What’s not working with security?
Even with a security-first mindset and the appropriate tools and practices in place, you’re probably experiencing a number of problems with your security strategy as it grows in maturity. Whether it’s a lack of knowledge, poor visibility, or process hiccups, there’s always room for improvement. First up, let’s take a look at some of the common complications.
Poor end-to-end visibility
Security teams need good quality, real-time visibility into code vulnerabilities as soon as possible, so they can act fast and update code as it moves through the pipeline. With end-to-end visibility, everyone has the same situational awareness. Rather than relying on feedback from the ops team, dev teams can have a better understanding of the parameters they’re working in, saving time and improving feedback loops.
Siloed teams
As a security team matures, so will its ability to collaborate, both between dev, ops, and security employees, and across the business as a whole. Right now, teams might still be working in silos, concentrating on their own area of expertise, rather than focusing on accelerating and improving the quality, speed, and security in all areas.
Process pain points
As you adjust to this new security-centred way of working, there are going to be unexpected hold-ups in your pipeline. For example, if a security team finds vulnerabilities before production, so code has to be reworked. This can have a huge knock-on effect, causing bottlenecks and delays.
Knowledge gaps
As your teams become more familiar with security considerations, there will be knowledge gaps that prevent maximum efficiency being achieved. For example, a lack of understanding about the use and importance of feedback loops, and a lack of knowledge about other software value streams across the organisation.
Out of sync
With a growing toolset and more and more people involved in ensuring security, compliance, and governance are Built-into every piece of code, there’s a good chance the flow of all that information won’t be synchronised. Without alignment, you risk rework, unnecessary work, and significant delays.
Missing metrics
As you take steps to incorporate security more significantly into your SDLC, you need to ensure you’re monitoring relevant metrics too. A lack of specific security metrics and the tools to analyse and gain actionable insights from them could spell trouble – you’ll have no idea if your security efforts are paying off and where to make improvements.