DevOps & DevSecOps Services — Secure SDLC

In modern software development, speed alone is not enough. It matters just as much that the way organisations build, test and ship applications to production is secure, traceable, repeatable and sustainable.

DevOps brings software development and IT operations teams together under shared processes, automation and a continuous delivery approach. DevSecOps takes security out of its role as the final checkpoint and embeds it across the entire software lifecycle.

SecureSys DevOps & DevSecOps Services cover software development, CI/CD pipelines, security testing, container and Kubernetes security, Infrastructure as Code, secret management, source code security, software supply chain security, monitoring and operations end to end.

The core aim of a modern DevSecOps approach is to make this cycle:

Plan → Code → Build → Test → Security → Release → Deploy → Operate → Monitor → Improve

as automated, measurable and secure as possible.

The NIST Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF) recommends integrating secure development practices into existing SDLC models, while the OWASP DevSecOps approach addresses placing security controls inside the pipeline — from Git repository scanning through SAST, SCA, DAST and IaC scanning.

What Is DevOps?

DevOps is a culture, process and technology approach that enables the Development and Operations disciplines to work together.

In traditional software delivery models, the development team builds the application and then hands it over to the operations team. Over time this model can create disconnects between teams, deployment problems, configuration drift and long release cycles.

In a DevOps approach, the following are made as shared and automated as possible:

development,
testing,
build,
release,
deployment,
infrastructure provisioning,
monitoring,
operations

The goal is not only to build software quickly, but to move it into production reliably and repeatably.

What Is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps means integrating security into DevOps processes.

In the classic approach, security checks are mostly carried out after the software is finished.

For example:

Development → Test → Production → Pentest

In this model, finding a critical vulnerability at the final stage of a project can create significant rework costs.

A DevSecOps approach uses this model instead:

Design → Secure Coding → SAST → SCA → Build → Container Scan → DAST → Deployment → Runtime Security

Security therefore stops being limited to a penetration test at the end.

Security controls are distributed across the whole software lifecycle.

The core of the NIST SSDF approach is likewise to integrate secure development practices into existing SDLC processes, and for software producers to build processes that reduce both the number and the impact of vulnerabilities.

What Is the Difference Between DevOps and DevSecOps?

The primary goals of DevOps can be summarised as:

Speed + Automation + Collaboration + Reliability

DevSecOps adds these layers on top:

Security + Governance + Traceability

Put differently, it can be simplified as:

DevOps + Security = DevSecOps

In enterprise environments, however, DevSecOps is broader than that.

Alongside adding security tooling to the pipeline, organisational processes, developer habits, access privileges and the software supply chain also need to be secured.

Secure Software Development Lifecycle – Secure SDLC

Secure SDLC ensures security requirements are addressed from the very beginning of the software development lifecycle.

The SecureSys Secure SDLC approach considers the following together:

security requirements,
secure architecture,
threat modelling,
secure coding,
code review,
SAST,
SCA,
DAST,
penetration testing,
release security,
vulnerability management

The aim is to detect vulnerabilities before production wherever possible.

Secure by Design

One of the important approaches in modern software security is the Secure by Design model.

This approach stops treating security as a feature bolted on later and makes it a fundamental part of product and architecture design.

CISA's Secure by Design approach likewise emphasises that software producers should prioritise security during product development and that the responsibility for security should not be left to the end user.

SecureSys evaluates security in DevSecOps projects not only through scanner output, but across these layers:

Architecture + Development + Pipeline + Infrastructure + Runtime

Shift Left Security

Shift Left Security means moving security controls to earlier stages of the software development process.

For example, rather than an SQL Injection flaw being found after production, the aim is to detect it at a point close to the developer's commit.

This approach can deliver:

earlier detection of security problems,
lower remediation cost,
greater developer awareness,
reduced production risk

The OWASP DevSecOps Guideline also supports a shift-left approach aimed at detecting security problems as quickly as possible.

Shift Right Security

DevSecOps does not consist of the Shift Left approach alone.

Monitoring the behaviour of applications in the production environment matters too.

Shift Right Security can cover:

runtime monitoring,
application monitoring,
container monitoring,
vulnerability monitoring,
SIEM,
SOC,
EDR/XDR,
cloud security

For this reason, a mature model uses this approach as a whole:

Shift Left + Secure Pipeline + Shift Right

CI/CD Pipeline

CI/CD is one of the core components of modern DevOps infrastructure.

