Section 09

Secure SDLC Integration

Integrating security into the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) ensures that security is considered at every phase—from requirements to retirement.

SDLC Security Activities

Requirements
  • • Define security requirements (confidentiality, integrity, availability)
  • • Identify compliance requirements (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI)
  • • Create abuse cases alongside use cases
  • • Data classification for all data types
Design
  • • Threat modeling (STRIDE, PASTA)
  • • Security architecture review
  • • Attack surface analysis
  • • Select secure design patterns
  • • Define security controls
Development
  • • Follow secure coding guidelines
  • • Use security linters and IDE plugins
  • • SAST in CI/CD pipeline
  • • Peer code review for security
  • • Secrets management (not in code)
Testing
  • • DAST and IAST scans
  • • Security unit tests
  • • Penetration testing
  • • Fuzz testing
  • • Dependency vulnerability scanning
Deployment
  • • Infrastructure as Code security scanning
  • • Container image scanning
  • • Configuration hardening verification
  • • Security sign-off gate
Operations
  • • Security monitoring and alerting
  • • Incident response procedures
  • • Vulnerability management
  • • Patch management
  • • Bug bounty program

Security Gates

Security gates are checkpoints where security criteria must be met before proceeding.

Pre-Commit Gate

  • • Secret scanning (prevent credential commits)
  • • Linting for security anti-patterns
  • • Pre-commit hooks

Build Gate

  • • SAST scan pass/fail
  • • Dependency vulnerability check
  • • License compliance

Deploy Gate

  • • DAST scan results
  • • Container scan pass
  • • IaC policy compliance

Release Gate

  • • Penetration test sign-off
  • • Compliance verification
  • • Risk acceptance for exceptions

Security Champions Program

Scale Security

Security teams can't review every line of code. Security champions in each development team multiply your security capacity.

Champion Responsibilities

  • • First point of contact for security questions
  • • Participate in threat modeling sessions
  • • Review code changes for security issues
  • • Triage security scanner findings
  • • Evangelize security best practices

Champion Training

  • • OWASP Top 10 deep dive
  • • Threat modeling certification
  • • Secure code review techniques
  • • Security tool training
  • • Regular security updates and CTFs

Metrics & KPIs

Process Metrics

  • • % of projects with threat models
  • • Security training completion rate
  • • Time from vulnerability to patch
  • • Security gate pass rate

Outcome Metrics

  • • Vulnerabilities found in production
  • • Critical/High findings per release
  • • Mean time to remediate (MTTR)
  • • Security incidents per quarter