip the security testing altogether and hope for the best. Either way, this can leave massive security vulnerabilities in business-critical, production infrastructure. For example, the<\/span> Equifax breach in 2017<\/span><\/a> was caused by lax security processes, and went undetected for so long because of an expired certificate. That means this high-profile event might have been prevented if Equifax had integrated security processes into their IT operations.<\/span><\/p>\n

SecOps brings security and operations teams together, allowing them to work simultaneously to provision infrastructure quickly and efficiently without sacrificing quality or security.<\/span><\/p>\n

How SecOps uses DevOps principles to improve efficiency and security<\/b><\/h2>\n

SecOps enables teams to integrate security and operations processes by abstracting them as software code and introducing automation.<\/span><\/p>\n

For Ops, that means infrastructure configurations and updates are written as software definition files that are centrally managed in a code repository. These definition files can be deployed automatically to many devices simultaneously, allowing enterprises to scale quickly and efficiently. This methodology is called infrastructure as code (IaC), and it\u2019s a fundamental principle of DevOps, NetDevOps, and SecOps.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the Sec side of SecOps, automatic security testing runs at multiple stages in the infrastructure provisioning process:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. When the initial <\/span>configuration <\/span>is written: at this stage, testing is focused on bugs or mistakes in the configuration that could leave vulnerabilities open in the system.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. When the configuration is integrated into the code repository: automatic testing ensures that the new code doesn\u2019t conflict with other versions or introduce any issues to existing configurations.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. The configuration will receive comprehensive functional, non-functional, and security testing in a dedicated testing environment before production.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. In production: servers are continuously monitored and tested, with additional testing performed when <\/span>patches are deployed<\/span>, or other changes occur in the production environment.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Automatic security testing allows your teams to \u201cshift left,\u201d meaning issues and vulnerabilities are spotted and fixed as early in the provisioning process as possible, so you can work faster and with greater agility to meet the demands of your enterprise. This form of continuous and automatic testing is part of the CI\/CD (continuous integration\/continuous delivery) methodology, which is foundational to DevOps, NetDevOps, and SecOps.<\/span><\/p>\n

    When you combine IaC with CI\/CD to implement SecOps in your enterprise, you\u2019re able to spin up your infrastructure more rapidly and catch security vulnerabilities and other issues earlier in the process. Plus, since SecOps seeks to automate as many processes as possible, you can reduce the risk of human error in your infrastructure configurations and security testing.<\/span><\/p>\n

    With SecOps, you can improve your enterprise\u2019s security posture while still increasing your productivity and efficiency.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The top SecOps best practices for enterprises<\/b><\/h2>\n

    SecOps is a methodology or framework for operational security, not a technology solution you can purchase and spin up in your datacenter. If you want to implement SecOps in your enterprise, you\u2019ll need to:<\/span><\/p>\n

    Build a collaborative culture within your organization<\/span><\/h3>\n

    SecOps focuses on blending the security and IT operations teams, which means you should foster a culture of open communication and cross-functional collaboration. Mistakes should be openly discussed and resolved as a team effort, so nobody\u2019s afraid to ask for help or point out security issues. Everybody\u2019s role within the organization should also be clearly outlined, so nobody\u2019s left fearing automation or redundancy. This will allow all your SecOps teams to fully embrace new tools and processes to make a smoother transition.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Provide the proper SecOps tools and training\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

    You must empower your teams with the technology and training they need to implement SecOps processes successfully. In addition to automated testing and abstracting management processes as software, SecOps also requires other tools, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n