CI – Continuous Integration

ensures the changes developers make are continuously merged into the central repository and put through automated tests.

CD – Continuous Delivery / Deployment

moves software into test and production environments in a controlled or automated manner.

SecureSys can support the design and hardening of CI/CD processes on platforms such as:

GitLab CI/CD,
GitHub Actions,
Jenkins,
Azure DevOps

Secure CI/CD Pipeline

The security of CI/CD pipelines is critical.

That is because the pipeline can reach:

source code,
credentials,
cloud accounts,
container registries,
production systems

A compromised pipeline can lead to more serious consequences than a vulnerability in the application itself.

The SecureSys Secure CI/CD approach can assess these controls:

pipeline permissions,
secret management,
branch protection,
code review,
artifact integrity,
security scanning,
deployment approvals

DevSecOps Pipeline Architecture

An example SecureSys DevSecOps pipeline:

Developer

↓

Git Repository

↓

Secret Scanning

↓

SAST

↓

SCA

↓

Build

↓

Unit / Integration Test

↓

Container Image Scan

↓

IaC Security Scan

↓

DAST

↓

Security Gate

↓

Approval

↓

Production

↓

Monitoring / SOC

This model can be tailored to project requirements.

Source Code Management

In modern DevOps processes, source code is held in Git-based repository systems.

SecureSys supports the creation of policies for:

repository structure,
branch strategy,
permissions,
merge requests,
pull requests,
code review

Git Security

A Git repository does not contain source code alone.

When used incorrectly, sensitive information such as:

passwords,
API keys,
access tokens,
private keys,
database credentials

can end up committed to the repository.

Git repositories therefore need to be brought into scope for security controls.

Secret Scanning

Secret Scanning detects credentials accidentally left inside source code.

Searches can be run inside the pipeline for:

passwords,
tokens,
API keys,
cloud credentials,
private keys

The aim is to stop critical secrets that are found from reaching production.

Secrets Management

Writing credentials into source code creates a serious security risk.

SecureSys can evaluate these approaches:

centralised secret management,
environment variables,
vault,
dynamic credentials,
secret rotation

SAST – Static Application Security Testing

SAST analyses source code for vulnerabilities without running the application.

SAST can detect security risks such as:

injection,
insecure coding,
authentication problems,
authorisation problems,
use of unsafe functions

Adding SAST into the CI/CD pipeline can enable automated security analysis after every commit or merge request.

Software Composition Analysis – SCA

A significant portion of modern applications is not written entirely in-house.

Open-source libraries and third-party components are used heavily.

SCA tools analyse:

dependencies,
packages,
libraries,
known vulnerabilities,
licences

This makes the risks carried by the third-party components an application uses visible.

SBOM – Software Bill of Materials

An SBOM is an inventory of the components used inside a software product.

In a sense it can be thought of as the software's bill of materials.

An SBOM can contain information about:

packages,
libraries,
versions,
dependencies,
components

This approach is particularly helpful for identifying more quickly which applications are affected when a critical vulnerability is published.

Software Supply Chain Security

One of the most important areas of modern DevSecOps is the Software Supply Chain Security approach.

Securing only the code an organisation writes itself is no longer sufficient.

Risk can arrive from any point in this chain:

Developer → Repository → Dependency → CI/CD → Build → Artifact → Container → Deployment

The SecureSys Software Supply Chain Security approach can assess these controls:

dependency security,
repository security,
build security,
artifact integrity,
SBOM,
SCA,
secret security

Artifact Security

The files produced after a build:

binaries,
packages,
container images,
release artifacts

need to be verified as unaltered.

Artifact integrity and signing mechanisms can strengthen software supply chain security.

DAST – Dynamic Application Security Testing

DAST tests a running application for security issues from the outside.

Where SAST analyses source code, DAST evaluates the behaviour of the running application.

Within a DevSecOps pipeline, DAST can be run automatically in a test or staging environment.

Using SAST and DAST Together

SAST and DAST are not alternatives to one another.

SAST:

Inside-Out

analyses the code with this approach.

DAST:

Outside-In

tests the running application with this approach.

Using the two technologies together provides broader security visibility.

IAST – Interactive Application Security Testing

IAST can help detect vulnerabilities by analysing an application's internal behaviour while it runs.

