How can you secure databases in DevOps and agile environments?

Establish a recurring security audit schedule. Outline database environments to be audited. Assemble a skilled team with database security, compliance, and auditing expertise. Ensure policies and procedures align with industry and regulatory needs. Assess vulnerabilities through scans and penetration testing. Assess access controls to verify individuals have appropriate access. Evaluate encryption and data privacy measures. Confirm sensitive data is protected. Review incident response plans, monitoring systems, and logs to ensure effective detection. Verify DB update procedures are in place and followed. Ensure DR and backup strategies meet RTO and RPO objectives. Document findings and prioritize and plan to address vulnerabilities.

Provide training to all teams giving them the knowledge and skills needed for secure development. Conduct threat modeling tests to identify vulnerabilities early and design countermeasures. Embed checkpoints into each phase of the SDLC. Establish and enforce secure coding standards that developers must follow. Incorporate automated testing tools to identify issues early and often. Implement real-time monitoring and logging tools to continuously detect incidents. Enforce least privilege access and robust data controls. Encrypt data at rest and in transit and implement privacy controls to safeguard data. Develop an incident response plan, outline roles and responsibilities. Integrate tools into dev and test environments to automate checks.

I agree with automate security processes for hosting infrastructure and security checks for code pipelines. Although I have noticed this pattern of Soft Security Checks in industry where security scan & other tools are part of CI/CD pipelines but there is no hard stop as such for any identified vulnerabilities. This must change and security should be prioritized to keep control on what goes to production.

Automated security testing & monitoring is very vital. When talking about DevOps, we can't miss out automation. There should be a regular scanning of databases for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations, and known threats. Tools such as SQLMap, Nessus, or OpenVAS can help identify vulnerabilities in databases. Additionally, real-time monitoring of database activity is vital. Detecting unusual or malicious activity as it happens can prevent potential breaches. Solutions like AWS GuardDuty or Azure Advanced Threat Protection can provide intelligent threat detection. Integrating these tools into the CI/CD pipeline ensures that security checks are part and parcel of every deployment, making security proactive rather than reactive.