Agile Security - Dynamic Approaches for modern IT Security!

Companies need to keep pace with rising expectations for digital products. New offerings must be developed quickly while being secure and user-friendly. Checklists can help avoid making mistakes in stressful situations and stick to proven processes.

It is essential that the functionality of the digital service is good. In addition, security and availability must also be ensured. If not, the IT security department can quickly bring the entire project to a halt. Permitted users should be given easy access to their data. However, unwanted visitors such as hackers must be stopped at an early stage. Special methods and tools are important for this. Find out what these are in the following.

Two trends in the IT industry pose new challenges for enterprise security: On the one hand, companies are becoming more agile and want to adapt more quickly to new needs. On the other hand, companies are increasingly relying on cloud offerings. New technologies such as containers and Kubernetes environments support these trends. What does agile security mean in this context and how can it be ensured?

Companies are realizing that the cloud helps with implementation. This ensures agility and flexibility. It's all about availability and user access. Clear agreements are critical for security and accessibility. If there are problems, they need to be analyzed and acted upon quickly.

Special environments such as the hybrid cloud or microservices play a role here. They represent diversification in the IT landscape and enable a heterogeneous, flexible and agile IT landscape. The result is a decentralization of IT.

In many IT projects, however, the issue of security is only considered at the end. This can lead to problems. A "security by design" concept would be better. 

The rapid development in agile software development seems to be at odds with security. To ensure security, thorough planning and implementation is required, without constant changes. But how can Agile security work under these conditions?

Helpful approaches include: 

• Security Perimeter
  
  The security perimeter forms the boundary between different networks and protects them from hackers and threats. Due to its complexity, a custom solution is needed to manage interfaces while securing networks.
   
• Microgateways, Web Application and API Security 
  
  Microgateways simplify and stabilize client-side interfaces. Microgateway tasks include monitoring, logging, traffic analysis, and enforcement of microservices API specifications. A central gateway is used. This ensures Web Application & API Protection (WAAP). 
  
  To ensure protection of applications and APIs, this must be performed at the central perimeter. For APIs in containers via Kubernetes, it takes even more. Customized Microgateways can provide decentralized protection for the API in a container that can scale with the API. 
  
  Users always access microservices through Web Application and API Protection like Airlock Gateway. 
   
• Cloud Security Hub 
  
  Knowledge Lab AG's Cloud Security Hub offers Airlock's WAAP and Identity Access Management (IAM) solution as SaaS. Enterprises can benefit from this proven solution and outsource operations to a trusted partner.
   
• Everything as Code 
  
  With the "Everything as Code" principle, the entire infrastructure and application setup is provided as code. Adjustments to the system are always made in the source code. Here, too, a microgateway can help and provide security automatically and as code.

In modern agile enterprises using hybrid cloud solutions, complex requirements must be met. Users, employees and customers access hundreds of microservices at different locations. The result is a constantly changing IT landscape with different software stages and access rights.

It is critical that security is not considered only at the end. Instead, it should be integrated agilely and in parallel with software development. This means clear security processes throughout the development lifecycle.

Agile security requires an end-to-end focus on security in the planning and implementation of software solutions. Automated testing helps to detect and fix security vulnerabilities early on. Through "Security by Design", security is seamlessly integrated into the development process and continuously adapted.

An effective DevSecOps team is the result of a successful implementation of agile security, in which development, security and operations work together.

Want to learn more about Agile Security? Download our free whitepaper in which we show how we develop secure solutions using the example of V-Bank.