In some DevSecOps projects, IAST is used alongside SAST and DAST.

Infrastructure as Code – IaC

In modern infrastructures, servers, networks and cloud resources can be defined through code rather than being created manually.

Infrastructure as Code tools make infrastructure:

version controlled,
repeatable,
automated,
documented

Terraform and DevSecOps

IaC technologies such as Terraform allow cloud and infrastructure resources to be created through code.

However, misconfigurations in IaC files can also create vulnerabilities.

For example, definitions such as:

public storage,
open firewall rules,
unrestricted security groups,
insecure IAM

can be carried into production.

IaC Security Scanning

Infrastructure as Code files can be scanned for security issues before deployment.

The OWASP DevSecOps Guideline likewise treats scanning IaC definitions such as Terraform and Helm Charts for misconfigurations as one of the pipeline controls.

Policy as Code

Security and compliance policies can be defined as code.

For example, rules such as:

“A database open to the internet cannot be created.”

“Storage with encryption disabled cannot be deployed to production.”

can be turned into automated control mechanisms.

This approach is called Policy as Code.

GitOps

GitOps is an operating model in which infrastructure and application deployment configurations are managed through a Git repository.

Changes made in Git can be applied to target environments in a controlled manner.

GitOps provides these advantages:

auditability,
versioning,
rollback,
automation

Container DevSecOps

The spread of container technologies has added new security controls to DevSecOps processes.

Within SecureSys Container Security, these controls can be assessed:

image scanning,
registry security,
Dockerfile security,
secret scanning,
runtime security,
vulnerability management

Docker Image Security

A container image may contain:

vulnerable packages,
outdated libraries,
malware,
embedded credentials

It is therefore important to scan images before they are pushed to a registry or to production.

Container Registry Security

The container registry is one of the critical systems holding an organisation's software artifacts.

These policies can be applied on the registry:

authentication,
authorisation,
vulnerability scanning,
image signing,
retention

Kubernetes DevSecOps

In Kubernetes environments, DevSecOps is not limited to application code security.

SecureSys can assess these controls:

RBAC,
namespaces,
Network Policy,
admission control,
secrets,
image security,
pod security,
Kubernetes audit

Kubernetes Manifest Security

Kubernetes YAML and Helm Chart files can be scanned for security issues before deployment.

For example, risks such as:

privileged containers,
root containers,
host network,
excessive permissions

can be detected inside the pipeline.

DevSecOps Security Gate

It may not be right for every security finding to block a deployment.

A risk-based Security Gate can therefore be established.

For example:

Critical → Block

High → Block / Approval

Medium → Track

Low → Report

This model provides security control without bringing software teams to a complete halt.

Quality Gate and Security Gate

A Quality Gate checks software quality, while a Security Gate evaluates security risk.

The two mechanisms can be used together.

Vulnerability Management

DevSecOps tooling can produce hundreds or thousands of findings.

What really matters is the process of:

validating findings,
prioritising them,
assigning them to developers,
tracking remediation time

SecureSys treats DevSecOps not merely as scanner deployment, but as an end-to-end vulnerability management process.

False Positive Management

Automated security tools can produce false positive results.

Critical findings can therefore be reviewed by a specialist team.

This approach reduces the slowdown developer teams experience because of unnecessary security alerts.

Risk-Based DevSecOps

Not every application needs the same level of security.

For example:

an internet-facing finance application,
an internal corporate portal,
a test application

have different risk profiles.

SecureSys can build different DevSecOps policies according to application criticality.

Threat Modelling

Threat modelling allows possible attack scenarios to be evaluated before an application is built.

The analysis can examine:

assets,
trust boundaries,
authentication,
authorisation,
data flow,
attack surface

Threat modelling is one of the important components of the Secure by Design approach.

API Security and DevSecOps

In modern applications, APIs form a critical attack surface.

Within the SecureSys DevSecOps pipeline, these controls can be assessed:

API SAST,
API DAST,
schema validation,
authentication testing,
authorisation testing

Microservices Security

In microservices architectures, each service can form a separate attack surface.

A DevSecOps approach should consider these together:

service authentication,
API security,
secrets,
container security,
network segmentation

DevSecOps and Zero Trust

CI/CD systems, repositories and deployment environments should not be treated as automatically trusted simply because they sit inside the network.

