4 Tips for Securing Your Software with RPA and DevSecOps

Cloud computing is transforming the way companies of all sizes are scaling services to fulfill customer expectations. Without worrying about underlying infrastructure costs or maintenance, companies now use the cloud to efficiently and quickly deploy more applications.

For fast-scaling companies that also want to build speed and agility for security teams, there's a huge advantage in employing automation and building a higher-caliber cloud platform while securing the business.

The benefits of a proactive approach

DevSecOps is the strategy of integrating security from the beginning of the software development lifecycle. This philosophy addresses the need for proactive, customer-focused security that anticipates, rather than reacts to, data breaches or cyberattacks.

When implemented correctly, DevSecOps, using Robotic Process Automation (RPA), reduces the costs associated with fixing security flaws by building security into every stage of the development process.

There are benefits to organizations that implement DevSecOps and RPA in their build-out cycle. Developers who are interested in producing the highest-quality software with pre-considered security can easily test software vulnerabilities, tying in the secure-by-design approach with RPA to conduct security review of code and automate security auditing, monitoring, and notification systems.

Automation should be an integral part of planning, designing, building, testing, and deployment, as software in production that has not been thoroughly tested for vulnerabilities can expose your company to a security incident. Engaging everyone involved in software development and IT operations early in the planning phase will help ensure the software is well-tested and released quickly and efficiently.

Ensuring successful DevSecOps

Like most security plans, the effective implementation of DevSecOps involves three main parts: people, processes, and RPA technology. In order to make your DevSecOps efforts successful, you should do the following:

1. Engage the IT and operations teams very early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), ideally in the initial planning phase. Security should be an integral part of the planning process. As such, security should feel less like a department function and more like a framework that permeates the product and company culture.
   
   
2. Incorporate automation tools into the SDLC. RPA tools implemented correctly can help with version control, codifying security, security tooling in continuous improvement/continuous delivery (CI/CD), analyzing threat intelligence data, creating playbooks and action plans for incidents, and mobilizing security teams in case of a Red event.
   
   
3. Train personnel to use tools in an integrated development environment. This is essential for security team preparedness in reacting quickly to any threats or incidents, identifying solutions, and responding swiftly.
   
   
4. Establish a process for development teams to use tools for testing applications after release. You can automate scanning, runtime application self-protection, open-source control, and monitoring the software to greatly reduce your exposure surface and increase your ability to manage an incident.

Getting started with DevSecOps

Now that you’re familiar with the cloud and DevSecOps as it pertains to software development, you may be wondering how to get started. Automation Anywhere is the only RPA platform with bank-grade security and governance that can be used for all aspects of software development.

Security is intrinsic in every expression of the Automation Anywhere Enterprise platform, spanning security of data, credentials, and the ability to enforce fine-grained, role-based access control at scale. We deliver RPA engineered with built-in security to help you meet the most rigorous governance, trust, and compliance requirements.