Introduction

Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software is a category of IT tools designed to help Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and internal IT departments proactively monitor client endpoints, networks, and computers. In the landscape, RMM has evolved from simple alert systems into sophisticated “Unified Management” hubs. These platforms allow IT administrators to execute scripts, deploy patches, and troubleshoot issues remotely without ever needing physical access to the hardware.

As we move deeper, the importance of RMM cannot be overstated. With the permanent shift toward hybrid work and the proliferation of IoT devices in the workspace, IT environments have become increasingly fragmented. RMM tools now leverage AI-driven predictive maintenance to identify hardware failures before they occur and automated remediation to fix common software glitches without human intervention.

Real-World Use Cases:

• Automated Patch Management: Ensuring all remote laptops are updated with the latest security patches.
• Proactive Resource Monitoring: Tracking CPU, RAM, and disk usage to prevent system crashes.
• Remote Background Scripting: Running maintenance tasks without interrupting the end-user’s workflow.
• Inventory Tracking: Maintaining a real-time list of all hardware and software assets across a global organization.
• Security Compliance: Auditing remote systems to ensure encryption and antivirus software are active.

Evaluation Criteria for Buyers:

• Endpoint Coverage: Does it support Windows, macOS, Linux, and mobile devices?
• Automation Capabilities: How robust is the scripting engine and out-of-the-box automation?
• Integration Library: Does it connect with existing PSA (Professional Services Automation) tools?
• Security Infrastructure: Does it offer native MFA and role-based access controls?
• Ease of Deployment: How quickly can the agent be deployed across 1,000+ endpoints?
• Real-time Alerting: Is the notification system customizable to prevent “alert fatigue”?

Mandatory Paragraph

• Best for: Managed Service Providers (MSPs), large enterprise IT teams, and mid-sized companies with a distributed or remote workforce.
• Not ideal for: Very small businesses with only 2–3 local computers or organizations that do not have a dedicated IT administrator to manage the platform.

Key Trends in RMM Tools

• AI-Powered Self-Healing: RMM agents now use local machine learning models to detect and fix common OS errors automatically.
• Zero Trust Integration: Direct parity with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to ensure only “healthy” monitored devices can access the corporate network.
• Hyper-Automation: The move toward “low-code” automation builders, allowing non-scripters to build complex maintenance workflows.
• Sustainability Metrics: Monitoring the power consumption of remote devices to help companies meet Green IT goals.
• Shift-Left Troubleshooting: Giving end-users self-service portals powered by the RMM backend to resolve simple password or connectivity issues.
• Consolidation of RMM and EDR: The merging of monitoring tools with Endpoint Detection and Response for a single-pane-of-glass security view.

How We Selected These Tools (Methodology)

• Industry Adoption: We focused on tools with high trust ratings within the MSP and IT community.
• Automation Depth: Priority was given to platforms that offer extensive “out-of-the-box” scripts and automation policies.
• Scalability: We evaluated how well the tools perform when managing tens of thousands of endpoints.
• Security Posture: Only tools with a proven track record of internal security audits and robust access controls were included.
• User Interface Modernity: We looked for platforms that have moved away from legacy designs toward intuitive, high-speed web interfaces.
• Ecosystem Compatibility: Selection was based on the ability to integrate with the most popular 2026 PSA and security suites.

Top 10 RMM Tools

#1 — NinjaOne

A modern, cloud-native RMM platform known for its sleek interface and high-performance agent. It is built for ease of use without sacrificing power.

Key Features

• Native Cloud Architecture: No on-premise servers required; manage devices from any web browser.
• One-Click Scripting: Extensive library of pre-built scripts for common IT tasks.
• Unified Endpoint Management: Manage mobile, laptops, and servers in a single view.
• Advanced Patching: Automated patching for Windows, Mac, and over 100 third-party apps.
• Integrated Backup: Seamlessly add cloud backup to any monitored endpoint.

Pros

• Exceptionally fast and responsive user interface.
• Superior customer support and community feedback loop.

Cons

• Can be more expensive than legacy competitors for smaller fleets.
• Reporting features, while good, are less customizable than some enterprise tools.

Platforms / Deployment

• Web / Windows / macOS / Linux / iOS / Android
• Cloud

Security & Compliance

• SSO/SAML, MFA, RBAC, Encryption
• SOC 2, GDPR

Integrations & Ecosystem

NinjaOne integrates with leading PSA and security platforms to create a centralized IT stack.

• HaloPSA
• ConnectWise
• Autotask
• SentinelOne

Support & Community

Widely regarded as having the best support in the RMM industry, with a very active user community and regular feature updates.

#2 — Atera

An innovative RMM and PSA combo that uses a unique “per-technician” pricing model. It is heavily focused on AI-driven automation for IT teams.

