What are the most effective web application security metrics and benchmarks in a DevOps environment?

I am always skeptical of test coverage statistics; security is no different. They tend to be a KPI with no basis in reality that is easily gamed. To be clear, I am all for security testing and find that there are good metrics out there. This is a lousy metric and seems more like a "checkbox."

We should make a distinction between the "test coverage" and the "security test coverage" and also between "DevOps" and "SecDevOps". In terms of metrics - test coverage around 80% is ok. Nobody is perfect and it matches the 80/20 rule perfectly. What you can do here is to enrich you regular tests with the security specific test cases. It might sound primitive but if you have an enterable field for a surname - instead of "Smith" you can use "O'Leary" or "D'Arcy". The apostrophe might trigger some interesting errors. Or you want to push it one step further, grab a list of the typical WAF bypass payloads and use them in some of the string values. If it triggers some failures-congratulations, you have potentially eliminated some security issues

La aplicación INFLEXIBLE de la políticas de seguridad para el paso a producción es vital. No se puede condicionar y aceptar presiones del NEGOCIO que flexibilicen su aplicación.

Use a variety of security testing methods. There are a number of different security testing methods available, such as static analysis, dynamic analysis, and penetration testing. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it is important to use a variety of methods to get a complete picture of the application's security posture. Test against the latest threats. The threat landscape is constantly evolving, so it is important to keep your security testing up to date. Make sure that you are testing your application against the latest vulnerabilities and threats.

Ainda no desenvolvimento da aplica??o, pensar na seguran?a como parte do processo. Criar protocolos de testes de seguran?a, verificar possíveis falhas de seguran?a reportadas para aquela linguagem de programa??o e fazer testes com aplica??o automatizada, ajuda na preven??o de uma aplica??o web vulnerável. Uma aplica??o que posso citar para teste de seguran?a em código é o scanner SONARqube, que serve para verificar possíveis falhas de seguran?a, erros de programa??o, práticas n?o recomendadas (code smells), falhas de seguran?a (como senhas?hardcoded), código duplicado e também código n?o coberto por testes. O que permite aos desenvolvedores criar uma aplica??o web mais segura e reduzindo ataques cibernéticos.

It should be noted that these two seemingly simple metrics can involve a plethora of nuances, and thus should be thoughtfully considered by who is measuring with them. In a world where automation is king, establishing a workflow that automatically notifies you or someone else about the issue via e-mail, ticket, etc. can be construed as “detected” for the sake of checking the box. Similarly, MTTR is a complicated topic. Some solutions are much more complex to achieve, is the issue remediated when you identify the solution? When you implement it? What if you get stuck waiting on a third-party contribution, do you penalize that time or not? Metrics can be valuable tools but can also be easily warped and result in misguided decisions.

MTTD - especially if your team is small or is concentrated in a single geographic area... Have a think - will your detection capabilities be the same on Saturday night vs the business hours on Monday? If not - this is something you can start improving. It could be hiring more people in other time zones or leveraging MSSPs/outsourcing detection/IR. Or you could invest in automation/SOAR (a playbook doesn't care when it runs)

Unlike the previous metrics on test coverage, these are fantastic metrics. These represent real threats the effort and time it takes to remediate them. Using automated detections and remediations can help bring these down. This is especially valuable if you are paying for one or more vendors to help you achieve this, as it can objectively show the cost savings and can more easily justify the cost.

I LOVE dealing with the tech debt. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It's OK to simplify things to meet tight deadlines. It's similar to borrowing money to buy something quicker. But it's not OK to let tech debt to stay there for years hurting your team's (and the overall business) performance. Fixing tech debt is not "sexy" (especially if it's someone else's project/codebase). But there is huge sense of achievement when you get to refactor something (or delete systems/lines of code) to improve the situation. Sometimes it's harder to change existing systems (e.g. a factory needs to work 24/7) but you can use the learnings to improve the next version (e.g. Tesla building a GigaFactory in China added lots of improvements learnt in Fremont)

Integrate security into the development lifecycle. Security should be integrated into all phases of the development lifecycle, from requirements gathering to deployment. This will help to identify and fix security vulnerabilities early on in the development process. Use a variety of security testing tools and techniques. There are a number of different security testing tools and techniques available, such as static analysis, dynamic analysis, and penetration testing. Each tool and technique has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it is important to use a variety of tools and techniques to get a complete picture of the application's security posture.

In the intricate dance of DevOps and web security, certain metrics illuminate the path. One vital metric is 'Security Feedback Loops'. This offers instant insights into vulnerabilities during continuous integration. By optimizing this loop, security issues are swiftly addressed. Then there's 'Time to Remediate' (TTR), reflecting the duration taken to tackle vulnerabilities. A reduced TTR points to a responsive security system. Also essential is the 'False Positive Rate' which measures vulnerability tool accuracy. Lower rates mean trustworthiness. Lastly, consider 'Churn of Security Controls', indicating adaptability of security measures. These metrics, when harmonized, craft a resilient security shield in DevOps.

Security culture is a horizontal metrics, reflecting enterprise readiness to reflect the adoption of security by design …. Derived from various awareness and culture indicators… it’s an important metric to publish…

1) MCSB is set of security controls that can be used for secure azure cloud solutions. 2) CIS Control V8 for secure web DevOps 3) DS-1 control require threat modeling.

I like this parameter, not many enterprise do measure and publish…. All investments in security domain should exhibit business value, much beyond compliance…. as an enabler, differentiator, simplified processes, easier adoption and experience, with controls being ubiquitous ….

Invest in security training and education. Employees should be trained on security best practices and procedures. This will help to reduce the risk of human error and make the organization more resilient to cyberattacks. Use security automation and orchestration. Security automation and orchestration tools can help to streamline and improve the efficiency of security operations. This can free up security staff to focus on more strategic tasks. Adopt a risk-based approach to security. Security investments should be focused on the areas that pose the greatest risk to the organization. This can be done by conducting regular risk assessments and using the results of those assessments to prioritize security initiatives.

Some of the metrics to consider : 1. Number of open security vulnerabilities 2. Time-to-fix security vulnerabilities 3. Change lead time (cycle time to deploy code changes/fixes to production) 4. Automated test coverage 5. Number of security vulnerabilities discovered after deployment 6. Time-to-detect security vulnerabilities 7. Build time delay imposed by security testing/reviews 8. Number of builds failed due to security vulnerabilities found 9. Cost to remediate audit findings 10. False positive rates of reported vulnerabilities

[+]Web apps security is a continuous process? we may think its over just to get hit by some 0-day in some new technologies or logic vulnerabilities. and the current flow is ( analysis, design, code, test, release) and the process keeps on looping, [*]but what we should add to all previous mentioned metrics is that each step should be tested and reviewed for security purposes, not just the final release, whether in the analysis or design process. [+]Poor programming is a big concern I believe, so please pay for good quality service. [+]Low code is a good way to help developers use best practice techniques. [+]AI is still not "the way" to code, but helps in automation and faster problem solving.