DevOps Dilemma: How Can CISOs Regain Control in the Age of Speed?

Introduction

The Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack (2021) and SolarWinds supply chain attack (2020) were pivotal moments in cybersecurity, starting a new challenge for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs). These attacks highlighted the importance of collaboration between CISOs and DevOps teams to ensure proper cloud security configurations.

In this article, we will outline the 6-step approach to fostering strong partnerships between CISOs, DevOps teams, IT management, and organizations that can help to drive innovation while maintaining a robust security posture. You will learn how a CISO can effectively communicate with IT leadership and what methods to try. Our narrative will emphasize the most crucial aspect of an organization’s security - growing your strong security team and moving to a proactive approach.

Understanding such breaches, such as the Capital One data breach (2019), Epsilon data breach (2019), Magecart compromises (ongoing), and MongoDB breaches (2023-), presented the consequences of misconfigured cloud security. More than the fight against hackers and the consequences of their attacks, several vital problems stand out —the evolution of CISO’s role and responsibilities, the challenge of improving cloud security, and how security operations teams collaborate with business units.

In the end, we will show you how to amplify your voice as CISO in your organization and touch on another critical question: How can a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider help you? Augmenting your in-house team, providing additional layers of security and 24/7 monitoring - we will break down everything you need to know.

As our final thought - collaboration and using additional resources with expertise provided by an MDR prover will empower you to make better decisions as a CISO.

The High-Stakes Reality of Cybersecurity Leadership

Imagine a race car speeding down the development track. The CTO, at the wheel, pushes for breakneck innovation. But in the backseat, the CISO sweats, gripping the metaphorical handbrake of security. This picture represents the ever-present dilemma for CISOs in the age of DevOps: maintaining control over security in a lightning-fast development environment.

We can agree that previously, security often came as an afterthought, bolted onto applications long after being put in production. There is a myth we want to debunk that MDR services are way too high, and small or medium businesses cannot afford them. For example, you get a pricing calculator and** several MDR pricing models** to help you determine a cost-effective solution that aligns with your organization’s specific requirements and budget.

Why it’s important? While promoting agility, DevOps can introduce vulnerabilities if security isn’t taken care of from the start. Successful development teams focused on speed might unintentionally introduce security gaps. Legacy security approaches, reliant on manual processes and limited resources, simply need to catch up with the breakneck pace of DevOps.

One view of the modern view of IT management places the CTO at the forefront of tech-related business concerns, including moving all the infrastructure to the cloud. At the same time, the CISO focuses on security, and securing the cloud becomes one of the top priorities. The pace of change and the completely new architecture, in the case of the cloud, present new challenges for CISOs who face a constantly changing environment. It’s important to adapt their communication style to effectively collaborate with CTOs increasingly focused on bringing innovations and driving business growth.

The Real-World Consequences for CISOs

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)filing alleges that SolarWinds failed to disclose adequate information to investors regarding cybersecurity risks. The filing states that the company and its CISO Timothy Brown only disclosed generic and hypothetical risks despite internal knowledge of specific deficiencies in SolarWinds’ cybersecurity practices and a heightened threat possibility.

The most infamous cases that everyone should be aware of,SolarWindsand Uber breaches, weren’t just data breaches. They were wake-up calls. Legal repercussions for security failures are a growing concern, with the SEC mandating public companies to disclose incidents within four days and requiring detailed security plans. This puts immense pressure on CISOs like Joe Sullivan (Uber’s former Chief Security Officer) and Timothy G. Brown (SolarWinds’ former CISO), who could face criminal charges for failing to implement adequate safeguards.

These incidents underscore the delicate balancing act that CISOs face in the age of DevOps. DevOps methodologies prioritizespeed and agility, which can conflict with the need for** rigorous security practices**. Can CISOs navigate this tightrope more effectively while still ensuring innovation doesn’t come at the expense of security?

Bridging the Divide: The CISO’s Role in DevOps

In the early days of DevOps, CISOs often felt like passengers without seatbelts in a new, fast-paced world, where speed reigned supreme, and security lagged behind.**Promoting security practices without impacting development velocity can be challenging.**The CISO’s influence empowers them to collaborate effectively with DevOps teams and ensure security is not an afterthought.

