The CI/CD pipeline security cannot be compromised as it is the core component within a development process. The following describes four best practices to secure your CI/CD pipeline.
First, tighten the access control. Access control is viewed as the first layer of protection of the CI/CD pipeline, thus the access to the CI/CD pipeline should have strong requirement of authentication to all users. A project team should have a clear guide that list out the individual, time and method of access to the CI/CD pipeline. The password to the CI/CD pipeline needs to be changed or rotated regularly for better security protection.
Second, code analysis. According to OWASP.org, static code analysis or source code analysis refers to the running of Static Code Analysis tools that attempt to highlight possible vulnerabilities within ‘static’ (non-running) source code by using techniques such as Taint Analysis and Data Flow Analysis. Therefore, carrying out Static code analysis regularly ensures the security and reliability of the embedded code by identifying vulnerabilities, defects and compliance while being written to the CI/CD pipeline.
Third, keep secrets safe. Secrets are digital credential such as usernames, passwords, API tokens and encryption keys that authorize access to account and services. The developer team should clearly understand where to locate secrets as well as how they are managed and deployed within the pipeline in order to protect them from being exposed to cyberattack.
Fourth, separation of duties. Enforceable permission should be established in the project team to limit the accessibility of each individual in the team to the pipeline. This is achieved by allocating certain individual to a certain task or duty. For example, only a certain developer has the ability to make changes in the code repository or to create code or deploy code in different environment. This practice ensure that nobody can have access to the whole processes more than the need of their respective task.
In summary, implementing practices that help secure your CI/CD pipeline is important in order to develop a product releases with less exploitable flaws and vulnerabilities.
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