DevSecOps Tools: Top Solutions for Integrating Security into Your Development Workflow

The numbers speak for themselves. According to IBM’s latest Cost of Data Breach (CODB) report, the average cost of a worldwide data breach was over USD 5 million. Compare this figure to the USD 2 million companies saved by adopting a DevSecOps culture involving AI and automation, and the case for DevSecOps tools as fundamental to the software development process becomes undeniable. If you are still unconvinced about DevSecOps or have recently become a convert, this article will lay out the best DevSecOps security tools to secure your development workflow. We will also give you real-world cases and examples of how taking the more proactive approach to security that DevSecOps preaches has helped countless companies stave off disastrous and costly breaches.

Importance of integrating security into the DevOps workflow

Key Features of DevSecOps Tools

It is only natural that the emergence of DevSecOps as a development philosophy would spawn the creation of specific DevSecOps tools and solutions. Otherwise, how could DevSecOps ever manifest itself if there was no way to bridge the gap between theory and practice? Thankfully, developers and engineers quickly filled the need for security tools in DevOps by creating a lengthy DevSecOps tools list.

The diverse range of DevSecOps tools available is a testament to the multitude of challenges that software developers and companies using their products encounter daily. These challenges are further compounded by significant shifts within software engineering, such as the increasing reliance on cloud and serverless computing, and the adoption of Software as a Service delivery models. While these shifts have enhanced the development process, they have also exposed it to potential attacks. DevSecOps tools play a crucial role in addressing these challenges.

The number of DevSecOps tools also reflects how these tools are used in the real world since many companies choose between an all-in-one DevSecOps solution or a patchwork of tools deployed at various points in the development pipeline with multiple objectives. However, despite every company’s respective preferences, there are some DevSecOps tool features that developers prize over others, such as:

• Reliance on automation and AI
• Improves working relationships
• Decreases time spent switching between tasks, tools, and systems
• Employs monitoring and performance indicators

Of course, these four features are only a tiny sample of the capabilities of DevSecOps tools. As we’ll explore later, DevSecOps software spans from total solutions to more focused and precise security tools for DevOps, with specific uses and attributes. Next, we will look at specific DevOps practices requiring a nuanced approach to security that DevSecOps can help deliver.

CI/CD integration

One of the most critical points in your development process is your CI/CD pipeline. Speed is also a crucial element of DevOps processes, but it is a double-edged sword. Of course, you can introduce new code into your codebase within seconds, but that also means malware and corrupted code can enter just as quickly. The obvious way to reduce this risk is by integrating security tools in DevOps directly into the CI/CD pipeline. This integration allows you to scan code for vulnerabilities whenever and provides instant feedback to developers so they can fix issues before the code reaches production.

For example, organizations like Adobe have streamlined their CI/CD processes by embedding security measures, reducing security risks, and enhancing productivity. Additionally, introducing security at this stage helps reduce the cost of addressing vulnerabilities later. The longer a vulnerability goes undetected, the more expensive it becomes. According to the Ponemon Institute, fixing a vulnerability after deployment costs around 30 times more than addressing it during development. With DevSecOps solutions, you ensure security at the speed of CI/CD while saving time and money.

Automated security testing

Companies like Facebook have successfully implemented automated security testing, where rapid release cycles mean security measures must be swift and comprehensive. By adopting automated DevSecOps tools, as the theory goes, companies can catch potential issues early, even before they become significant vulnerabilities. Automated tools also ensure continuous compliance, which is vital for industries like healthcare or finance, where failure to meet security standards could result in substantial fines and reputation damage on par with being hacked.

Additionally, automated security testing enables organizations to catch known vulnerabilities in third-party libraries and dependencies that developers may not be aware of. Since 96% of applications use open-source components (Sonatype, 2021), automating scanning these dependencies for vulnerabilities is critical to keeping your software secure. DevSecOps software helps your team identify these risks quickly and act before they become breaches.

Real-time monitoring and alerting

Using DevSecOps tools for real-time monitoring allows for immediate detection of anomalies, unauthorized access attempts, or other suspicious activities. For instance, Netflix uses real-time monitoring across its systems to identify and mitigate threats immediately. You can prevent breaches before they escalate by monitoring logs, data flows, and network activity in real time. Considering the average cost of a data breach we quoted above, real-time alerting can save your organization from devastating financial consequences.