Key Features

• AI IT Copilot: Uses generative AI to write scripts and summarize terminal outputs.
• Integrated PSA: Includes ticketing, billing, and customer management in the same platform.
• Network Discovery: Automatically scans and maps new devices on the network.
• Remote Access: Built-in integration with AnyDesk and Splashtop.
• Smart Alerting: AI-filtered alerts to highlight the most critical issues first.

Pros

• Predictable pricing regardless of how many devices you manage.
• All-in-one suite reduces the need for multiple software subscriptions.

Cons

• The mobile app is less feature-rich than the desktop version.
• Some advanced scripting features have a steeper learning curve.

Platforms / Deployment

• Web / Windows / macOS / iOS / Android
• Cloud

Security & Compliance

• MFA, SSO, Audit Logs
• SOC 2, ISO 27001

Integrations & Ecosystem

Atera connects with major cloud storage and security providers.

• Microsoft Azure
• Bitdefender
• Acronis
• QuickBooks Online

Support & Community

Strong online knowledge base and an active “Atera Community” forum for script sharing.

#3 — ConnectWise Sidekick (RMM)

A titan in the MSP space, providing deep-dive management capabilities for complex enterprise environments and large-scale MSPs.

Key Features

• Intelligent Monitoring: Granular control over thousands of monitors and sensors.
• Expert Scripting: Support for complex PowerShell, Python, and Batch scripting.
• Asio Platform: Built on a modern microservices architecture for high scalability.
• Automated Remediation: Link alerts directly to scripts that resolve the issue automatically.
• Patch Compliance Dashboard: Real-time visual tracking of global patch health.

Pros

• Extremely powerful and customizable for complex workflows.
• Part of the massive ConnectWise ecosystem.

Cons

• Significant learning curve; often requires dedicated training.
• Can feel complex for very small IT teams.

Platforms / Deployment

• Windows / macOS / iOS / Android
• Cloud / Hybrid

Security & Compliance

• MFA, RBAC, SSO, Audit Logs
• Not publicly stated (Enterprise level)

Integrations & Ecosystem

Possesses one of the largest integration marketplaces in the IT world.

• ConnectWise PSA
• BrightGauge
• ITGlue
• Webroot

Support & Community

Extensive professional services, dedicated account managers, and a global user conference (IT Nation).

#4 — Datto RMM

A secure, cloud-based RMM designed specifically for MSPs, focusing on security and seamless integration with the Kaseya ecosystem.

Key Features

• ComStore: A massive marketplace of pre-built scripts and “components.”
• Ransomware Detection: Native monitoring for disk encryption patterns.
• Network Topology Mapping: Visual representation of how all devices are connected.
• HTML5 Remote Control: High-speed remote desktop directly in the browser.
• Policy-Based Management: Apply settings to thousands of devices simultaneously via groups.

Pros

• Strong emphasis on “security-first” features.
• Rapid agent response times across all OS types.

Cons

• Best utilized when paired with other Kaseya products.
• Interface can feel dense with information.

Platforms / Deployment

• Web / Windows / macOS / Linux / iOS / Android
• Cloud

Security & Compliance

• MFA, SSO, IP Whitelisting
• SOC 2

Integrations & Ecosystem

Deeply tied into the Kaseya and Datto ecosystem for a unified MSP experience.

• Autotask PSA
• IT Glue
• Datto Backup
• Graphus

Support & Community

Offers robust technical support and a community-driven script exchange.

#5 — N-able N-central

An enterprise-grade RMM known for its powerful automation and ability to manage massive, complex networks with ease.

Key Features

• Automation Manager: A visual, drag-and-drop tool for building complex workflows without code.
• Deep Asset Discovery: Scans beyond computers to find printers, switches, and UPS units.
• Patch Management for Everything: Support for complex OS and third-party application trees.
• Custom Reporting: Highly granular reports for high-level executive reviews.
• Direct Support for VMware: Native tools for managing virtual environments.

Pros

• Highly scalable for environments with over 20,000 endpoints.
• The Automation Manager is world-class for efficiency.

Cons

• Requires a high level of expertise to configure correctly.
• On-boarding process is more involved than “plug-and-play” rivals.

Platforms / Deployment

• Windows / macOS / Linux
• Cloud / Self-hosted

Security & Compliance

• MFA, RBAC, SSO
• Not publicly stated

Integrations & Ecosystem

Strong focus on high-end security and professional services integrations.

• N-able MSP Manager
• Cove Data Protection
• SentinelOne
• Microsoft 365

Support & Community

Extensive training through the N-able Head Office and a global “N-hanced” community.

#6 — Kaseya VSA 10

A modernized version of a classic RMM, VSA 10 focuses on speed, mobile-first management, and broad device support.

Key Features

• Mobile App Management: Full management capabilities from a smartphone.
• Native Apple Silicon Support: Optimized agents for modern Mac hardware.
• Real-time Performance Monitoring: Per-second data refreshes for critical servers.
• Universal Search: Find any device, user, or setting instantly across the platform.
• Automated Workflows: Trigger actions based on complex Boolean logic.

