Infrastructure as Code security is the process of detecting, avoiding, and/or remediating security mistakes in your cloud infrastructure and configuration files. It allows teams to ensure that their Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is secure and clean of vulnerabilities from the start.
Infrastructure as Code allows teams to quickly provision new infrastructure by leveraging existing templates - but if those templates have vulnerabilities, they'll appear in all of the new infrastructure as well. Infrastructure as code security is important because it ensures clean code from the start, helping maintain velocity without slowing down development. Application security tools that work with developers, and within their workflows, do exactly that, providing the means for them to commit secure code without sacrificing speed.
Interestingly, conversation about infrastructure as code security is somewhat lacking within the industry - and much to its own peril. Very large and well-known enterprises whose business is software, like Netflix or Microsoft, understandably have targets on them. Cybercriminals are highly motivated to target those enterprises and their software in particular because the potential payoff is huge. As such, they will invest the necessary time, resources, and effort to find vulnerabilities - not necessarily in their Infrastructure as Code, but directly in the code of their application. There are a number of reasons for this:
Companies that are less high-profile, like midsize fintech, healthtech, entertainment, etc., are less likely to be specifically targeted by cybercriminals investing so much time in finding vulnerabilities in their apps. However, it is very easy to scan the infrastructure of the apps at scale because scanning is generic and the infrastructure is all public - a cybercriminal can scan thousands of infrastructures for security mistakes automatically. They launch a scan, let it run for a while, and when they find one the hacker will be alerted and focus their efforts on exploiting that specific vulnerability.
There may not be as much reward for a hacker in going after a small-to-medium sized business (SMB), but since the effort is negligible, they might as well. As a result SMBs have an outsized chance of suffering an attack on their Infrastructure as Code rather than the application itself, so securing it is all the more important for SMBs.
Infrastructure as Code security must be multifaceted and multilayered. At every stage of the software development lifecycle (SDLC), IaC security should involve:
Tools that can detect and remediate security vulnerabilities as left in the SDLC as possible are a necessity. More specifically, tools that allow developers to spot and fix vulnerabilities in code they are currently writing (like spellcheck, but for vulnerabilities). This ensures no disruption of workflow or productivity, because it happens at the point of development where mistakes are part of the process - not after they’ve already been committed and signed off. In fact, tools that can even go beyond that and into training and education (also without disrupting workflow and productivity) are even better.
This is because, contrary to the popular saying, the strongest point of cybersecurity is between the chair and the screen - people. Developers knowing what the vulnerabilities are, how to spot them, how to fix them, and the risks and consequences brings all of that knowledge in house and keeps them, and developers they train, from making the same mistakes - and will help them in their careers.
The combined institutional knowledge and naturally security-aware teams create stronger, more robust processes for new and existing employees to follow, and solidifies the foundation and culture of security throughout the SDLC.
