Security operations is a combination of both security and IT operations staff with the goal of assessing and monitoring security risks and protecting corporate assets.
- What is security operations (SecOps)?
- Why is SecOps important?
- What are the goals and benefits of SecOps?
- Examples of the benefits of SecOps
- What are some best practices for implementing SecOps?
- Summary
SecOps, commonly referred to as security operations, is the practise of working together on security-related projects between IT security and operations teams. This involves incorporating security practises, procedures, and technologies into the DevOps process. The application, systems, and networks are kept safe in production thanks to the collaboration of SecOps teams, which guarantee that security is included into the development process from the beginning.
Security operations (SecOps): What is it?
In order to identify and monitor security threats and safeguard company assets, security operations combines security and IT operations personnel.
Attacks against cybersecurity have increased recently. According to the CrowdStrike 2023 Global Threat Report, adversary techniques increased by 71% (up from 62% in 2021) and interactive incursion campaigns by 50% (compared to 2021). According to the research, there has been a sharp rise in criminal activity, and there have been more than 2,500 access adverts found across the criminal underworld, an increase of 112% from 2021 and evidence of a definite need for broker services.
Maintaining awareness of the ongoing threat of assaults is time- and money-consuming for businesses. Companies are relying more on SecOps teams to help them in order to manage these risks and lower expenses.to more efficiently find and eradicate any cyber threats.
Why is SecOps so crucial?
IT security teams now have more significance than ever. However, as their responsibilities grow, there may be a disconnect between the IT operations and security teams. Since the underlying goals of the two teams differ, they frequently choose opposing paths. As a result, there may be inefficiencies, diminished security measures, and increased hazards for the firm.
An illustration of this would be when a company’s security tools block or shut down important apps in order to decrease risk, but the applications are still carrying out time-sensitive tasks that are upset by the interruption – interference is caused when two tasks are carried out independently of one another.
SecOps, which marries IT security and operations, enables the two teams to collaborate more closely while sharing full responsibility for upholding the organization’s security as well as its operational efficiency.
By collaborating, security flaws are more readily visible throughout the entire company, and vital information is swiftly and efficiently shared to help decrease security risks while maintaining fully functional and agile IT operations.
What are SecOps’ objectives and advantages?
By integrating automated security processes and procedures, SecOps (Security Operations) seeks to lower the risk presented to an organization’s IT infrastructure.
The main advantage of SecOps is that it fosters collaboration between various departments within an organisation, enabling them to swiftly detect and respond to possible security risks, decreasing the chance of data loss and system downtime in the process.
In order to develop more robust security practises that will be longer-lastingly more successful, security operations also assist to make the organization’s security architecture more visible.
Assuring management participation at all levels through SecOps aids in developing a roadmap for enhancing and upgrading the organization’s security without jeopardising the business.the overall effectiveness.
Finally, by automating and simplifying security procedures, it may assist firms in becoming more effective and cost-efficient.
Examples of SecOps’ advantages
It is obvious that SecOps may improve a company’s operations in a variety of practical ways. SAST and DAST are two often used SecOps examples that are highly effective:
Security Testing for Static Analysis (SAST)
SAST enables developers to identify security flaws considerably earlier in the software development life cycle that are really present in the source code of the application. Additionally, it makes sure that your actions follow the required coding standards and rules without actually running the underlying code.
Security testing using dynamic analysis (DAST)
In contrast to SAST, which examines source code, DAST enables SecOps teams to identify any security flaws that could be present in apps that are presently in use. Usually, online applications are the main exception to this rule.
Dynamic Evaluation By deploying fault injection techniques in an app, such as cross-site scripting (XSS) or SQL injection, security testing can identify these vulnerabilities. It directly feeds harmful data into the software in order to find any possible weaknesses.
DAST can also find runtime problems that would be impossible to find using static analysis security testing methods, such as authentication and server setup problems, weaknesses that are only apparent when a known user comes in, and other problems.Co-dependent procedures that are frequently employed in tandem include SAST and DAST.SecOps teams frequently employ SAST and DAST in tandem with one another. They both have shortcomings that cannot be fixed alone, but SecOps teams may better understand their security weaknesses by combining the two.
For instance, DAST is unlikely to detect any coding mistakes (that is, at least not in terms of the code line number), whereas SAST is ineffective at finding runtime issues. SAST, on the other hand, is not very good at detecting faults in the data flow but does very well at detecting line code defects such as weak code creation (e.g., weak random number generation). SAST is also widely recognised for producing more “false positives,” or alternatively, for producing fewer “false negatives.”
SecOps teams combine the usage of SAST and DAST technologies to significantly improve a company’s security operations.
What are a few excellent practises for putting SecOps into practise?
To increase SecOps’ effect and minimise any possible problems, it is crucial to adhere to tried-and-true procedures while adopting it into an organisation.
The following are some top tips for adopting SecOps:
Setting the parameters for SecOps This aids in concentrating on the demands of the business and condensing what has to be done to safeguard it.
establishing reusable processes The SecOps team deals with a wide range of issues throughout the whole organisation. Each security process developed can only deal with a single type of attack, but the SecOps team may maximise the effectiveness of their solutions by making them as general as possible, making them reusable and adaptable to deal with different threats in the future.
“Real-life” training exercises The SecOps team may perform simulated ‘attacks’ to assist refine their abilities and reaction techniques, much as a well-trained military unit remains active and fully prepared through constant training and simulations. The systems can be “attacked” by one team, while
the SecOps group ‘defends’ this keeps the group focused, organised, and puts to the test how well they can react.
Automation of processes Automation is crucial for successfully deploying SecOps, especially in big enterprises. Automation improves real-time monitoring and incident response in addition to reducing the amount of jobs that must be completed by humans.
implementing security across the whole enterprise As contrast to a traditional security team, which often concentrates on threats received on applications that have already been deployed, the SecOps team discovers and addresses risks throughout the delivery pipeline. Because of the early detection and response that security teams are able to provide, developers are able to build new code rapidly, and the system is continually looking for faults and new vulnerabilities.
Summary
SecOps enables significantly more risk protection since it is the logical next step from development processes into a more thoroughly integrated security solution that spans corporate divisions. Integrating into a company is undoubtedly more difficult. Nevertheless, when done correctly, the organisation gains from improved real-time knowledge of problems, better communication and less downtime across departments and operations, lower costs, and an all-around improved capacity to respond to hazards. Without a doubt, in today’s business environment, it is essential.