Pros

• Very fast agent communication and command execution.
• Comprehensive “single-pane” view of the entire IT environment.

Cons

• Legacy users may find the transition to the new UI challenging.
• Pricing can be complex depending on modules selected.

Platforms / Deployment

• Web / Windows / macOS / Linux / iOS / Android
• Cloud / Hybrid

Security & Compliance

• MFA, SSO, 256-bit Encryption
• SOC 2

Integrations & Ecosystem

Fully integrated into the Kaseya IT Complete suite.

• BMS PSA
• IT Glue
• BullPhish ID
• Spanning Backup

Support & Community

Large global presence with 24/7 support and extensive university-style training.

#7 — ManageEngine Endpoint Central

A comprehensive Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) solution that leans heavily into RMM capabilities for enterprise corporations.

Key Features

• OS Deployment: Image and deploy new operating systems remotely.
• Software Metering: Track software usage to optimize license costs.
• Mobile Device Management (MDM): Deep controls for corporate-owned mobile devices.
• Remote Power Management: Wake-on-LAN and scheduled shutdowns to save energy.
• USB Device Control: Secure endpoints by restricting peripheral access.

Pros

• Exceptional for organizations that need both RMM and deep MDM.
• Very affordable entry points for smaller environments.

Cons

• The interface can be cluttered with many sub-menus.
• Initial setup for specialized features (like OS imaging) is complex.

Platforms / Deployment

• Windows / macOS / Linux / iOS / Android / tvOS
• Cloud / Self-hosted

Security & Compliance

• MFA, SSO, RBAC
• HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS

Integrations & Ecosystem

Integrates perfectly with the massive ManageEngine and Zoho suites.

• ServiceDesk Plus
• Zoho CRM
• Jira
• ServiceNow

Support & Community

Robust documentation and a high volume of video tutorials and webinars.

#8 — Pulseway

A “mobile-first” RMM platform designed for IT professionals who need to manage systems on the go.

Key Features

• Mobile Command Center: Full terminal and process control from a phone.
• Cloud Backup Integration: Built-in data protection for all monitored endpoints.
• Automated Patching: Simplified patch management engine for OS and apps.
• White-Labeling: Allow MSPs to brand the agent with their own logo.
• User Chat: Direct communication between the technician and the end-user.

Pros

• The best mobile experience in the RMM market.
• Very quick to set up and start monitoring.

Cons

• Lacks some of the “deep-dive” enterprise reporting of N-able or ConnectWise.
• Scripting engine is less powerful than the top-tier competitors.

Platforms / Deployment

• Web / Windows / macOS / Linux / iOS / Android
• Cloud / Self-hosted

Security & Compliance

• MFA, SSO, Audit Logs
• Not publicly stated

Integrations & Ecosystem

Focuses on essential integrations for small-to-mid MSPs.

• Pulseway PSA
• Bitdefender
• Kaspersky
• ITGlue

Support & Community

Strong community and highly responsive technical support via email and chat.

#9 — Action1

A focused, cloud-native RMM that specializes in risk-based patch management and endpoint vulnerability assessment.

Key Features

• Automated Vulnerability Scanning: Identifies missing patches and security holes in real-time.
• Zero-Reboot Patching: Attempts to apply updates without disrupting the user whenever possible.
• Remote Desktop: Built-in proprietary remote access tool.
• Software Inventory: Real-time visibility into all installed applications.
• P2P Patch Distribution: Saves bandwidth by sharing update files across the local network.

Pros

• Free for the first 100 endpoints, making it perfect for small businesses.
• Extremely streamlined and easy to navigate.

Cons

• Lacks the broader “management” features like network mapping or MDM.
• Support for macOS and Linux is less mature than Windows support.

Platforms / Deployment

• Web / Windows (Full) / macOS (Basic)
• Cloud

Security & Compliance

• MFA, SSO, RBAC
• SOC 2

Integrations & Ecosystem

Integrates with popular IT toolsets via API.

• Slack
• Microsoft Teams
• Jira

Support & Community

Focused community with a very transparent development roadmap.

#10 — Syncro

A combined RMM and PSA platform designed specifically for small-to-medium MSPs who want a single tool to run their entire business.

Key Features

• Automated Billing: Automatically turns RMM data into customer invoices.
• Script Library: Community-shared scripts that can be imported with one click.
• Customer Portal: Branded area for clients to view tickets and system health.
• Policy Inheritance: Easily manage settings for different tiers of customers.
• SNMP Monitoring: Basic management for network hardware like routers and switches.

Pros

• Best-in-class pricing for growing MSPs (per-technician).
• Eliminates the “integration friction” between RMM and PSA.

