How Does It Work?
Code to cloud security is designed to build security into every stage of the cloud software development lifecycle (SDLC). Some security best practices that are included in a code-to-cloud approach include:
- DevOps Integration: Cloud applications are frequently implemented using DevOps design practices, which allow small updates to be pushed rapidly and frequently to the cloud. By integrating security into the DevOps process, code to cloud reduces the risk of vulnerabilities reaching production.
- Security Automation: Manual security testing can add friction to the development and release process, resulting in release delays or security being neglected. Automating security scanning helps to relieve this burden and increases the probability of vulnerabilities being found and fixed before they reach production environments.
- Feedback Loops: In addition to attempting to identify vulnerabilities during the development process, code to cloud security also searches for security risks in cloud environments. These findings are fed back to developers, who can correct the issues in the code and avoid similar problems in the future.
- Continuous Monitoring: Rapid DevOps release cycles mean that new vulnerabilities can crop up in cloud environments at any time. Ongoing monitoring ensures that issues are identified and fixed as quickly as possible.
Key Elements of Code to Cloud Security
Code to cloud security is intended to provide end-to-end security integration into the SDLC. Some of the key elements that allow it to accomplish this include:
- Secure Coding: Code to cloud security is focused on identifying and stopping software vulnerabilities at the source. Implementing secure coding best practices helps reduce the risk of vulnerabilities being introduced into a codebase.
- Security Automation: Automating security testing — including static and dynamic application security testing (SAST/DAST) — enables code to be regularly checked for issues. This can prevent vulnerable code from being accepted into a codebase and provides multiple opportunities for it to be caught before it reaches production.
- Identity and Access Management (IAM): Supply chain attacks targeting development and deployment environments pose a significant threat to code security. Implementing strong IAM practices prevents unauthorized users from modifying an organization’s code.
- Supply Chain Security: Software commonly uses third-party libraries, which can contain vulnerabilities or malicious code. Code to cloud should incorporate software composition analysis (SCA) to identify the use of potentially vulnerable third-party code.
- Compliance Support: Managing compliance can be difficult in complex, multi-cloud environments. Automated compliance validation helps to ensure that applications meet regulatory requirements.
The Need for Code to Cloud Security
Software vulnerabilities are a common problem, including in cloud-based applications. Code to cloud security offers various benefits, including:
- Faster Deployment: Security testing is a vital component of the software development process due to its ability to improve security and regulatory compliance. By automating security scanning and implementing feedback loops, code to cloud reduces the impact of security testing and vulnerability remediation on release timelines.
- Data Breach Prevention: Some vulnerabilities — such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) — provide an attacker with access to sensitive customer data. By reducing the threat of these vulnerabilities, code-to-cloud security also reduces the risk of data breaches.
- Regulatory Compliance: Companies are required to protect customers’ sensitive data against unauthorized exposure and may be penalized for data breaches. Code to cloud security helps to reduce the risk of these breaches, enhancing an organization’s compliance posture.
- Advanced Threat Prevention: Advanced threat actors use supply chain attacks and other subtle means to attack organizations. Code to cloud security offers the potential to identify and remediate these attacks before they pose a risk to the business.
- Cost Efficiency: The earlier in the SDLC a vulnerability is detected, the cheaper it is to fix. Code to cloud integrates security into all stages of the SDLC, reducing the costs of remediating vulnerabilities and any data breaches that they could have caused.
Code to Cloud Security with CloudGuard Developer Security
Code to cloud security offers the ability to dramatically decrease the digital attack surface of an organization’s web applications and APIs. It both proactively attempts to identify and correct bugs before they reach production and scans cloud applications for vulnerabilities that are traced back to the original code. The end result is a cloud infrastructure that is much less vulnerable than it otherwise would be.
Implementing effective code to cloud security requires developer security tools capable of managing the entire software lifecycle and scaling to meet cloud demand. To learn more about how CloudGuard Developer Security can support your organization’s code-to-cloud security initiative, sign up for a free demo today.
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