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DevOps vs DevSecOps: What's the Difference?
DevOps and DevSecOps are closely related approaches to modern software delivery, but DevSecOps makes security an explicit responsibility throughout the entire development and operations lifecycle.
DevOps brings development and operations teams together to improve collaboration, automation and the speed and reliability of software delivery. DevSecOps builds on those principles by integrating security into planning, design, coding, testing, deployment and ongoing operations rather than treating security as a final checkpoint before release.
The simplest distinction is therefore: DevOps aims to make software delivery faster and more reliable; DevSecOps aims to achieve those goals while embedding security continuously into the same workflow.
DevOps vs DevSecOps at a glance
- DevOps: integrates development and operations.
- DevSecOps: integrates development, security and operations.
- DevOps focus: collaboration, automation, CI/CD, reliability and faster feedback.
- DevSecOps focus: all of the above, plus continuous security, secure design, automated security testing, software supply-chain protection and ongoing risk management.
- Traditional security: can be treated as a late approval stage.
- DevSecOps security: is built into the lifecycle from the beginning and continues after deployment.
What is DevOps?
DevOps combines development and operations practices to improve the way software is planned, built, tested, delivered and operated.
Rather than developers creating software and then handing it to a separate operations team, DevOps encourages shared responsibility and faster feedback across the application lifecycle.
Typical DevOps practices include:
- Git and source control
- Continuous Integration (CI)
- Continuous Delivery or Continuous Deployment (CD)
- Infrastructure as Code
- automated testing
- cloud automation
- containers and orchestration
- monitoring and observability
- collaboration between development and operations
For a full introduction, see What Is DevOps and What Does a DevOps Engineer Do?.
What is DevSecOps?
DevSecOps extends DevOps by embedding security throughout the software development lifecycle. Security becomes a shared responsibility rather than something owned only by a specialist team at the end of a project.
Microsoft describes DevSecOps as embedding security from the earliest stages of design and development through deployment and operations. AWS similarly defines it as integrating security testing throughout software development while encouraging collaboration between developers, security specialists and operations teams.
In a DevSecOps environment, security activities might include:
- threat modelling during design
- secure coding standards
- automated code analysis
- dependency and vulnerability scanning
- secret detection
- container image scanning
- Infrastructure as Code security checks
- identity and access controls
- policy and compliance automation
- security monitoring after deployment
Why did DevSecOps emerge?
DevOps made it possible for organisations to release software more frequently. That speed creates a problem if security processes remain slow and separate.
In a traditional model, a security team might review an application shortly before production release. If significant weaknesses are discovered at that point, fixing them can be expensive and disruptive because design decisions and large amounts of code may already depend on the vulnerable approach.
Modern delivery also creates new areas of risk. Attackers may target:
- source-code repositories
- developer accounts
- CI/CD pipelines
- build agents
- third-party dependencies
- container registries
- Infrastructure as Code
- cloud credentials and secrets
- production deployment systems
DevSecOps addresses this by making security part of the same automated workflows used to deliver software.
What does “shift left” mean?
Shift left means moving security activities earlier in the development lifecycle.
If a timeline runs from design on the left to production on the right, traditional security testing may occur close to the right-hand end. Shifting security left means considering security during architecture, coding and build stages instead.
Examples include:
- performing threat modelling before development begins
- checking code for security problems when a developer creates a pull request
- scanning third-party libraries during the build
- validating infrastructure templates before deployment
- testing container images before they reach a registry or production environment
Finding weaknesses earlier can make them cheaper and easier to fix. However, DevSecOps should not be interpreted as only shifting left. Security also needs to continue in production through monitoring, incident response, patching and detection.
Does DevSecOps replace DevOps?
No. DevSecOps is an extension of DevOps rather than a competing methodology.
An organisation that adopts DevSecOps still needs the core DevOps capabilities of collaboration, automated testing, CI/CD, infrastructure automation, observability and continuous improvement.
Security is added to those workflows in a way that aims to preserve delivery speed rather than create a separate manual gate.
How does security responsibility change?
One of the biggest differences is cultural.
In a traditional model, developers may think “the security team checks security”. DevSecOps encourages everyone involved in software delivery to understand their part in reducing risk.