The ability to receive instant alerts about security breaches also means you can reduce your mean time to detection (MTTD) and mean time to resolution (MTTR), two critical factors in mitigating damage from a breach. Real-time alerting tools provide your team with actionable insights to fix the issue before it leads to compromised data or systems, helping you stay one step ahead of attackers.

Compliance and policy management

While complying with industry standards and regulations may not fall directly under the purview of security, failing to meet compliance can result in hefty fines and reputational damage, especially in healthcare, financial services, or government industries. DevSecOps solutions help integrate compliance checks directly into the development workflow, ensuring you meet requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS without slowing down your process.

For example, financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase face strict customer data protection and financial reporting regulations. By integrating DevSecOps software that automates compliance checks, institutions as significant and integral as JP Morgan Chase can ensure they meet these regulations while quickly delivering updates and new features. Automating compliance tasks also reduces the burden on your security teams, allowing them to focus on more critical tasks rather than spending time manually reviewing every release for compliance issues.

Vulnerability management and remediation

No matter how much you strive to secure your processes, vulnerabilities inevitably arise. What is important is how you manage and remediate them. Effective vulnerability management means identifying potential risks as early as possible and responding swiftly to mitigate them. DevSecOps tools make this process seamless by automatically scanning your codebase for vulnerabilities and providing prioritized lists of issues based on severity, enabling your team to focus on the most critical problems first.

For instance, Equifax’s infamous data breach in 2017, which exposed the personal data of 147 million individuals, resulted from something as simple as a failure to patch a known vulnerability. This breach could have been prevented with an effective vulnerability management program. According to the Ponemon Institute, companies that can effectively manage vulnerabilities save an average of $1.2 million on each breach. Implementing DevSecOps software like Snyk or Veracode ensures you catch and remediate vulnerabilities before they lead to data breaches, saving both time and money.

Exploring the Varieties of DevSecOps Tools

Integrating various DevSecOps tools is essential to secure your development process, especially as applications become more complex. From identifying vulnerabilities to maintaining compliance, these tools allow you to address security in real-time without hindering your development pace. Below, we’ll explore several categories of security DevOps tools and how they contribute to securing your DevSecOps workflow.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

SAST tools analyze your source code or compiled application without executing it, looking for vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), or buffer overflows. Essentially, SAST scans code during development, detecting security issues early. SAST is vital to the DevSecOps workflow because it integrates easily into continuous integration pipelines, ensuring vulnerabilities are caught long before they reach production.

Again, let us take the example of Equifax, whose infamous breach was due to an unpatched vulnerability. A nimble SAST tool could have identified this vulnerability during the development phase, preventing the exposure of sensitive data. By adopting top DevSecOps tools like Checkmarx or Fortify, you embed security into the code development process, making it more efficient and secure.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Unlike SAST, which focuses on source code, Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) works by testing a running application simulating real-world attacks. DAST mimics external threats and tests the application’s responses, identifying potential weak spots such as broken authentication, insecure configurations, and data leaks. By testing an application in a live environment, you can gain insight into weaknesses that may be invisible during the coding phase.

For example, a financial services company that handles sensitive financial transactions can use security DevOps tools like DAST to ensure their applications are secure against external attacks. DAST tools such as Acunetix are often employed to identify issues before deploying web applications. This process helps mitigate risks like unauthorized data access, which could result in costly breaches.

Application Security Orchestration and Correlation (ASOC)

Application Security Orchestration and Correlation (ASOC) centralizes results from security testing from multiple DevSecOps tests, such as SAST and DAST. It provides a single platform to prioritize and analyze security issues, correlating them to provide actionable insights. ASOC is helpful because it streamlines security efforts, ensuring developers can focus on the most critical issues without being overwhelmed by alerts.

By using ASOC in your DevSecOps workflow, you consolidate the complexity of multiple tools, resulting in faster remediation times and improved efficiency. These advantages are essential in large enterprise environments, where various tools generate a high volume of security alerts. Managing these alerts without ASOC is time-consuming and prone to human error. By centralizing security efforts, ASOC improves security outcomes and makes large-scale applications safer for end users.

Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST)

Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) combines elements of both SAST and DAST by testing your application while it is running but with access to the application’s internal code. IAST tools provide more accurate results than SAST or DAST alone, giving developers deep insights into how cracks in the pipeline occur during execution. This enables a more precise resolution of security issues.

IAST has proven useful in industries where security is paramount, such as healthcare or banking. For example, banks that handle millions of transactions daily can employ IAST to secure communication between different parts of their application stack. In DevSecOps solutions, tools like Contrast Security enable financial institutions to detect and deal with potential weak spots in real-time, reducing their exposure to fraud and other cyber threats.

Container Security

Containerization has become a staple in modern software development. So, securing containers is essential. Container security tools ensure that containers that house microservices and applications remain secure from attacks. These tools scan images, monitor running containers for anomalies, and enforce security policies to ensure containers are correctly configured.

For example, enterprises like Google and Netflix, which run vast microservices architectures, rely on security DevOps tools like Aqua Security to ensure the security of their containerized applications. Given that 50% of companies are now containerized (Forrester), using container security tools to monitor and enforce security policies is crucial. These tools help reduce the risk of malicious container attacks, such as exploiting vulnerabilities in Docker or Kubernetes configurations.

Open-source Vulnerability Scanning

Most modern applications rely on open-source components, and while this speeds up development, it also opens the door to vulnerabilities. Open-source vulnerability scanning tools analyze dependencies and libraries to ensure they are free from known vulnerabilities. These tools are critical because open-source software is pervasive across all industries—96% of applications rely on open-source libraries (Sonatype, 2021).

Many DevSecOps best practices guides suggest using tools like Snyk or WhiteSource to scan open-source components regularly for known vulnerabilities. This proactive approach prevents breaches such as the one faced by Equifax, where an unpatched Apache Struts vulnerability led to one of the most significant data breaches in history. By scanning and patching vulnerabilities in open-source components, you can significantly reduce your risk exposure.

Compliance Management

Maintaining compliance with GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS standards is critical in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, finance, or government. Compliance management tools help automate the process so that your application meets necessary legal and regulatory requirements. By embedding compliance checks into your DevSecOps workflow, you reduce the chances of regulatory fines and penalties.

For instance, healthcare organizations can leverage tools like Codacy or Veracode to ensure that patient data remains secure and compliant with HIPAA standards. Failing to maintain compliance can result in devastating consequences, with penalties reaching up to $1.5 million per violation for HIPAA breaches. By integrating compliance management into your workflow, you ensure continuous monitoring of security practices, preventing breaches and penalties.

Image Scanning

With containerization and cloud-native development on the rise, image scanning has become critical. Image scanning tools analyze container images for vulnerabilities and misconfigurations before they are deployed into production. By scanning these images, you ensure that known vulnerabilities do not compromise your containers.

For example, companies like Tesla use image scanning tools like Clair to secure containerized applications. These tools allow organizations to scan images regularly, reducing the chances of deploying vulnerable containers. Image scanning is a fundamental step in securing the cloud-native development landscape and is considered a key component of any DevSecOps application security strategy.

Top DevSecOps Tools

These top DevSecOps tools bring a range of capabilities to enhance DevOps security. Whether through automated vulnerability detection, compliance management, or container security, each of these security DevOps tools plays a critical role in safeguarding the development process. Integrating these security tools in DevOps workflows ensures that your applications remain secure from development through deployment, reducing the risk of costly data breaches and improving overall software quality.

Aikido Security

Aikido Security specializes in risk detection and vulnerability management. It offers real-time monitoring to ensure your DevOps workflow remains secure. By automating risk analysis and providing actionable insights, Aikido prevents security bottlenecks. For example, large-scale enterprises have implemented Aikido to handle the complexity of cloud-native environments, significantly reducing vulnerability exposure. This tool is vital to the DevSecOps tools list, ensuring seamless DevSecOps software development.

Invicti

Invicti delivers high-performing security DevOps tools, emphasizing automated vulnerability detection for web applications. Companies that use Invicti as a DevSecOps solution benefit particularly from its detailed scanning capabilities and actionable remediation suggestions. A real-world example is Allianz, which improved its security posture using Invicti’s automation, cutting the time spent identifying vulnerabilities by 40%. Its ability to integrate seamlessly into CI/CD pipelines makes it one of the top DevSecOps tools for web security.

