DevSecOps: The Complete Guide to Integrating Security into Continuous Delivery

Introduction: The DevSecOps Revolution

Traditional software development treated security as a gate at the end of the development process—a final hurdle before release. This approach created friction between development and security teams, delayed releases, and often resulted in security issues being discovered too late to address properly. DevSecOps fundamentally changes this dynamic by embedding security practices throughout the entire software development lifecycle.

DevSecOps is the practice of integrating security practices and tools directly into the DevOps process, ensuring that security is a shared responsibility from the very first line of code. It's not about slowing down development; it's about building security in from the start so that teams can move faster with confidence.

The cost of fixing security vulnerabilities increases dramatically the later they are discovered. A vulnerability found in production can cost 100 times more to remediate than one caught during development. DevSecOps addresses this by shifting security left, automating security testing, and fostering a culture where everyone is responsible for security.

OWASP DevSecOps Guideline

The OWASP DevSecOps Guideline provides a comprehensive framework for implementing security in DevOps pipelines. It helps organisations of all sizes draw a perspective of a secure DevOps pipeline and then improve it based on customised requirements.

Core Implementation Steps

The OWASP guideline recommends implementing the following steps in a DevSecOps pipeline:

Shift-Left Security Philosophy

“Shift left” refers to the practice of moving security testing earlier in the software development lifecycle. Rather than treating security as a final checkpoint, shift-left integrates security considerations from the earliest stages of development.

Shift-Left Practices

• •Security requirements in user stories: Include security acceptance criteria alongside functional requirements.
• •Threat modelling during design: Identify potential threats before writing code.
• •IDE security plugins: Catch vulnerabilities as developers write code.
• •Pre-commit hooks: Prevent secrets and vulnerable code from being committed.
• •Security-focused code reviews: Train developers to spot security issues during peer review.

Security Testing Methodologies

A comprehensive DevSecOps pipeline incorporates multiple types of security testing, each serving a specific purpose and applied at different stages:

CI/CD Pipeline Integration

Effective DevSecOps requires security controls at every stage of the CI/CD pipeline. Here's how to structure security activities across the deployment lifecycle:

Example GitHub Actions Workflow

name: DevSecOps Pipeline

on:
  push:
    branches: [main, develop]
  pull_request:
    branches: [main]

jobs:
  security-scan:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      # Secrets scanning
      - name: Gitleaks Scan
        uses: gitleaks/gitleaks-action@v2
        
      # SAST - SonarQube
      - name: SonarQube Scan
        uses: sonarsource/sonarqube-scan-action@master
        
      # SCA - Dependency scanning
      - name: Snyk Dependency Scan
        uses: snyk/actions/node@master
        with:
          args: --severity-threshold=high
          
      # Container scanning
      - name: Trivy Container Scan
        uses: aquasecurity/trivy-action@master
        with:
          image-ref: 'myapp:latest'
          severity: 'CRITICAL,HIGH'
          
      # IaC scanning
      - name: Checkov IaC Scan
        uses: bridgecrewio/checkov-action@master
        with:
          directory: ./terraform

Addressing OWASP Top 10

The OWASP Top 10 represents the most critical security risks to web applications. DevSecOps practices should specifically address each of these vulnerabilities:

Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)

A Software Bill of Materials is a formal, machine-readable inventory of software components and dependencies. SBOMs have become essential for supply chain security, particularly following high-profile incidents like the Log4Shell vulnerability.

Generating SBOMs

# Using Syft to generate SBOM# Using Trivy# Using Trivy# Using Trivy# Using Trivy# Using Trivy# For container images# For container images# For container images images
syft myimage:latest -o spdx-json > sbom.json

Building a Security Champions Programme

Security champions are developers who take on additional responsibility for promoting security within their teams. They serve as a bridge between security teams and development teams, helping to scale security expertise across the organisation.

Measuring DevSecOps Success

Effective DevSecOps programmes require measurable outcomes. Track these key metrics to assess your security posture and drive continuous improvement:

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions when implementing DevSecOps practices.

