Artifact registries store build artifacts, container images, and packages. Securing these registries and scanning dependencies prevents supply chain attacks and ensures only trusted artifacts reach production. Private Registry Setup Dependency Scanning JFrog Xray Integration Implement vulnerability policies that block deployment of artifacts with critical vulnerabilities.
GitLab and GitHub Advanced Security Features
GitHub Advanced Security and GitLab Ultimate provide built-in security scanning capabilities including code scanning, secret detection, and dependency review directly in your development workflow. GitHub Code Scanning Dependabot GitLab Security Dashboard These native integrations provide security insights without additional tooling, making it easier to adopt security practices.
Continuous Security Testing: DAST and SAST Integration
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) analyzes source code, while Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) tests running applications. Combining both provides comprehensive security coverage. SAST with Semgrep DAST with OWASP ZAP CI/CD Integration Run SAST on every commit and DAST against staging environments before production deployment.
Policy as Code with Open Policy Agent (OPA)
Open Policy Agent (OPA) enables policy as code, allowing organizations to define and enforce policies across the stack using a declarative language called Rego. Rego Policy Example Gatekeeper in Kubernetes Conftest for CI/CD Policy as code ensures consistent enforcement across environments and provides version-controlled, auditable policy definitions.
Secrets Management with HashiCorp Vault
HashiCorp Vault provides centralized secrets management, encryption as a service, and identity-based access. It eliminates hardcoded secrets and provides audit trails for all secret access. Vault Setup Kubernetes Integration Dynamic Secrets Dynamic secrets are generated on-demand and automatically revoked, eliminating long-lived credentials.
Container Image Scanning and Vulnerability Management
Container image scanning identifies vulnerabilities in base images, application dependencies, and configurations before deployment. Integrating scanning into CI/CD pipelines prevents vulnerable containers from reaching production. Trivy Scanning GitHub Actions ECR Scanning Implement scanning at build time and continuously monitor running containers for newly discovered vulnerabilities.
Software Supply Chain Security: SBOM and SLSA Implementation
Software supply chain attacks have increased dramatically, targeting dependencies, build systems, and distribution channels. Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and Supply-chain Levels for Software Artifacts (SLSA) provide frameworks for securing the software supply chain. Supply Chain Attack Vectors Dependency Confusion: Malicious packages with internal names Typosquatting: Packages with similar names …
Shift-Left Security in CI/CD Pipelines: A Complete Implementation Guide
Shift-left security integrates security testing early in the software development lifecycle, catching vulnerabilities before they reach production. By embedding security into CI/CD pipelines, teams can identify and fix issues when they’re cheapest to remediate. Shift-Left Security Stages Pre-commit: Secrets scanning, linting Build: SAST, dependency scanning Test: DAST, container scanning Deploy: …
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning (DR/BCP) for Cloud
Disaster Recovery (DR) and Business Continuity Planning (BCP) ensure organizations can recover from disruptions and maintain critical operations. Cloud platforms provide powerful tools for implementing robust DR strategies with defined Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO). DR Strategy Tiers Backup & Restore: Lowest cost, highest RTO (hours) …
Infrastructure Monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana
Prometheus and Grafana form the foundation of modern infrastructure monitoring. Prometheus collects and stores metrics, while Grafana provides visualization and alerting. This guide covers deploying a production-ready monitoring stack. Prometheus Architecture Prometheus Server: Scrapes and stores metrics Exporters: Expose metrics from various systems Alertmanager: Handles alerts and notifications Pushgateway: For …
Hybrid Cloud Networking and SD-WAN Architecture
Hybrid cloud networking connects on-premises infrastructure with cloud environments, enabling seamless workload migration and data flow. SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) provides intelligent traffic routing and simplified management across distributed locations. Hybrid Connectivity Options VPN: Encrypted tunnels over public internet Direct Connect/ExpressRoute: Dedicated private connections Transit Gateway: Hub for multi-VPC …
Edge Computing Security Challenges and Solutions
Edge computing brings computation closer to data sources, reducing latency and bandwidth usage. However, this distributed architecture introduces unique security challenges that require specialized approaches to protect edge devices and data. Edge Security Challenges Physical Security: Devices in uncontrolled environments Limited Resources: Constrained compute for security controls Network Exposure: Increased …