Developing securely in the cloud
Developing and running services in the cloud is a continuous process that requires secure development life-cycles and monitoring capabilities. Leidos helps government customers design and manage such cloud-based software development projects securely.
Often, the first step is transitioning the development process from an on-premises environment with typically a period of dual operation. That has implications for how continuous deployment/continuous integration (CD/CI) pipelines and project budgets are managed.
Securing cloud-based software
DevOps development and operations is the hallmark of the modern, cloud-based software development process. DevOps connects the development of the software with its operation. This enables developers to assist with administering and monitoring their software's operations to ensure better service delivery and lets them deal with problems more quickly.
Leidos has elevated security as a key part of that process in SecDevOps, which combines people, processes, and tooling to bake security directly into the cloud-based software lifecycle. Developers can use approved, secure templates when standing up virtual infrastructure to support their applications.
We take a 'shift left' approach, in which software testing happens far earlier in the development process than is typically done. This helps developers to catch security bugs at a time they're easier and cheaper to fix, and enables developers to get software security-accredited earlier on. That's important in government environments with strict requirements and controls over what can be deployed.
Of course, we also scrutinize software security after deployment in a "lean forward" approach that uses penetration testing techniques to scour software in production for unseen bugs. This complements a program of active monitoring, in which we train teams to constantly check software for operational security issues.
Constant maintenance and oversight is a defining characteristic of secure cloud-based software development. In addition, development and security teams must also monitor the cloud provider's tools for updates that could affect (and ideally enhance) their security stack.
Secure monitoring across all cloud environments
Our expertise in security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) helps security teams design and execute the monitoring process adeptly,and enables detailing incident response workflows in response to specific threats.
This chain of activities, from the design and development of software through to continuous monitoring, is often more complex in cloud environments. Organizations increasingly distribute their workloads across multiple cloud service providers for a mixture of technical, economical, and political reasons.
Developers must find a balance between developing applications that integrate deeply with a single cloud architecture and creating portable services that can migrate between providers. Monitoring connected services across these environments can be challenging. We help companies navigate these challenges without replicating activities across different teams.
Why Leidos?
Leidos has years of expertise working with clients on large and small cloud development projects alike. We work with clients to build the teams and processes that they need to migrate to secure cloud development from on-premises arrangements without missing vital steps that ensure safe operations.
We help government agencies secure their cloud development and ensure that their software complies with the necessary public sector cybersecurity requirements. Our Proven, Analytic-Centric Kill-chain Implementation and Transformation (PACKIT) approach evaluates a team's people, process, and technology to understand its current cybersecurity posture. This gives us a framework to help an organization reach its cybersecurity goals when developing software in the cloud.
We have experience working across all cloud environments, both commercial and government, and have us a unique perspective on a range of project management styles across different agencies. We can handle large and small projects, and have experience managing hundreds of developers at a time.
Talk to us today about how we can secure your development process end to end in the cloud.