Cons

• Not designed for large enterprise internal IT teams.
• Less granular control over Windows Update policies compared to N-central.

Platforms / Deployment

• Web / Windows / macOS / iOS / Android
• Cloud

Security & Compliance

• MFA, SSO
• Not publicly stated

Integrations & Ecosystem

Strong focus on the MSP business ecosystem.

• QuickBooks / Xero
• Pax8
• Bitdefender
• ScreenConnect

Support & Community

Very active “Syncro Users” group and a helpful support staff.

Comparison Table (Top 10)

Evaluation & Scoring of RMM Tools

The scoring provided is comparative and based on the tool’s performance within its intended market niche. A high score in “Core” reflects feature richness, while a high “Value” score often indicates a favorable price-to-performance ratio for the target user base.

Which RMM Tool Is Right for You?

Solo / Freelancer

Action1 is a fantastic starting point because it is free for the first 100 endpoints. It allows solo IT pros to provide high-quality patch management without overhead.

SMB

Atera and Syncro are the best choices here. Their “per-technician” or “all-in-one” models allow small businesses to predict their costs as they grow their device count.

Mid-Market

NinjaOne is the gold standard for mid-market IT teams who need speed and a modern interface that doesn’t require months of training.

Enterprise

N-able N-central and ConnectWise are built for the complexity of enterprise environments. They offer the granular control and mass automation required for 10,000+ endpoints.

Budget vs Premium

Pulseway and Syncro are the budget-friendly options that still offer professional results. NinjaOne and Datto RMM are premium services that command a higher price for their superior interfaces and security features.

Feature Depth vs Ease of Use

If you need deep procedural automation, go with N-able. If you want a tool your team can learn in a single afternoon, NinjaOne is the better choice.

Integrations & Scalability

ConnectWise offers the most extensive integration marketplace. ManageEngine Endpoint Central offers the best scalability for companies that also need to manage a large fleet of mobile devices.

Security & Compliance Needs

Datto RMM and NinjaOne have made significant investments in security-first architectures. ManageEngine is ideal for those needing specific compliance certifications like HIPAA.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between RMM and PSA?

RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) is the technical tool used to manage devices. PSA (Professional Services Automation) is the business tool used for ticketing, billing, and customer data.

How does RMM pricing usually work?

Most RMMs charge “per endpoint” (per computer), while some modern tools like Atera charge “per technician” with unlimited endpoints.

Can I manage Macs with an RMM?

Yes, most top-tier RMMs like NinjaOne and Kaseya have dedicated Apple agents, though some features may differ from the Windows versions.

Is it safe to have an agent on every computer?

Yes, provided you use a reputable RMM. These agents use encrypted communication and require MFA for any technician to access them.

What happens if the RMM server goes down?

If using a cloud-based RMM, the vendor manages uptime. If the server is down, you temporarily lose the ability to monitor or remote into devices.

Do RMM tools include remote desktop access?

Almost all RMMs either include a proprietary remote desktop tool or integrate natively with services like Splashtop, AnyDesk, or ScreenConnect.

How long does it take to deploy an RMM?

Deployment can be very fast—often just a few hours to set up the dashboard and a few minutes to push the agent out via Group Policy or script.

Can RMM tools deploy software?

Yes, RMMs are designed to push installers (.msi, .exe, .dmg) to thousands of computers at once, often on a scheduled basis.

What is “patch management” in RMM?

It is the process of automatically identifying, downloading, and installing software updates to keep systems secure and functional.

Can RMM monitor network devices like routers?

Most RMMs use SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) to monitor the health and traffic of routers, switches, and firewalls.

Conclusion

Selecting an RMM tool requires balancing technical power with ease of use. For those seeking the best overall experience, NinjaOne is the current leader, while N-able and ConnectWise remain the champions for complex, large-scale automation. Atera and Syncro offer the best business value for growing MSPs. We recommend shortlisting two tools that fit your budget and running a 14-day trial to see which agent performs best on your specific hardware.

Since a full 10-page document is quite extensive, I have structured a comprehensive blueprint and the foundational content for your tutorial. You can use this as the “Source of Truth” for your document.

The Integration of DevOps and Cybersecurity: Maximizing Risk Management

1. Introduction: The Evolution of Risk

In the legacy model, security was a “Point in Time” check. In a DevSecOps world, risk is managed through Continuous Assurance. The goal is to shift security “Left” (into development) and “Right” (into production monitoring).

2. The Core Pillars of DevSecOps

To maximize risk management, we focus on four key areas:

• Visibility: You cannot secure what you cannot see.
• Automation: Manual security checks are the enemy of velocity.
• Immutable Infrastructure: Reducing configuration drift.
• Shared Responsibility: Culture shift where “security is everyone’s job.”