# Configure severity thresholds in CI# Create baseline file for existing issues# Create baseline file for existing issues# Create baseline file for existing issues# Create baseline file for existing issues# Create baseline file for existing issues# Fail only on new vulnerabilities# Fail only on new vulnerabilities# Fail only on new vulnerabilitiesbilities
trivy image --baseline baseline.json my-app:${'$'}{{ github.sha }}

# .gitleaksignore - exclude known false positives# Use inline comments to mark false positives# Use inline comments to mark false positives# Configure custom rules in .gitleaks.toml# Configure custom rules in .gitleaks.tomlles in .gitleaks.toml
[allowlist]
  description = "Test credentials"
  paths = [
    '''tests/.*''',
    '''__fixtures__/.*'''
  ]

# semgrep.yml - exclude directories and focus on high-impact# Start with high-confidence rules only# Start with high-confidence rules only# Start with high-confidence rules only# Implement incremental scanning for PRs# Implement incremental scanning for PRsremental scanning for PRs
semgrep --baseline-ref main --config auto

# Use distroless or minimal base images# Or use chainguard images with minimal CVEs# Automate base image updates with Renovate# Automate base image updates with Renovate# renovate.json# renovate.json# renovate.jsonvate.json
{
  "extends": ["config:base"],
  "docker": {
    "pinDigests": true
  },
  "schedule": ["before 6am on Monday"]
}

# Provide actionable fix suggestions# Most modern tools include remediation guidance# Create guardrails, not gates# Use warn mode before enforce mode# After 30 days, enable enforcement# After 30 days, enable enforcement# After 30 days, enable enforcement# Gamify security with metrics dashboards# Gamify security with metrics dashboards# Gamify security with metrics dashboards# Track "days since last critical vulnerability" last critical vulnerability"

Conclusion

DevSecOps is not merely about adding security tools to your pipeline—it's about fundamentally changing how organisations think about and implement security. By shifting security left, automating testing, and fostering a culture of shared responsibility, teams can deliver secure software at the speed modern business demands.

The OWASP DevSecOps Guideline provides an excellent framework for implementation, covering everything from secrets scanning to compliance checks. Combined with the right tools for SAST, DAST, SCA, IAST, and IaC scanning, organisations can build robust security into their delivery pipelines.

Success requires more than technology—it requires cultural change, executive support, and continuous learning. Start small, measure progress, and iterate. The goal is not perfection from day one, but continuous improvement towards a more secure software delivery process.

Troubleshooting Common DevSecOps Issues

# Create a .semgrepignore file for false positives# Ignore test files for certain rules# Suppress specific rules in code# nosemgrep: javascript.lang.security.audit.prototype-pollution# Configure Snyk to ignore specific vulnerabilities# .snyk file# .snyk file# Trivy - ignore specific CVEs# Trivy - ignore specific CVEs# Trivy - ignore specific CVEs# Trivy - ignore specific CVEs# Trivy - ignore specific CVEs# Trivy - ignore specific CVEs# .trivyignore# .trivyignoregnore
CVE-2023-12345  # Mitigated by network policy
CVE-2023-67890  # Not exploitable in our context

# Run security scans in parallel# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Use incremental scanning for PRs# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan results# Cache scan resultsresults
- name: Cache Snyk
  uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: ~/.snyk
    key: snyk-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}

# 1. IMMEDIATELY rotate the exposed secret!# 2. Use git-filter-repo to remove from history# expressions.txt format:# expressions.txt format:# expressions.txt format:# expressions.txt format:# expressions.txt format:# expressions.txt format:# regex:sk-[a-zA-Z0-9]{48}==>REMOVED_API_KEY# literal:my-password==>REMOVED_PASSWORD# 3. Force push (coordinate with team!)# 4. Set up pre-commit hooks to prevent future leaks# .pre-commit-config.yaml# .pre-commit-config.yamlommit-config.yaml
repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/gitleaks/gitleaks
    rev: v8.18.0
    hooks:
      - id: gitleaks
  - repo: https://github.com/Yelp/detect-secrets
    rev: v1.4.0
    hooks:
      - id: detect-secrets
        args: ['--baseline', '.secrets.baseline']

DevSecOps Maturity Checklist

References & Further Reading