That does not mean every developer becomes a cybersecurity specialist. Specialist security expertise is still important. Instead, responsibilities become better distributed:
- Developers write secure code, respond to security findings and avoid unsafe dependencies.
- Operations and DevOps engineers secure deployment platforms, identities, pipelines and infrastructure.
- Security professionals provide expertise, policies, threat models, testing strategies and risk guidance.
- Product and business teams help define risk tolerance and priorities.
The security team moves from being only a gatekeeper towards enabling other teams to make safer decisions continuously.
How does DevSecOps change a CI/CD pipeline?
A standard CI/CD pipeline might build code, run tests and deploy an application. A DevSecOps pipeline adds automated security checks at suitable points.
A simplified pipeline could:
- check a code change into Git
- run unit tests
- perform Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
- scan dependencies for known vulnerabilities
- check for exposed secrets
- build a container image
- scan the image
- validate Infrastructure as Code
- deploy into a test environment
- run Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
- apply policy and approval rules
- deploy using a controlled release strategy
- monitor the production system for security events
The exact workflow depends on the application and risk level. The aim is not to add every possible security tool to every pipeline. It is to automate appropriate controls and provide useful feedback quickly.
What are SAST and DAST?
Static Application Security Testing (SAST)
SAST examines source code or compiled code for potential security weaknesses without needing to run the application. It can be integrated early in development and CI workflows.
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)
DAST tests a running application from the outside and looks for security weaknesses in its behaviour.
The two approaches are complementary. SAST can identify certain problems early in code, while DAST can discover issues that become visible when an application is running.
What is software supply-chain security?
Modern applications depend on large numbers of third-party libraries, packages, build tools and external services. This creates a software supply chain that attackers may try to compromise.
DevSecOps practices can include:
- tracking dependencies
- scanning packages for known vulnerabilities
- limiting which package sources can be used
- protecting build systems
- signing or verifying build artefacts
- controlling access to repositories
- maintaining Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) where appropriate
Security therefore extends beyond the code written by an organisation’s own developers.
How are secrets managed in DevSecOps?
Passwords, API keys, certificates and tokens should not be stored directly in source code or pipeline files.
DevSecOps environments commonly use protected secret-management services such as Azure Key Vault, AWS Secrets Manager or other secure vaults. Access should follow least-privilege principles and credentials should be rotated when appropriate.
Automated secret scanning can also detect when developers accidentally commit credentials to repositories.
What is DevSecOps in Infrastructure as Code?
Infrastructure as Code allows cloud and infrastructure environments to be defined using code. This makes infrastructure repeatable, but mistakes can also be repeated automatically.
Security checks can therefore examine templates before deployment for issues such as:
- publicly exposed services
- overly broad permissions
- unencrypted storage
- unsafe network rules
- insecure defaults
This is an important example of why DevSecOps must protect both applications and the systems used to run them.
DevOps vs DevSecOps tools
Many tools are shared between the two approaches. The distinction comes from how they are used.
Typical DevOps tools and platforms include GitHub, Azure DevOps, Jenkins, Terraform, Docker, Kubernetes, cloud services and observability tools.
DevSecOps adds security capabilities such as:
- SAST and DAST tools
- dependency scanning
- container scanning
- secret scanning
- cloud-security monitoring
- policy-as-code tools
- security information and event management
- identity and privileged-access controls
The best DevSecOps implementations avoid creating a disconnected security toolchain. Security feedback should appear within the development workflows teams already use.
Is DevSecOps only about automation?
No. Automation is important, but DevSecOps also requires judgement, culture and specialist knowledge.
A scanner can identify a potential vulnerability but may not understand the full business context. A threat model requires people to think about how a system could be attacked. Incident response requires communication and decision-making.
Automation should remove repetitive work and provide rapid feedback, allowing people to focus on risks that need human analysis.
What is the difference between DevSecOps and cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the broader discipline of protecting systems, networks, identities, data and organisations from threats. DevSecOps is specifically concerned with integrating security into modern software-development and operations workflows.
A cybersecurity professional might work in governance, penetration testing, network security, incident response or identity management without working directly in DevSecOps.
A DevSecOps professional tends to work closer to development pipelines, cloud platforms, application security and automation.
What is the difference between DevSecOps and SRE?
