Unfortunately, security breaches are a harsh reality for many AppSec professionals. According to IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach has reached $4.45 million, a 15% increase over the past three years. With cyberattacks growing more sophisticated, robust security measures are no longer optional—they’re essential.
Traditionally, application security has been treated as a final step in the software development lifecycle (SDLC)—a last bastion of defense. However, as the pace of development accelerates and systems grow more complex, this approach reveals significant flaws.
The Pitfalls of Late-Stage Security
Security as a Final Step: In the traditional model, security assessments, including penetration testing and code reviews, often occur after most development work is complete. This means security is treated as an afterthought, leading to rushed fixes that don’t address root problems.
Reactive Approach: Traditional security models are inherently reactive, addressing vulnerabilities as they arise. This increases the risk of breaches and leads to inefficiencies, with teams scrambling to fix problems under tight deadlines.
Siloed Security Teams: In many organizations, security teams operate separately from development and operations teams, hindering collaboration. Without ongoing input from security experts, development teams may introduce vulnerabilities that go unnoticed until it’s too late.
Costly and Time-Consuming Remediation: Fixing security issues late in the SDLC is expensive and time-consuming. The further along in the process a vulnerability is discovered, the more resources are required to address it. This can delay product releases and increase costs, making late discovery a significant time-sink.
Real-World Consequences
The limitations of traditional security models have real-world implications. Issues such as late-stage security findings and vulnerabilities that get missed in testing with time-consuming and expensive fixes all impact your projects and, ultimately, how your customers and clients perceive you and your product:
Late-Stage Discovery: Imagine a critical vulnerability is discovered just before a product launch. The development team must drop everything to address the issue, which is causing significant delays and stress.
Missed Vulnerabilities: Certain vulnerabilities may go unnoticed without collaboration between development and security teams. For example, a development team might implement a feature without fully understanding its security implications, creating exploitable gaps.
Expensive Fixes and Reputational Damage: Vulnerabilities discovered late in the process can require extensive rework or a complete overhaul, increasing costs and potentially damaging the organization’s reputation if the issue becomes public.
These challenges underscore the need for a more integrated and proactive security approach that starts earlier in the SDLC and involves collaboration across all teams. This is where shift-left security comes in, offering a better solution for building secure applications.
Introducing Shift-Left Security
How can organizations stay ahead of security threats? The answer lies in shifting security left. This proactive strategy integrates security considerations much earlier in the SDLC, helping teams identify and mitigate risks before they escalate into costly breaches.
Shift-left security moves software security to the forefront of development. Instead of treating security as a final checkbox at the end of the SDLC, this approach embeds security practices from day one. By catching vulnerabilities early, teams can reduce the time, cost, and effort required for remediation, ultimately delivering more secure software.
Shift-Left Security: A New Paradigm
Shift-left security represents a fundamental shift in how organizations approach application security. By moving security considerations to the earliest stages of the SDLC, teams can proactively identify and address vulnerabilities before they become critical issues.
With this new paradigm, some fundamental principles must be kept in mind.
Integration of Security from the Start: Shift-left security begins by incorporating security requirements into the design phase. This ensures that security is considered a core component of the system architecture from the moment a project is conceived, not an afterthought.
Collaboration Across Teams (DevSecOps): Successful shift-left security relies on collaboration between development, security, and operations teams, often called DevSecOps. By breaking down silos, organizations can foster a culture of shared responsibility for security, ensuring it is a continuous, integrated process.
Continuous and Automated Testing: A hallmark of shift-left security is using automated security testing tools throughout the SDLC. By integrating Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), and Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) into CI/CD pipelines, teams can continuously monitor for vulnerabilities as code is written, tested, and deployed, allowing for rapid identification and remediation of issues.
The Benefits of Shift-Left Security
All that being said, shift-left security, of course, happens for a multitude of reasons:
Early Vulnerability Detection: Integrating security early in the SDLC allows teams to detect vulnerabilities before they become ingrained in the codebase. Early detection reduces the time and cost of fixes and improves the application's overall security posture.
Faster Time-to-Market: Shift-left security streamlines development by resolving security issues early, reducing the need for extensive rework or last-minute fixes. This leads to more rapid and secure software delivery, helping organizations stay competitive.
Improved Collaboration and Communication: The DevSecOps approach promotes collaboration between development, security, and operations teams, ensuring security is a shared responsibility and resulting in more robust, secure applications.
Increased Customer Trust: In today's security-conscious environment, customers expect their data to be protected. By adopting shift-left security practices, organizations demonstrate their commitment to security, build customer trust, and enhance their brand reputation.
Real-World Examples of Shift-Left Security in Action
Shift-left security isn’t just about changing processes—it’s about changing the culture of how security is approached within an organization. By making small changes to how we handle security testing and processes and making them an integral part of the development process, teams can build more secure software faster, which can have a considerable impact.
Threat Modeling During Design: During the design phase of a new application, teams conduct threat modeling exercises to identify potential security risks. By understanding these risks early on, teams can design systems with security in mind, reducing the likelihood of vulnerabilities later.
Automated Security Testing in CI/CD Pipelines: Organizations that implement automated security testing as part of their CI/CD pipelines can catch vulnerabilities early and often. Continuous testing allows for quick remediation and ensures security is built into every iteration of the software.
