3 Ways to Shift Left With Blink Ops Security Automation in the SDLC

In 2024, security is increasingly becoming embedded early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC). Shifting left ensures security practices are implemented early instead of as an afterthought, enabling teams to detect misconfigurations and vulnerabilities before they reach production.

Security automation platforms like Blink Ops make it simpler to shift security left by integrating with existing CI/CD pipelines and DevOps processes. 

Blink Ops automates key security checks so developers and security teams can address security issues in their daily workflows to reduce risk and speed up remediation. 

Below are three use cases for Blink Ops to help shift security left during the SDLC:

1. Dependency Vulnerability Scans in CI/CD Pipelines

Third-party libraries and dependencies may contain vulnerabilities that compromise your application’s security. Typical ways of checking dependencies reveal vulnerabilities only after production deployment. Dependency vulnerability scanning in the CI/CD pipeline can be automated by Blink Ops and Snyk.

Any time developers push code to GitHub's main branch, Blink Ops triggers Snyk to scan the project for vulnerabilities in third-party libraries or dependencies. Any high or critical vulnerabilities found by Snyk are sent via Slack, and a Jira ticket is created for further investigation.

This workflow with automated scanning at the source code stage ensures no vulnerable code is deployed and moves security left in the SDLC. Developers are now able to address vulnerabilities quickly while maintaining application security without compromising the overall development speed.

Bullet-Point Steps:

1. A developer pushes code to the main branch on GitHub.
2. Blink Ops triggers Snyk to scan for vulnerabilities in third party dependencies.
3. If high/critical vulnerabilities are found, Blink Ops sends a Slack alert.
4. A Jira ticket is automatically created for the security team to address the issue.
5. The security team investigates the issue before production deployment.

2. Automated Security Checks for Terraform Configurations

Cloud infrastructure misconfigurations are among the leading causes of security breaches. With infrastructure as code (IaC) tools like Terraform, it’s important to validate the security of configurations before deploying them into production.

Blink Ops automates this by performing security checks for Terraform configurations. Any developer that submits a pull request with Terraform code triggers a scan for common security issues like open security groups, unencrypted storage or over-permissive IAM roles.

Misconfigurations detected by Blink Ops are sent to the DevOps team via Slack with remediation suggestions. The pull request can also be blocked from merging until security issues are resolved so insecure infrastructure does not get deployed.

This automated process moves security to development and helps teams enforce best practices and secure infrastructure before it goes live.

Bullet-Point Steps:

1. A pull request containing Terraform code is submitted.
2. Blink Ops scans the Terraform configuration for security issues.
3. If issues are found (e.g., open security groups), Blink Ops sends an alert.
4. Remediation suggestions are provided within the alert to guide resolution.

5. The pull request is stopped from merging until the security issues are resolved.

3. Security Testing for API Changes in Azure DevOps

APIs are essential components of modern applications - but untested, they can be a huge security risk. API vulnerabilities like unauthorized access or insecure data transmission may cause security incidents.

With Blink Ops, you can automate security tests for new or modified API endpoints using Postman and Azure DevOps. When a new pull request is created in Azure DevOps, Blink Ops sends Postman to run API security tests on those endpoints.

Any vulnerabilities found are reported to the development team via Slack, and a Jira task is created to fix the issue before the pull request can be merged. Such automation can identify API vulnerabilities early during development so they do not become a problem during production.

Bullet-Point Steps:

1. An Azure DevOps pull request is created.
2. Blink Ops triggers Postman to run tests on new/modified API endpoints.
3. Upon detection of vulnerabilities, Blink Ops issues an alert.
4. A Jira task is created for the development team to address the issue.
5. The pull request is stopped from merging until the security issue is fixed.

Take the Next Step and Shift Left with Blink Ops

These examples show how security automation using Blink Ops can improve security during the design and development cycle. Blink Ops integrates with tools like Snyk, Terraform, and Postman to catch vulnerabilities and misconfigurations before they become production issues.

Automation of repetitive tasks and security checks frees your team to write secure, quality code with Blink Ops. Get started with Blink Ops today to keep your cloud infrastructure and applications secure throughout the SDLC.