A Zero Trust approach can apply these controls:

identity verification,
least privilege,
MFA,
workload identity,
short-lived credentials

Least Privilege

Pipeline accounts holding Domain Admin or elevated cloud privileges can create serious risk.

Each pipeline should only be able to reach the resources it needs.

DevSecOps PAM Integration

Highly privileged deployment or administrator accounts can be managed through PAM infrastructure.

PAM can provide:

credential vault,
access approval,
session recording,
password rotation

DevSecOps and SIEM

Security logs from CI/CD and DevSecOps systems can be forwarded to a SIEM platform.

For example, these events can be analysed centrally:

administrator login,
repository permission change,
pipeline modification,
deployment,
failed authentication

DevSecOps and 24/7 SOC

DevSecOps security must continue all the way into production.

With the SecureSys 24/7 SOC service, this chain can be established:

Development Security → Pipeline Security → Runtime Security → SOC Monitoring

Software development security and operational cyber security therefore do not remain disconnected from one another.

DevSecOps and Penetration Testing

Automated security tools do not remove the need for penetration testing entirely.

While SAST, SCA and DAST provide automation, manual penetration testing can surface more complex risks such as:

business logic,
authorisation,
complex attack chains,
privilege escalation

For this reason SecureSys can use the approach:

DevSecOps + Automated Security Testing + Manual Pentest

DevSecOps and Red Team

For critical applications, the resilience of DevSecOps controls against real attack scenarios can be evaluated through Red Team exercises.

DevSecOps Maturity Assessment

An organisation's DevSecOps maturity level can be analysed.

A SecureSys assessment can examine these areas:

SDLC,
CI/CD,
SAST,
SCA,
DAST,
secrets,
container,
IaC,
monitoring,
governance

Moving from DevOps to DevSecOps

An organisation's existing DevOps infrastructure does not need to be replaced entirely.

The current pipeline can be analysed and security controls added in stages.

For example:

Stage 1 – Visibility

SAST + SCA + Secret Scanning

Stage 2 – Automation

Pipeline integration

Stage 3 – Enforcement

Security Gate + Policy as Code

Stage 4 – Runtime

Monitoring + SOC

This approach allows the transformation to happen without interrupting developer teams' operations.

AI-Native DevSecOps

The spread of AI-assisted coding tools has created a new area within Secure SDLC processes.

Code produced by AI can carry the same risks as any other source code:

vulnerabilities,
vulnerable dependencies,
insecure API usage,
hardcoded secrets,
incorrect authentication/authorisation

AI-assisted development processes therefore also need to pass through the DevSecOps pipeline.

NIST has published an SSDF profile for generative AI and dual-use foundation model development, adding secure software practices specific to AI development to the existing SSDF approach.

AI Generated Code Security

Code produced by AI should not be taken straight into production.

In the SecureSys approach, AI generated code can be put through this process:

AI Code → Developer Review → SAST → SCA → Security Tests → Approval → Production

Secure AI-Assisted Development

In environments where AI coding assistants are used, it is not only the generated code that must be assessed, but also the risks around:

source code privacy,
prompt data,
credential leakage,
intellectual property,
third-party model access

DevSecOps and ISO/IEC 27001

DevSecOps processes can contribute technical support to the secure development, change management, access control, logging and vulnerability management processes within the scope of ISO/IEC 27001.

DevSecOps and ISO/IEC 42001

In AI development and production processes, a DevSecOps approach can help support the AI management processes established under ISO/IEC 42001 with technical controls.

It is particularly important that these processes are addressed together in AI applications:

development governance,
model/application security,
data access,
change management,
logging,
risk management

DevSecOps and NIST SSDF

NIST SSDF organises secure software development practices under four main approaches:

Prepare the Organization

Protect the Software

Produce Well-Secured Software

Respond to Vulnerabilities

SecureSys DevSecOps processes can be designed to align with an organisation's SSDF approach.

DevSecOps and OWASP

In SecureSys DevSecOps projects, resources developed by OWASP can be drawn on, such as:

OWASP Top 10,
OWASP API Security,
OWASP SAMM,
OWASP DevSecOps Guideline

The OWASP DevSecOps guideline treats controls such as secret scanning, SAST, SCA, IAST, DAST, IaC scanning, infrastructure scanning and compliance checks as parts of a secure pipeline.