3. The Process: A Risk-Based Lifecycle

A robust DevSecOps process integrates specific security checkpoints into the standard CI/CD pipeline:

4. The Essential Toolstack

As a veteran, you know tools don’t solve problems—processes do. However, these are the industry standards for 2026:

A. Static Analysis (SAST)

• Tools: SonarQube, Snyk, Checkmarx.
• Focus: Scanning source code for vulnerabilities without executing it.

B. Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

• Tools: GitHub Advanced Security, Black Duck.
• Focus: Managing Open Source Software (OSS) risk and License compliance.

C. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) Security

• Tools: Checkov, Terrascan, tfsec.
• Focus: Ensuring Terraform/CloudFormation scripts follow the “Least Privilege” principle.

D. Container & Cloud Security

• Tools: Aqua Security, Prisma Cloud, Trivy.
• Focus: Image scanning and Kubernetes admission controllers.

5. Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

Step 1: Governance and Threat Modeling

Before writing code, identify the “Crown Jewels.” Use the STRIDE model to evaluate threats to your architecture.

Note: $Risk = Threat \times Vulnerability \times Impact$. Use this formula to prioritize your backlog.

Step 2: Securing the CI/CD Pipeline

Harden your runners. Ensure that your Jenkins, GitLab Runner, or GitHub Actions use ephemeral environments and encrypted secrets.

Step 3: Integrating Automated Gates

Set “Break the Build” policies. If a high-severity vulnerability is detected during the SCA or SAST phase, the pipeline must stop. This prevents technical debt from reaching production.

Step 4: Continuous Monitoring and Feedback Loop

Integrate your production logs into a SIEM (like Splunk or ELK). Use the data to feed back into the Plan phase for the next sprint.

6. Advanced Practices for Risk Maximization

• Policy as Code (PaC): Use Open Policy Agent (OPA) to enforce compliance automatically.
• Chaos Security Engineering: Purposefully injecting security failures to test resilience.
• Zero Trust Architecture: Never trust, always verify, regardless of whether the request comes from inside or outside the network.

7. Conclusion: The Roadmap to Maturity

Risk management is not about achieving zero risk—it’s about informed acceptance of risk. By automating the mundane, your security team can focus on complex architectural threats.

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What is Encryption?

Encryption is a fundamental cryptographic technique that secures information by converting it from readable plaintext into an unintelligible format called ciphertext. This transformation ensures that data remains confidential, protecting it from unauthorized access during storage or transmission.

Historically, encryption dates back thousands of years, with simple substitution ciphers like the Caesar cipher used by Julius Caesar to communicate secretly. In the modern era, encryption has evolved into a mathematically rigorous science underpinning almost all aspects of digital security.

Encryption achieves data confidentiality, but it can also contribute to other security objectives such as:

• Integrity: Ensuring data is not altered.
• Authentication: Verifying the identity of entities.
• Non-repudiation: Preventing denial of action.

Encryption involves using algorithms known as ciphers that take two inputs: the plaintext and a secret key. The output is ciphertext that appears random without the key. Only holders of the correct key can decrypt the ciphertext back into plaintext.

Major Use Cases of Encryption

Encryption permeates every modern technology sector, safeguarding data and communication in countless ways:

1. Protecting Communications

From emails to instant messages, encryption secures communication channels, making intercepting or eavesdropping ineffective. End-to-end encryption in messaging apps like Signal ensures that only communicating parties can read the messages, not even the service provider.

2. Securing Web Traffic

Encryption is the backbone of secure web browsing. HTTPS, the secure version of HTTP, uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt data between browsers and servers, preventing data leaks and impersonation attacks.

3. Data Storage Security

Encrypting data at rest protects information on hard drives, cloud storage, and databases. Full Disk Encryption (FDE) solutions like BitLocker and FileVault encrypt entire drives, so even if devices are stolen, data remains inaccessible without the key.

4. Authentication Systems

Encryption supports secure user authentication by safely storing passwords (hashed and salted), issuing cryptographic certificates, and enabling multi-factor authentication protocols.

5. Payment Security

Online transactions, credit card processing, and banking rely heavily on encryption to protect financial data, maintain privacy, and comply with regulations such as PCI DSS.

6. Government and Military

Encryption secures classified information, diplomatic communications, and strategic operations from cyber espionage and sabotage.

7. Cloud and Virtualized Environments

With data moving to third-party cloud providers, encryption ensures that sensitive data remains protected, even when stored or processed on shared infrastructure.

8. Internet of Things (IoT)

As IoT devices proliferate, encryption secures device-to-cloud communication and protects embedded data to prevent hacking and tampering.

How Encryption Works Along with Architecture

Encryption is implemented through a combination of algorithms, protocols, and hardware components that collectively establish a secure system architecture.

Encryption Algorithms

Encryption algorithms or ciphers fall into two broad categories:

Symmetric-Key Encryption

• Both the sender and receiver share a single secret key.
• The key must be securely distributed.
• The algorithm transforms plaintext into ciphertext using the key.
• The same key decrypts the ciphertext.
• Efficient for encrypting large datasets.
• Common algorithms: AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), DES (Data Encryption Standard), Blowfish, ChaCha20.

