Open source libraries and frameworks have important roles to play in a DevOps culture that emphasizes shorter development life cycles, collaboration and innovation. However, it’s vital not to neglect the security of these open source components.
This article discusses the use of open source in DevOps and gives you five things to consider in terms of the security of any open source project your teams might want to use in your software builds.
Open Source and DevOps Overview
Proprietary applications, many of which are developed within organizations that have adopted a DevOps approach, feature an average of 257 open source components per application. Furthermore, the average percentage of codebases that are open source within proprietary apps stands at 57 percent. It’s clear that open source fits well with DevOps in how it can help deliver quality software that can be rapidly updated and improved.
In addition to the increasingly popular use of open source libraries and frameworks to deliver ready-made software components, quite a number of tools used in DevOps are actually open source. Examples of open source DevOps tools include Docker and Kubernetes.
It’s crucial that development teams focus on security when using open source code, components and tools. Several of the most high-profile IT security and software breaches of recent times have resulted from vulnerabilities in open source components.
To adequately combine security, open source and DevOps, there is a pressing need to shift left and secure the software development life cycle (SDLC), starting from the earliest stages of development.
DevOps Open Source Security Considerations
The Need For Security Automation
An important driving force in achieving the aims of DevOps is to automate as much as possible. DevOps automation strategies include the use of technologies such as virtual machines and containerization to repackage applications into reusable blocks, many of which contain open source code. This high level of automation dramatically shortens the SDLC.
However, because of this automation and the pace at which code changes and updates occur, security teams are easily left behind, and they might miss out on identifying open source vulnerabilities. InfoSec teams need to figure out ways of automating several of the most important security procedures, such as configuration checks, code analysis and vulnerability scanning. By introducing greater automation into security checks, it’s less likely that DevOps practices will lead to releasing software containing vulnerable open source components. Faster time to market combined with high-quality, secure code is the ultimate goal.
Securing Open Source Using Open Source Tools
Given that open source code forms the majority of the footprint of modern proprietary codebases, it makes sense to focus on the security of these libraries and frameworks first. Somewhat ironically, open source tools provide a good way to improve open source security in DevOps.
For example, teams can use open source software management programs such as JFrog Artifactory to create binary local repositories of open source software libraries and code. These repositories give teams a single place from which they can use the latest versions of open source code that they have deemed to be secure.
OWASP dependency-check is another useful open source tool for security teams that checks which components an application uses and whether such components contain known vulnerabilities.
Incorporate Open Source Code-Checking Tools Into Development
Part of the idea of shifting security to the left involves developers overcoming the inherent tendency to focus solely on application functionality without considering security. While training materials exist that teach the basics of secure apps, developers might find the material somewhat esoteric, particularly if it’s targeted toward InfoSec teams.
One way to overcome developer resistance and shift security to the left is to integrate some open source code-checking tools into development environments. Tools such as Brakeman or Rubocop are freely available, and they can rapidly check code for common vulnerabilities.
Hackers Targeting Open Source
One of the difficulties with the increased use of open source is that hackers and cybercriminals are always aware of components that contain vulnerabilities. The hackers can then use this knowledge to specifically target companies developing software using those components.
Cybercriminals know that DevOps emphasizes faster time to market, and they are always lurking to find those organizations that have become lax in their IT security checks. The Equifax data breach happened precisely because the company used a vulnerable version of the open source Apache Struts framework. The Equifax case exemplifies the potential danger of open source components in organizations where DevOps and InfoSec are out of sync.
The Need for Policy and Governance
For DevOps and open source to work together to deliver secure software, there is a real need to create dedicated open source policies by DevOps organizations. When developers are given free rein to use open source libraries and frameworks without monitoring or documentation, vulnerabilities creep into applications and future trouble awaits.
The first step is for organizations to recognize their reliance on open source before forming a governance policy that stipulates how to manage open source inventories to reduce security risks.
Wrap Up
Going forward, it’s clear that the open source model offers many advantages to DevOps teams in terms of achieving their goals. Additionally, several open source tools can even enhance the security of the applications developed in DevOps. However, it’s prudent to understand the security concerns that lie at the heart of open source and shift security left so that any vulnerabilities can be found as early as possible in the SDLC.
