The threat of a cybersecurity attack is an issue that affects every organisation. Smaller businesses with little or no IT protection, who believed they were less at risk, are now becoming the prime target for hackers as their infrastructure lacks the necessary protection to stop a breach. This isn’t to say they’re the only targets however, as even businesses with a well-formulated cybersecurity plan still fall foul of attacks.

Cyber criminals are getting smarter. By discovering new ways to exploit the gaps in a security system they’re able to gain access to a network completely unnoticed, and with hackers having new methods in place, it makes it increasingly likely that a system will be breached, with the odds even higher if your company network is left completely unprotected.

With these new threats at the forefront of every Chief Information Officer’s mind, businesses are making a conscious effort to implement new procedures and protocols to protect their network from cyber criminals. But, with Symantec reporting that three-quarters of websites still have exploitable vulnerabilities, it seems it’s time for a new wave of cybersecurity through the introduction of DevOps.

The biggest new security role in the IT Industry, DevOps is a portmanteau of ‘Development’ (coding team) and Operations (testing and automation team). Focused on the integration of the two teams, its aim is to increase the speed of productivity in a business.

With the role increasing in popularity due to its philosophy surrounding productivity, more businesses have begun to recruit DevOps Architects and Engineers, to improve their infrastructure management process as this, partnered with network management, can help improve cybersecurity.

The first aspect of DevOps that endears itself to security is the ability to decrease the downtime of a system.DevOps engineers have the skills to incorporate self-healing characteristics into a system, meaning that if it is affected by a cyber attack, it can, in theory, begin to mend itself if it can be immediately accessed by a security team.

Mitigating the risk of security breaches to networks and system infrastructure is, of course, the aim of any security team, with the speed at which they are identified key to stopping the spread of the attack – this is another area where DevOps can help improve security. Assisting with the development of security algorithms and protocols, DevOps developers can implement security features earlier the setup of system infrastructure, which in turn, should lead to fewer security issues further down the line.

If your business already employs a fully functioning DevOps teams, then chances are you already have this in place. But, if you don’t, then here is another point to strengthen the argument for a DevOps. Augmenting security protocols of your business, it allows engineers to have a complete overview of all devices on a company network. This validation provides an extra layer of security, and ensures that external devices offer no threats when connected to a network.

So, with all these positives that DevOps can bring to an organisation, the future looks to be very bright for DevOps when it’s partnered with security in a business scenario.

DevSecOps or SecDevOps is fast becoming the new buzzword in the IT sector. Demonstrating the strategic partnership between the two major elements that help to keep a business safe – it’s the next logical progression for security, as both teams theoretically speak the same language when analysing information to make decisions about the safeguarding of a business.

Traditional information security teams in a business are already very risk-averse, managing global systems, ensuring compliance is met, and providing out-and-out protection are only some of key areas of their role. Now, with the implementation of DevOps, the speed at which these processes are completed will increase, leading to higher standards of security.

For some businesses, the movement to DevOps and the adoption of its procedures will be quite a simple evolution as many already have some elements in operation. However, businesses who are late adopters of DevOps may miss out on some components that are vital to their security protocols.

Embracing DevOps will further substantiate the value of cyber security in business, allowing for it to be executed in areas where it was once undervalued, or it was not previously needed. Providing increased speed and power to security, DevOps is becoming an important area of development that should be part of every security strategy.

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