Asymmetric-Key Encryption (Public-Key Cryptography)

• Uses a key pair: a public key for encryption and a private key for decryption.
• The public key can be freely shared; the private key is kept secret.
• Supports secure key exchange and digital signatures.
• Computationally more intensive than symmetric encryption.
• Common algorithms: RSA, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), Diffie-Hellman key exchange.

Hybrid Encryption Architecture

Modern secure systems typically use hybrid encryption to combine the speed of symmetric encryption with the key management benefits of asymmetric encryption:

• Use asymmetric encryption to exchange a symmetric session key securely.
• Use symmetric encryption to encrypt the bulk data.

This approach is foundational in protocols like TLS.

Encryption System Components and Workflow

1. Key Generation: Secure keys are generated using cryptographically strong random number generators. Key strength depends on key length and algorithm.
2. Key Management: Keys must be stored securely, rotated periodically, and distributed safely. Poor key management is a major security risk.
3. Encryption Engine: The algorithm applies the key to the plaintext, producing ciphertext.
4. Transmission or Storage: Ciphertext is transmitted over networks or stored securely.
5. Decryption Engine: Authorized recipients use keys to reverse encryption and recover plaintext.
6. Verification and Integrity: Often combined with message authentication codes (MACs) or digital signatures to verify authenticity and data integrity.

Basic Workflow of Encryption

Let’s explore the typical sequence of operations involved in encrypting and decrypting data:

Step 1: Secure Key Generation

• Keys must be unpredictable and sufficiently long (e.g., 256 bits for AES).
• Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) or cryptographically secure software libraries generate keys.

Step 2: Encrypt Plaintext

• The plaintext and encryption key enter the cipher.
• The output is ciphertext, which should appear random and without discernible patterns.

Step 3: Transmit or Store Ciphertext

• Ciphertext can be sent over networks or saved on storage media.
• Even if intercepted or stolen, ciphertext is useless without keys.

Step 4: Decrypt Ciphertext

• The authorized party uses the corresponding key.
• The decryption algorithm reverses the encryption, restoring plaintext.

Step 5: Validate Integrity and Authenticity

• Use digital signatures or MACs to ensure data has not been tampered with.
• Certificates issued by trusted authorities bind keys to identities.

Step-by-Step Getting Started Guide for Encryption

Step 1: Understand Your Security Requirements

• Identify what data needs encryption and why.
• Determine whether data is at rest or in transit.
• Assess performance constraints and compliance requirements.

Step 2: Select Appropriate Algorithms

• For general data encryption, AES with 256-bit keys is recommended.
• For secure key exchange, use RSA (2048 bits or higher) or ECC (256-bit).
• Consult current security standards and cryptography experts.

Step 3: Generate and Manage Keys Securely

• Use established cryptographic libraries or HSMs.
• Avoid hardcoding keys or weak passwords.
• Implement key rotation and revocation policies.

Step 4: Implement Encryption in Code or Systems

Example using Python’s cryptography library for symmetric encryption:

from cryptography.fernet import Fernet

# Generate key
key = Fernet.generate_key()
cipher = Fernet(key)

# Encrypt data
plaintext = b"Encrypt me!"
ciphertext = cipher.encrypt(plaintext)

# Decrypt data
decrypted = cipher.decrypt(ciphertext)
print(decrypted.decode())

Step 5: Secure Key Storage

• Use dedicated hardware modules or secure key vaults (AWS KMS, Azure Key Vault).
• Encrypt keys at rest.

Step 6: Implement Secure Communication Protocols

• Use TLS for web and app communications.
• Ensure certificates are valid and updated.

Step 7: Monitor and Audit

• Monitor access to keys and encrypted data.
• Audit logs for unusual activities.

Advanced Considerations and Challenges

Key Distribution and Management

Managing cryptographic keys is often the weakest link in encryption systems. Poor management can lead to compromise regardless of strong encryption.

Performance and Scalability

Encryption adds computational overhead. Balancing security and performance is essential, especially for large-scale systems.

Legal and Compliance Issues

Encryption technologies are subject to export controls, government regulations, and privacy laws such as GDPR.

Quantum Computing Threats

Emerging quantum computers could break current asymmetric encryption algorithms. Research into post-quantum cryptography aims to develop quantum-resistant algorithms.

What is Security?

Security, in the realm of information technology and organizational management, refers to the comprehensive set of strategies, technologies, policies, and practices designed to safeguard digital and physical assets from threats, unauthorized access, damage, or disruption. The overarching goal of security is to protect the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA triad) of data and systems, ensuring that information is accessible only to authorized users, remains accurate and unaltered, and is available whenever needed.

