OPA Integration: Embedding Security into the Release Process

Who doesn’t love a new gadget? I love them, too, especially when it promises to save precious time on tedious tasks, like opening my door using “legacy” keys. But it is never simple; the ever-present concern of security looms over me while on the journey to make my home “smarter.”

Unfortunately, not all apps nowadays are infallible when it comes to security. These days, most enterprises are adding security in the form of obfuscation and anti-tampering to their apps. However, pressure to release new versions of apps on tight timelines can sometimes cause an organization to release an app into production before the app has been hardened.

This becomes particularly evident when attempting to incorporate security into your application release process; a task that can be challenging and time-consuming, especially if you rely on manual processes.

Consumer applications are an essential asset for businesses everywhere. Yet, with their undeniable benefits comes new challenges, including the need for security measures to safeguard against potential cyber threats, data breaches, and hacks. The good news is you can streamline and simplify the security integration process by using Open Policy Agent (OPA).

What is an Open Policy Agent (OPA)?

Open Policy Agent, or OPA, is an open-source policy engine that enforces custom policies within applications and services. What sets OPA apart is its provision of a declarative language known as Rego, which permits policy specification and evaluation, making integrations and updates easier.

Using OPA, you can embed policies as code throughout your software development lifecycle, including during the application release process. For example, you can define policies that enforce secure configurations or control access to data.

How Does OPA Work in Digital.ai Release and App Security?

Incorporating OPA into the application release process involves defining policies to meet your organization’s critical compliance and security requirements. App Security will enforce these policies and will be used to determine if the application release is compliant. By integrating App Security to Release using OPA, you can automatically prevent insecure versions of your app from being released, saving time and reducing risk.

Our new out-of-box integration of Digital.ai Release and App Security, using OPA, helps you to include security checkpoints into the application delivery process seamlessly. This alleviates the burden on developers and release engineers, sparing them the responsibility to do it manually.

Benefits of OPA for Security Integration in Application Releases

One significant benefit of using OPA for application security is a smoother and more streamlined development process. Integrating security checks into the application release process can be time-consuming and requires numerous manual reviews. OPA automates these checks, freeing up developers’ time and speeding up the time-to-market for your apps.

Beyond saving time, this integration also improves the security of your applications. OPA’s declarative language can simplify policy writing and make audits easier to complete. This helps ensure that your security guidelines are consistent, accurate, and readily applicable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, incorporating security into your application release process is critical in protecting your business from cyber-attacks and data breaches. However, relying on manual processes is time-consuming and inefficient, leading to longer development cycles and unnecessary risks.

Digital.ai helps you bring “Sec” into DevSecOps to ensure that your apps are secure when deployed to app stores.

See the integration in action. Watch the video: https://digital.ai/resource-center/videos/application-security-integration-with-release/

Start securing your apps now. Download the Integration: https://integrations.digital.ai/view-plugin/xlr-opa-integration-23.1.0