Developer Training on Secure Coding Practices: By providing developers with training on secure coding practices, organizations empower them to write code that is resilient to attacks, preventing vulnerabilities from being introduced in the first place.
Feedback Delivered Early and Often: Integrating security teams early in the process ensures developers receive frequent and high-quality feedback, leading to better security outcomes than waiting until the end to engage the security team.
Actionable Steps for Implementing Shift-Left Security
Adopting shift-left security requires a strategic approach that integrates security practices throughout the SDLC. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get started:
1. Start with the Design Phase
The foundation of shift-left security is incorporating security considerations from the very beginning of the project. During the design phase, security requirements should be included as part of the project’s functional and non-functional specifications. This ensures that security is a key aspect of the application’s architecture. You should also conduct threat modeling exercises to identify potential vulnerabilities early. By addressing these risks in the design phase, you can build more secure systems from the outset.
2. Automate Security Testing
Automation is critical for ensuring security checks are consistently applied throughout the SDLC. Implement SAST, DAST, and IAST Tools. Static Application Security Testing (SAST) analyzes code for vulnerabilities during development, while Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) assesses running applications for security issues. Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) combines both approaches, providing real-time insights as the application runs. Integrate these tools into your CI/CD pipeline to catch vulnerabilities early and ensure continuous security monitoring.
It would help if you also leveraged Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) where possible. Incorporating automated security testing into your CI/CD pipeline enforces security checks at every stage of development, ensuring vulnerabilities are identified and addressed before code is deployed to production.
3. Empower Developers
Developers play a crucial role in implementing shift-left security. Providing them with the right tools and training is essential. Offer regular training sessions to educate developers on secure coding practices and common vulnerabilities and how to avoid them. This will enhance their security awareness and equip them to write more secure code.
Another critical component is providing developer-friendly security tools. Choose security tools that integrate seamlessly into the development environment and workflows. Tools that offer actionable insights without overwhelming developers with noise are essential for encouraging adoption and fostering a security-first mindset.
4. Foster a Culture of Security
Creating a culture where security is everyone’s responsibility is vital to successful shift-left security implementation. Promote open communication between development, security, and operations teams. Regular meetings, cross-functional training, and shared goals can help break down silos and foster a collaborative environment where security is a shared priority. In agile environments, security should be part of every sprint. Incorporate security tasks into your sprint planning and retrospectives to ensure security remains a constant focus throughout development.
5. Continuously Monitor and Adapt
Security is not a one-time effort but an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adaptation. By following these steps, you can effectively implement shift-left security within your organization, making security an integral part of your development process and reducing the risk of costly vulnerabilities. The security landscape constantly evolves, with new threats emerging regularly. Stay informed about the latest trends, vulnerabilities, and attack vectors to adapt your security practices accordingly. As your application evolves, so too should your security policies. Regularly review and update your security protocols to ensure they remain effective in addressing current threats.
StackHawk: Your Partner in Shift-Left Security
Implementing shift-left security can be challenging, especially for organizations new to integrating security into their development processes. This is where shift-left security tools like StackHawk come in—providing features and support to make the transition smoother and more effective.
StackHawk is a dynamic application security testing (DAST) platform designed to empower developers to take control of application security. It fits seamlessly into the shift-left approach by enabling automated security testing throughout the SDLC, ensuring that vulnerabilities are caught and addressed early in the software development lifecycle.
StackHawk fits into the shift-left paradigm in several ways:
Automated Vulnerability Testing: With StackHawk, you can automate security testing at every stage of development. This continuous testing ensures that vulnerabilities are identified and addressed early, reducing the risk of costly security issues later in the process.
Seamless CI/CD Integration: StackHawk integrates with popular CI/CD tools like Jenkins, GitHub Actions, and CircleCI, making it easy to incorporate security testing into your existing workflows. This integration allows for automatic security testing on every code commit or pull request, ensuring that security is continuously monitored.
Empowering Developers: StackHawk’s intuitive interface and detailed reports make it easier for developers to understand and fix security issues. By providing clear guidance and actionable recommendations, StackHawk empowers developers to own the security of their applications, fostering a culture of security throughout the development team.
Real-Time Feedback: With StackHawk, developers receive real-time feedback on security vulnerabilities, allowing them to address issues immediately. This reduces the time between identifying and fixing security flaws, helping teams maintain their development momentum.
By partnering with StackHawk, you can confidently shift security left, ensuring that your applications are secure from the beginning of the development process.
Conclusion
Shift-left security allows teams to detect and address vulnerabilities early by moving security to the forefront of the development process. This approach fosters collaboration through DevSecOps, leverages automated testing for continuous security checks, and empowers developers to write secure code.
A strong security posture requires collaboration across all teams—development, security, and operations. Shift-left security is not just a technical strategy; it’s a cultural shift emphasizing shared security responsibility. By breaking down silos and encouraging open communication, organizations can build a more resilient and secure software development process.
Are you beginning your journey into shift-left security? Join thousands of other AppSec and development teams that have adopted StackHawk as a cornerstone of this approach. Sign up today for a 14-day free trial, or speak with our team of security experts to get your shift-left initiatives off on the right foot.