Here are the top activities that a CISO can engage in to bridge the gap:

1. Engage external authority - like auditors: Partnering with reputable security firms and making them your allies provides expertise andhard evidence to support your concerns. These independent assessments can identify vulnerabilities and provide proof of potential risks and evidence that the business could be taken down.
2. Practical tests via Red Teaming Exercises: Red teaming exercises are like security fire drills. By giving a pentester team a card balance to complete the mission, these exercises showcase the potential impact of a breach on the organization. Seeing sensitive financial data compromised or all wallpapers in the organization changed via one GPO or Terraform access can be a powerfulwake-up call for the CTO and development teams, highlighting the importance of robust security measures.
3. Implement regular vulnerability scans and continuous external attack surface monitoring for the entire perimeter: Professional assessments of cloud environments (AWS, Azure, etc.) uncover security misconfigurations that could leave the organization vulnerable. These assessments provideconcrete data that can be used to influence decisions around security investments and DevSecOps practices.
4. Conduct a simulated incident response exercise with your C-suite to strengthen defenses and improve collaboration. This “tabletop exercise” helps identify gaps in communication and emergency procedures and can be used to review and define roles and responsibilities using a RACI matrix, ultimately improving security communications across executive functions.
5. **Legal team as your best friends:**Understand how compliance and regulation are evolving so that you can help shape a security strategy that minimizes future risk exposure. Lawyers always welcome new friends.
6. **Strengthen your security posture:**By partnering with an MDR provider, you gain a valuable ally in the fight against cyber threats. They can handle the day-to-day tasks and provide specialized knowledge when needed, allowing your in-house team to focus on high-level security strategies with peace of mind.

Performed regularly, these activities will demonstrate how security can proactively reduce risk, building the credibility of the CISO and the team he engages to build a bridge between security and development. These activities drive collaboration and information sharing so that as teams work together, they will begin to share responsibility for keeping things secure. So, instead of feeling like a passenger, the CISO becomes a proactive partner, ensuring security is considered from the beginning, allowing innovation to thrive on a safe foundation within the IT department.

Making Security Heard: Strategies for CISOs to Influence DevOps

When CISOs can’t amplify their voice, the consequences can be dire. Inadequate security practices expose the organization to legal and regulatory risks. More importantly, they leave the door open for costly breaches, as happened with SolarWinds, that stifle innovation and erode customer trust.

1. Security leadership often requires bridging the gap between technical details and broader business objectives. Training programs focused on clear communication and negotiation could empower him to collaborate more effectively with colleagues and secure crucial resources for the security team. Security assessments, industry reports, and real-world breach examples can quantify the potential financial impact of security failures, making the conversation about risk mitigation a compelling business discussion.
2. By demonstrating how robust security practices can enhance innovation, improve customers’ trust, and ultimately drive business growth, CISOs can find common ground with CTOs who prioritize agility and efficiency. Aligning security recommendations with the CTO’s existing goals, such as faster development cycles, fosters a win-win situation. CISOs can leverage their understanding of the cloud environment by equipping themselves with specialized AWS cloud training courses. This strengthens their technical expertise and allows them to speak the same language as their DevOps counterparts, facilitating smoother collaboration on secure and efficient cloud deployments.
3. Open communication and trust are the cornerstones of effective collaboration. Regularly discussing security implications throughout the development lifecycle, not just as a last-minute hurdle, allows CISOs to address concerns and prevent potential roadblocks in time. So, speaking the CTO’s language is vital in this role.
4. Managed Detection and Response (MDR) goes beyond just being a security tool. It acts as anamplifierfor the CISO’s voice within the DevOps conversation. The breakneck pace of DevOps can leave even the most skilled CISOs feeling like they’re constantly playing catch-up. Security teams are stretched thin, needing help monitoring complex environments, detecting sophisticated threats, and keeping pace with the ever-evolving threat landscape. This is where**MDR by UnderDefense **emerges as a powerful force multiplier for CISOs in the DevOps environment.