In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, security extends beyond traditional IT boundaries to include physical security, operational security, and cyber security — the protection of networks, devices, programs, and data from attack or unauthorized access. Modern security is dynamic and requires a proactive approach to anticipate emerging threats, identify vulnerabilities, and enforce measures that mitigate risks.

Security encompasses everything from securing simple personal devices to protecting complex, multi-layered corporate networks, cloud infrastructures, and national critical infrastructures. It is a critical pillar for maintaining trust, regulatory compliance, and business continuity.

What are the Major Use Cases of Security?

Security measures find application across virtually every industry and aspect of digital life. Some of the major use cases include:

1. Network Security

Protecting organizational networks from intrusion, denial of service attacks, eavesdropping, and malware propagation. Techniques involve firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), intrusion detection and prevention systems, and segmentation.

2. Data Security and Privacy

Ensuring sensitive information such as personal data, financial records, intellectual property, and trade secrets are encrypted, backed up, and accessible only to authorized users. This includes data masking, encryption at rest and in transit, and stringent access controls.

3. Endpoint Security

Securing user devices such as laptops, smartphones, and IoT devices from malware, ransomware, and unauthorized access using antivirus software, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and device management solutions.

4. Cloud Security

Addressing unique challenges posed by cloud computing environments — including data residency, multi-tenancy, and dynamic resource provisioning — through identity management, encryption, and monitoring cloud workloads.

5. Application Security

Protecting applications during development and deployment by conducting vulnerability assessments, implementing secure coding practices, and using web application firewalls (WAF).

6. Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Verifying and controlling user identities and access rights to systems, applications, and data using multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), and role-based access control (RBAC).

7. Operational Security (OPSEC)

Protecting internal processes, communications, and organizational knowledge that could be exploited by adversaries.

8. Incident Response and Forensics

Planning for and responding to security breaches, performing root cause analysis, and gathering forensic evidence to prevent future incidents.

9. Compliance and Governance

Ensuring adherence to regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and others that mandate specific security controls and reporting standards.

How Security Works Along with Architecture?

Security is implemented through a multi-layered architecture that combines technical, procedural, and administrative controls, often referred to as Defense in Depth. This approach ensures that if one security layer is compromised, others continue to provide protection.

Key Architectural Components:

• Perimeter Security: Includes firewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and gateways that control inbound and outbound network traffic.
• Network Segmentation and Micro-Segmentation: Divides the network into smaller zones, limiting the scope of breaches and enforcing granular access policies.
• Encryption: Applies cryptographic techniques to secure data confidentiality during transmission (TLS/SSL) and storage (AES, RSA).
• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Centralized systems to authenticate users, manage credentials, and enforce authorization policies.
• Endpoint Protection: Agents and software that guard devices against malware, unauthorized access, and data leakage.
• Security Monitoring and Analytics: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems collect and analyze logs and alerts to detect anomalies and threats.
• Cloud Security Architecture: Includes identity federation, encryption key management, and security policy enforcement specific to cloud platforms.
• Incident Detection and Response: Tools and teams dedicated to identifying, containing, and remediating security incidents.

Layers of Security Architecture:

1. Physical Security Layer: Controls physical access to hardware, data centers, and facilities.
2. Network Security Layer: Protects network communication paths.
3. Host Security Layer: Secures individual computers and devices.
4. Application Security Layer: Safeguards software applications.
5. Data Security Layer: Ensures data privacy and integrity.
6. User Layer: Manages human interaction through training and access policies.

Each layer employs complementary controls, policies, and technologies to build a robust security posture.

What are the Basic Workflow of Security?

Security management is a continuous process that involves several critical stages:

1. Risk Assessment

Identify critical assets, assess vulnerabilities and threats, evaluate potential impacts, and prioritize risks.

2. Policy Development

Define security policies, standards, and procedures that align with business goals and compliance requirements.

3. Implementation of Controls

Deploy technical (firewalls, encryption), physical (badges, locks), and administrative (training, audits) controls.

4. Monitoring and Detection

Use real-time monitoring, log analysis, and anomaly detection to identify potential security events.

5. Incident Response

Establish protocols for incident handling including identification, containment, eradication, and recovery.

6. Recovery and Continuity

Ensure systems and operations can resume quickly after disruptions via backups and disaster recovery plans.

7. Audit and Compliance

Regularly audit security controls and processes to ensure effectiveness and regulatory adherence.

8. Continuous Improvement

Incorporate lessons learned and evolving threat intelligence to adapt security measures proactively.

This cyclical workflow enables organizations to stay resilient in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Step by Step Getting Started Guide for Security

Step 1: Define Your Security Scope and Objectives

Start by identifying what data, systems, and processes require protection. Define clear security objectives aligned with organizational goals.

Step 2: Conduct a Comprehensive Risk Assessment

Map out assets, identify vulnerabilities, evaluate threats, and prioritize risks based on likelihood and impact.