Acunetix

Acunetix is a powerful DevSecOps tool that focuses on dynamic application security testing (DAST). It detects over 7,000 web vulnerabilities, including SQL injection and XSS. The United Nations utilized Acunetix to bolster security across multiple websites, making it an essential tool for global organizations. Acunetix enables continuous scanning within your DevSecOps workflow, identifying vulnerabilities as they appear during development. Its ability to detect complex security flaws makes it a standout on any security tool in the DevOps list.

Astra Security

Astra Security provides multi-layered security for web applications and cloud environments. Its real-time malware scanning and firewall protection allow for comprehensive DevSecOps solutions. Businesses like Gillette have relied on Astra to secure their eCommerce platforms, ensuring a seamless and secure user experience. Astra’s integration into DevSecOps software reduces risk exposure and ensures that vulnerabilities are identified and remediated promptly, making it a fundamental security tool in DevOps.

Aqua Security

Aqua Security focuses on container and cloud-native application security. As containers grow in popularity, companies like Capital One have used Aqua Security to protect their containerized applications, preventing vulnerabilities from entering production. Aqua’s runtime security features and image scanning capabilities make it one of the most essential security DevOps tools for organizations shifting to microservices architectures. Aqua enables secure and efficient DevSecOps workflows for businesses relying on cloud-native solutions.

Checkmarx One

Checkmarx One is renowned for its source code analysis and DevOps security tools. As part of the DevSecOps tools list, it identifies vulnerabilities during development, providing early detection of coding errors. A notable case study comes from SAP, which implemented Checkmarx One to scan millions of lines of code, significantly reducing vulnerabilities before release. Checkmarx plays a critical role in improving security while maintaining development agility, ensuring that your DevSecOps software remains free of coding flaws.

Codacy Quality

Codacy Quality offers automated code reviews, identifying security vulnerabilities and maintaining coding standards within the DevSecOps workflow. Codacy is especially useful for remote teams, offering continuous feedback to ensure code quality. For instance, Delivery Hero uses Codacy to scan code across its global development teams, enhancing security collaboration and preventing common vulnerabilities. Codacy’s automated feedback allows developers to improve security without sacrificing productivity, positioning it as one of the best DevSecOps solutions for remote teams.

Fortify by OpenText

Fortify by OpenText excels in providing end-to-end application security, covering SAST, DAST, and open-source security testing. Government agencies have used Fortify to secure mission-critical applications, preventing data breaches in highly susceptible environments. Its ability to cover the entire development lifecycle makes it one of the most comprehensive security DevOps tools available. Fortify’s powerful scanning engines help enterprises implement a secure DevSecOps workflow without compromising speed.

GitLab

GitLab integrates security testing directly into the CI/CD process, offering automated code scanning and vulnerability detection as part of its DevSecOps software suite. Organizations like T-Mobile have utilized GitLab to manage security and compliance across multiple teams, ensuring code quality while automating vulnerability management. By embedding security into the development process, GitLab allows teams to shift left, catching security flaws early in the pipeline. Its all-in-one approach to security tools for DevSecOps makes it one of the top DevSecOps tools.

Snyk

Snyk DevSecOps tools specialize in scanning open-source dependencies and containers, providing real-time vulnerability monitoring and automated fixes. Adobe has integrated Snyk into its development pipeline to scan for vulnerabilities in open-source libraries, leading to faster remediation times and fewer vulnerabilities, making it into production. Snyk’s deep integration into development workflows and its ability to automatically fix issues place it at the forefront of DevSecOps solutions.

Veracode

Veracode is a cloud-based DevSecOps tool offering SAST and DAST to identify web applications and software security flaws. Siemens has successfully implemented it to improve the security of industrial applications, reducing risk exposure. Veracode’s strength lies in its scalability, making it suitable for enterprises managing a large portfolio of applications. Veracode ensures continuous application security within a DevSecOps workflow, preventing vulnerabilities from reaching production.

Conclusion

Regarding integrating DevSecOps security tools, VodWorks is a trusted partner capable of embedding security into every phase of your software development lifecycle. Our specialized expertise in DevSecOps ensures that security measures are automated and integrated early on, mitigating risks while maintaining efficiency. Find out more about working with VodWorks by contacting us directly so we can determine what services you would benefit from most.