DevSecOps KPIs and Metrics

The success of DevSecOps processes should be measured.

Example metrics can be defined as:

vulnerabilities per release,
mean time to remediate,
security test coverage,
failed security gates,
number of vulnerable dependencies,
secret detection,
remediation SLA

Developer Security Dashboard

A central dashboard can be built for developer teams to display:

application risks,
open vulnerabilities,
SAST results,
dependency risks,
remediation status

DevSecOps Reporting

SecureSys can produce technical and management reports as part of the DevSecOps service.

Reports can present:

application security posture,
critical vulnerabilities,
remediation times,
pipeline security,
dependency risks,
security gate results

DevSecOps as a Service

For organisations without an in-house DevSecOps or Application Security team, the process can be delivered as a managed service.

Within DevSecOps as a Service, SecureSys can run these operations:

pipeline security,
SAST,
SCA,
DAST,
secret scanning,
vulnerability management,
security reporting

The SecureSys DevOps & DevSecOps Service Process

1. Current State Analysis

Development, Git, CI/CD, cloud and deployment infrastructure is analysed.

2. DevSecOps Maturity Assessment

The current security maturity is established.

3. Secure SDLC Design

The security controls to be applied across the software lifecycle are determined.

4. Repository Security

Git access, branch policy and secret scanning are configured.

5. SAST & SCA

Source code and third-party dependency analysis is integrated into the pipeline.

6. CI/CD Security

Pipeline access and deployment processes are hardened.

7. IaC & Container Security

Infrastructure as Code and container security controls are added.

8. DAST

Dynamic security tests are applied in the test or staging environment.

9. Security Gate

Risk-based deployment policies are established.

10. Production Security

Runtime monitoring and security controls are applied.

11. SOC Integration

Critical security events can be forwarded to the SIEM/SOC infrastructure.

12. Continuous Improvement

DevSecOps KPIs are tracked and the process matured.

Why SecureSys for DevOps & DevSecOps?

DevSecOps is not simply adding a few security scanners into a CI/CD pipeline.

Real DevSecOps requires these disciplines to work together:

Development + Security + Infrastructure + Cloud + Container + Automation + Monitoring

SecureSys aims to build end-to-end DevSecOps architectures by evaluating software development processes alongside cyber security, infrastructure and operations capabilities.

Our approach rests on this model:

Secure by Design → Secure Development → Secure Pipeline → Secure Deployment → Secure Runtime

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DevSecOps?

DevSecOps is the integration of security controls across DevOps and the entire software development lifecycle.

What is the difference between DevOps and DevSecOps?

DevSecOps adds automated and continuous security controls to DevOps processes.

Is SAST part of DevSecOps?

Yes. SAST allows source code security analysis to be performed automatically inside the CI/CD pipeline.

What is SCA?

Software Composition Analysis examines the security risks in the open-source and third-party dependencies an application uses.

What is an SBOM?

A Software Bill of Materials is an inventory of the components and dependencies inside a piece of software.

Does DevSecOps remove the need for penetration testing?

No. Automated security testing complements manual penetration testing, but manual testing remains necessary — particularly for business logic and complex attack scenarios.

Can Kubernetes be included in DevSecOps?

Yes. Kubernetes manifests, container images, RBAC, secrets and runtime security can all be brought into DevSecOps processes.

Can DevSecOps be integrated with a SOC?

Yes. CI/CD and production security events can be monitored together with SIEM and SOC systems.

Should code written by AI go through DevSecOps?

Yes. AI-generated code should also pass through SAST, SCA, secret scanning and the other security controls.

Can DevSecOps be purchased as a service?

Yes. A managed DevSecOps service can be established that integrates with the organisation's existing development and CI/CD environment.

Secure Your Software Development Processes with SecureSys DevSecOps

Limiting software security to a single penetration test carried out before production is not enough for modern development environments.

The entire software supply chain needs to be assessed for security — from source code to the open-source libraries in use, from the Git repository to the CI/CD pipeline, from container images to the Kubernetes infrastructure.

With SecureSys DevOps & DevSecOps Services you can bring these processes together under a single secure software development model:

Git → CI/CD → SAST → SCA → SBOM → Container Security → IaC Security → DAST → Security Gate → Production → SOC

Start your DevSecOps transformation, have the security of your current CI/CD pipeline analysed, and make software security a natural part of the development process.