DevOps gained traction when IT and Ops (operations) teams recognized that traditional silos and handoffs were leading to inefficiencies and delays in software delivery. While DevOps enabled seamless collaboration and delivered on its promise of speed and efficiency, security remained an afterthought. To overcome the security loophole, DevSecOps emerged, proposing a shift-left approach to security. It emphasizes conducting tasks like security scanning, vulnerability assessment, and compliance checks all throughout the CI/CD pipeline.
With DevSecOps, speed no longer comes at the cost of security.
The DevSecOps approach has helped organizations strike the right balance between security and agility in software development. As the infrastructure landscape continues to evolve with the rise of cloud and edge computing, resource-intensive AI and ML initiatives, and distributed workforces, organizations must establish a similar balance between security and ubiquitous connectivity. This is where secure access service edge (SASE) comes in.
SASE’s Philosophy is Similar to DevSecOps
As legacy networks — characterized by rigid hardware-based infrastructure — struggled to keep pace with the demands of modern business, SD-WAN emerged as a solution, providing flexibility, centralized management and dynamic traffic routing. However, when distributed computing and remote work virtually dissolved the corporate perimeter, perimeter-focused security tools were no longer sufficient either. Today, enterprises must extend their security capabilities to almost unlimited network access points.
SASE addresses this challenge by merging networking and security into a single cloud-native framework. It integrates the entire security stack across all edge locations, ensuring secure connectivity between users, applications and resources no matter where they are. Just as DevSecOps shifts security to the left, making it an inherent part of the entire SDLC (software development lifecycle), SASE shifts security to the network edge, making it an inherent part of network connectivity.
The strategic resemblance between the philosophy behind SASE and DevSecOps is uncanny.
1. Breaking Silos
DevSecOps breaks down the silos between DevOps and security teams, promoting collaboration and shared responsibility. In a similar vein, SASE unifies all network and security functions into a single architecture, effectively dismantling the conventional boundaries between the networking and security teams. It allows both teams to jointly manage, monitor, and secure the infrastructure and network traffic through a unified management dashboard. SASE also effectively breaks the data silos that leave security teams with no insights regarding the networking conditions. SASE’s single pane of glass visibility enables networking and security data correlation, broadening each team’s perspective and eliminating tunnel vision for accurate and robust threat detection and an enhanced security posture.
2. Embracing the Cloud
DevSecOps aligns perfectly with cloud-native technologies like infrastructure as code (IaC) and containerization technologies like Docker, making it imperative for cloud-first and cloud-ready organizations. On the other hand, SASE is inherently cloud-native. It delivers network and security services from the cloud, providing organizations with the agility and scalability needed to meet the dynamic demands of a distributed environment.
Traditional back-haul-based connectivity and perimeter-based security solutions introduce latency and coverage gaps. SASE performs network and security functions at the edge, closest to wherever resources and users are. This eliminates the need for disparate on-premises point solutions and extends corporate security perimeter to match the cloud’s global reach.
3. Agility Through Automation
DevSecOps emphasizes automation of security tasks, such as security checks, scans and compliance assessments, within its continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines. SASE also leverages automation for networking and security tasks, such as dynamic policy enforcement, AI-driven threat detection and response, and network optimization through dynamic routing and self-healing properties. Automation reduces the need for manual intervention, bolsters security, simplifies operational tasks and enables organizations to respond to evolving demands and circumstances faster, crucial for agile environments.
SASE as an Enabler for DevSecOps
Just as DevSecOps enhances security within the context of application development, SASE enhances security and efficiency within the realm of networking and infrastructure management. Both approaches share the common goals of integrating security, promoting automation and ensuring scalability. They may apply these principles to different aspects of IT and cybersecurity, but DevSecOps and SASE can work together seamlessly to support modern IT environments.
Many organizations adopting DevSecOps realize that they lack the necessary infrastructure to support this approach effectively. DevSecOps demands seamless global collaboration and the integration of security controls across the entire IT environment. This is something SASE can help with. It can simplify infrastructure management and enhance security for DevSecOps in several ways. It offers ubiquitous connectivity for seamless collaboration, provides built-in security measures for faster incident response and ensures reliable infrastructure. As such, these are all crucial aspects for achieving the ultimate DevSecOps goal of delivering secure and high-performance applications at speed. With SASE, organizations can set their DevSecOps up for success.