Here’s how MDR empowers CISOs to influence secure development:

• 24/7 Watch Compliance and Proactive Threat Detection: MDR services provide continuous monitoring and advanced threat intelligence, allowing CISOs toproactively address security concerns before they become problems. This frees security teams to focus on strategic initiatives and fosters a collaborative environment where security is preventative, not reactive.
• Early Warning System for Security Gaps: MDR goes beyond traditional monitoring by detecting anomalies in access patterns, user behavior, and system configurations. This allows for identifying potential insider threats or misconfigurations introduced by DevOps teams. By providingreal-time alerts of potential security risks, CISOs can work with development teams to address them before they become exploitable vulnerabilities.

Assessments, tabletop exercises, and the ability to bring in outside experts, such as an MDR team, will highlight any communication gaps within the organization. Deciding what needs to be communicated and escalated to whom is extremely important to utilize resources effectively and raise visibility to essential security concerns. Identifying the critical categories of concern and who needs to be informed and involved is key to successful security operations and a successful business. Reviewing and formalizing communications can save time during emergencies such as breaches.

The RACI matrix is just one example, highlighting the importance of establishing clear communication models within DevOps. By implementing such models and integrating them into security policies, CISOs can gain significant leverage, ensuring security is woven into the fabric of DevOps, not bolted on as an afterthought.

Finally, the matrix emphasizes a crucial aspect of a CISO’s role: establishing strong support by the Board. This alignment is essential for establishing security as a strategic priority and securing the resources needed for a robust security posture.

The Foundation of Security: Why a Strong Team Remains Crucial

The fast pace of DevOps can leave even the most skilled CISOs needing help to keep pace with threats. MDR empowers CISOs to transition from reactive firefighting to proactive threat hunting. Instead of patching vulnerabilities after a breach, MDR helps identify and remediate them before they can be exploited. This proactive approach minimizes security risks and fosters a “security by design” culture within the DevOps pipeline.

While MDR adds significant value, it doesn’t replace a strong internal security team. Security professionals remain vital for:

• Maintaining Situational Awareness: The security team interprets MDR data and alerts, providing context and prioritizing threats.
• Responding to Incidents: Security personnel with deep incident response expertise are crucial for effectively containing and remediating security breaches.
• Managing Security Requirements: The security team ensures that security requirements are integrated into the DevSecOps pipeline, fostering a culture of “security by design.”

We’ve also prepared the most comprehensive MDR Buyer’s Guide by UnderDefense for your attention, which equips you to choose the perfect MDR partner, safeguarding your data and business operations. It provides vendor-agnostic expert insights to help you make informed decisions.

The Bottom Line: Collaboration is the Key to Cybersecurity Success

While the CISO’s influence engine equips them with powerful tools, security remains a collaborative effort. Building bridges with the CTO and fostering open communication with development teams are the cornerstones of a truly secure DevOps environment. By wielding their influence effectively and collaborating across departments, CISOs can ensure security becomes an integral part of the DevOps process, enabling innovation to flourish without sacrificing safety on the security highway.

The breakneck pace of DevOps can create a security dilemma – a speed bump on the security highway. Here, the CISO plays a critical role as an architect, not an enforcer. Their expanding influence engine equips them with the tools to navigate this complex landscape. Security assessments, red teaming exercises, and collaboration with security consultants empower CISOs to advocate for robust security measures without hindering innovation.

However, the true game-changer in this scenario is MDR. It acts as a force multiplier for the CISO within the DevOps conversation. By providing 24/7 monitoring, proactive threat detection, and early warnings of security gaps, MDR empowers CISOs to shift from reactive firefighting to proactive threat hunting. This safeguards the organization and fosters a culture of “security by design” within the DevOps pipeline.

In essence, the solution to the DevOps dilemma lies in a powerful combination: the evolving role of the CISO, wielding an expanded influence engine, and the force-multiplying capabilities of MDR. UnderDefense offers a cutting-edge MDR solution that gives real-time visibility into your security posture, equipping you to proactively detect and respond to security incidents and ultimately safeguarding your organization.

By embracing collaboration and leveraging these tools, CISOs can ensure security seamlessly integrates with DevOps, enabling innovation to speed down the highway without encountering security roadblocks.

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