DevSecOps focuses primarily on integrating security into software delivery. Site Reliability Engineering focuses primarily on service reliability and operability.
There is significant overlap. Both value automation, observability and shared responsibility, and both influence how production services are built and operated.
Our guide What Is Site Reliability Engineering (SRE)? explains SLOs, error budgets, toil and reliability engineering in more detail.
What skills does a DevSecOps engineer need?
A DevSecOps engineer typically combines DevOps skills with security knowledge.
Useful areas include:
- Git and source control
- CI/CD
- cloud platforms
- Infrastructure as Code
- containers
- scripting and automation
- Linux and networking
- application security fundamentals
- identity and access management
- vulnerability management
- secrets management
- security monitoring
- threat modelling
Different organisations place different emphasis on these skills. Some DevSecOps roles are heavily security-focused, while others are primarily DevOps roles with responsibility for embedding security controls.
Do developers need cybersecurity training for DevSecOps?
Developers do not need to become security analysts, but they should understand the security issues relevant to the software they build.
Useful knowledge includes:
- secure coding principles
- common application vulnerabilities
- authentication and authorisation
- safe handling of secrets
- dependency risks
- input validation
- logging and error handling
Security champions within development teams can also help spread good practices and provide a bridge to specialist security teams.
When should an organisation adopt DevSecOps?
If an organisation is already using DevOps, security should be incorporated into those workflows rather than waiting for a separate “DevSecOps project”.
Good starting points include:
- map the current software delivery workflow
- identify the highest security risks
- improve repository and pipeline access controls
- introduce secret management
- add appropriate automated security checks
- improve dependency management
- integrate security findings into existing work tracking
- define ownership for remediation
- monitor production systems
- review and improve continuously
Trying to introduce dozens of tools simultaneously can overwhelm development teams. Prioritising the most meaningful controls generally produces better results.
Which DevSecOps course should you take?
For professionals new to the subject, ExperTrain’s DevSecOps Foundation course introduces security throughout the DevOps lifecycle, including security as code, automation, continuous compliance and collaborative security practices.
For professionals who already understand the foundations and want to go further, the DevSecOps Practitioner course explores more advanced areas including metrics, architecture, secure pipelines, infrastructure, monitoring and production security practices.
If you are new to DevOps itself, it may be sensible to begin with DevOps Foundation before specialising in DevSecOps.
Frequently asked questions
What does DevSecOps stand for?
DevSecOps combines development, security and operations. It describes an approach in which security is integrated continuously into DevOps processes.
Is DevSecOps better than DevOps?
DevSecOps is not a replacement for DevOps. It extends DevOps by making security more explicit and continuous. Organisations should aim for delivery processes that are fast, reliable and secure rather than choosing between the two.
Is DevSecOps the same as shift left?
No. Shift left is an important DevSecOps principle that moves security earlier in development, but DevSecOps also includes production monitoring, incident response, ongoing vulnerability management and other activities throughout the lifecycle.
Does DevSecOps slow development down?
Poorly implemented security gates can slow development. Well-designed DevSecOps aims to provide fast automated feedback and identify issues earlier, when they are generally easier to fix. The objective is to improve security without sacrificing sustainable delivery speed.
Who owns security in DevSecOps?
Security is a shared responsibility. Developers, operations teams, DevOps engineers and security specialists each have responsibilities, while specialist security teams continue to provide expertise and governance.
Can small organisations use DevSecOps?
Yes. A small team does not need a large security toolchain to benefit. Secure source control, protected secrets, dependency scanning, automated testing, least privilege and effective monitoring are useful at many scales.
Do you need to know DevOps before learning DevSecOps?
A basic understanding of DevOps is highly useful because DevSecOps builds security into DevOps workflows. Concepts such as Git, CI/CD, cloud automation and Infrastructure as Code provide important context.
Develop your DevOps and DevSecOps skills with ExperTrain
ExperTrain offers instructor-led DevOps training covering DevOps foundations, automation, DevSecOps, Site Reliability Engineering, Azure DevOps and AWS DevOps.
You can also explore the DevOps Certifications pathway and DevOps Glossary.
If you are unsure whether to start with DevOps Foundation, DevSecOps Foundation or a technical DevOps course, contact ExperTrain with your current experience and objectives.
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