Founder, CEO and chief technical architect at ThreatModeler.
There’s a familiar saying, “No news is good news,” but this classic idiom holds new significance in cybersecurity. The absence of data breaches and security incidents can be the most compelling proof that an organization’s cybersecurity strategies are effective. Silence is a direct outcome of their proactive cybersecurity efforts.
While silence is a sign that an organization’s proactive approach is working, it shouldn’t be taken as an excuse to become complacent. An effective, proactive cybersecurity strategy must be treated as an ongoing process—not a one-off event. This is where DevSecOps comes into play. DevSecOps involves integrating security into every phase of the development process.
In a world where applications are continuously deployed in dynamic cloud environments, security must be implemented as an ongoing process, starting at the design phase. To better understand this approach, let’s delve into the increasing cost of a data breach and the crucial role of DevSecOps, the challenges organizations often face in proving an effective DevSecOps strategy and how collaboration with other security leaders can help enterprises find peace of mind amidst the chaos.
Silence Is Golden
The cost of a data breach continues to increase year after year. According to IBM’s most recent report, the average cost of a data breach reached an all-time high in 2023 at $4.45 million. This represents a 15% increase in just three years.
When looking at the cost of a data breach, it is important to consider all associated expenditures: detection and escalation, notification, post-breach response and lost business. This includes crisis management costs, revenue loss due to system downtime, legal expenditures, regulatory fines, overall reputational damage and so much more. The numerous direct and indirect costs associated with a data breach quickly add up and can cause irreparable damage to an organization.
To combat this, it is crucial that organizations invest in services and tools that can prevent data breaches from occurring. The IBM report showed that organizations with high DevSecOps adoption saved over $1.5 million compared to organizations with little to no adoption. When compared to various other methods to reduce costs, DevSecOps showcased the most significant financial advantages. While integrating DevSecOps requires additional upfront costs, it is crucial to consider long-term savings.
As the cost of data breaches continues to rise, investing in the right tools and processes to achieve silence in cybersecurity becomes all the more necessary.
All Quiet On The Cyber Front
To achieve silence, it is evident that DevSecOps must be at the forefront of an organization’s cybersecurity strategy. DevSecOps introduces cybersecurity practices from the beginning and integrates them into every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), which includes design, development, testing, deployment and maintenance. It allows developers to implement security controls structurally as opposed to playing whack-a-mole as issues arise.
To integrate DevSecOps practices, Gartner recommends that security leaders integrate developer-friendly security tools into their DevOps pipelines. This approach lets both security experts and non-experts collaborate in service of business goals using a common platform or language. One tool Gartner recommends to incorporate security into DevOps is threat modeling, which helps identify, prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities in design to reduce the probability of breaches. It is a practice that shifts security as far to the left as possible to prevent small oversights from becoming structural flaws. In essence, threat modeling is the bridge between DevOps and DevSecOps.
One key aspect of DevSecOps is that it must be treated as a process—not a one-time project. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, an organization’s security strategy must evolve with it. DevSecOps must be implemented as an ongoing process to ensure security is applied consistently across the entire threat environment as it changes and adapts to new requirements.
Communication Leads To Silence
DevSecOps is not only about implementing certain tools or processes to ensure security. Oddly enough, cybersecurity silence requires communication and collaboration. Typically, security, development and IT teams work in silos, with each focused on their specific responsibilities. However, DevSecOps makes security a shared responsibility. It involves a cultural component that unites an organization where all teams work together toward a common goal: a secure architecture.
As threats become more sophisticated and regulations constantly evolve, the need for collaboration in DevSecOps extends beyond an internal organization. Companies can benefit from sharing advice, best practices and acquired knowledge with one another. With most organizations facing the same threats and challenges, collective knowledge becomes an invaluable tool. If all companies had equal access to proven tools and the same tips and tricks, it would result in time and cost savings for organizations and a successful, proactive defense against cyber threats
Peace Of Mind Is Priceless
While silence is promising, the ultimate success of a cybersecurity strategy will inherently always be an open question. For example, silence can be attributed to a lack of attacks or even a breach that is flying under the radar. To tackle this, organizations should keep up-to-date documentation of security plans and changes, monitoring reports and regular vulnerability assessments to stay vigilant and ensure a successful strategy.
That said, the absence of breaches and incidents is the first sign that an organization’s strategy is working. Organizations can successfully achieve silence and validate their successes by seamlessly integrating security into every facet of the SDLC. They can further enhance this security by sharing knowledge within the DevSecOps community.
In the world of cybersecurity, silence is golden and peace of mind is priceless.
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