Step 3: Develop Security Policies and Frameworks

Create formal policies covering data protection, access control, incident response, and user behavior. Adopt recognized frameworks like NIST or ISO 27001.

Step 4: Implement Security Technologies and Controls

Deploy necessary hardware and software controls, including firewalls, encryption, antivirus, and IAM solutions.

Step 5: Train and Educate Staff

Conduct regular security awareness training to reduce human errors and insider threats.

Step 6: Establish Monitoring and Incident Response Capabilities

Set up systems to detect, analyze, and respond to security events swiftly.

Step 7: Test and Audit Security Posture

Perform penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, and internal audits to identify weaknesses.

Step 8: Maintain and Update Security Measures

Continuously patch systems, update policies, and refine processes in response to emerging threats.

DevOps and DevSecOps can be implemented together by integrating security practices seamlessly into the DevOps lifecycle, ensuring security is a shared responsibility across development, operations, and security teams. DevOps focuses on automating and streamlining collaboration between development and operations to deliver software faster and with higher quality. By adding DevSecOps, security becomes a built-in component rather than an afterthought, leveraging automated tools for vulnerability scanning, code analysis, and compliance checks at every stage of the CI/CD pipeline. This holistic approach enhances software reliability and security while maintaining the agility and speed of DevOps processes. To achieve this, organizations must foster a culture of collaboration, invest in the right tools, and provide continuous training to align teams on both DevOps and security best practices.

Understanding DevOps and DevSecOps

Before delving into their integration, it’s crucial to comprehend the core principles of DevOps and DevSecOps:

• DevOps: Emphasizes collaboration between development and operations teams to automate and accelerate the software delivery process.
• DevSecOps: Integrates security practices into the DevOps pipeline, ensuring that security is a shared responsibility throughout the software development lifecycle.

By understanding these foundations, organizations can better strategize on merging these practices effectively.

Key Strategies for Integrating DevOps and DevSecOps

To successfully implement DevOps and DevSecOps together, consider the following strategies:

• Foster a Security-First Culture: Cultivate an organizational mindset that prioritizes security in every task, from software development to business operations. Palo Alto Networks
• Automate Security Testing: Implement automated security tests within the CI/CD pipeline to identify vulnerabilities early without hindering development speed. Aqua Security
• Continuous Monitoring: Establish real-time monitoring to detect and respond to security threats promptly, maintaining system integrity.
• Collaborative Training: Provide joint training sessions for development, operations, and security teams to ensure a unified understanding of security protocols and best practices.
• Implement Secure Coding Practices: Adopt coding standards that emphasize security, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities in the codebase.

Benefits of Integrating DevOps and DevSecOps

Combining these methodologies offers several advantages:

• Enhanced Security Posture: Proactively addresses security concerns, leading to more robust and secure applications.
• Faster Time-to-Market: Streamlined processes and automated security checks accelerate the development cycle.
• Improved Collaboration: Breaks down silos between teams, fostering a culture of shared responsibility and open communication.
• Cost Efficiency: Early detection of security issues reduces the cost associated with late-stage vulnerability fixes.

Challenges and Solutions

While integrating DevOps and DevSecOps presents challenges, they can be mitigated with appropriate strategies:

• Resistance to Change: Overcome by promoting a culture that values security and continuous improvement.
• Tool Integration: Select compatible tools that facilitate seamless integration of security into the DevOps pipeline.
• Skill Gaps: Address through targeted training programs to equip teams with necessary security competencies.

Integrating DevOps practices into cybersecurity, known as DevSecOps, embeds security throughout the software development lifecycle. This approach fosters collaboration among development, operations, and security teams, leading to the creation of robust and secure applications. By incorporating security measures early in the development process, organizations can proactively identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, ensuring that security is a shared responsibility across all stages of software delivery. This integration not only enhances the overall security posture but also streamlines compliance with regulatory standards, resulting in more resilient and trustworthy software solutions.

The Imperative of Integrating Security into DevOps

Traditional software development models often treat security as a separate phase, typically positioned towards the end of the development cycle. This siloed approach frequently led to delayed releases and overlooked vulnerabilities, as security assessments were conducted too late to address foundational issues effectively. In contrast, DevSecOps emphasizes the integration of security from the project’s inception, ensuring that security considerations are integral to every phase of development. This proactive stance is crucial in today’s environment, where cyber threats are increasingly sophisticated and pervasive.

Key Benefits of DevSecOps

1. Proactive Vulnerability Management: By embedding security checks throughout the development process, teams can identify and address vulnerabilities before they become critical issues. This proactive approach minimizes the risk of security breaches post-deployment.
2. Accelerated Development Cycles: Integrating automated security tools into continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines ensures that security assessments don’t bottleneck the development process. This integration allows for rapid and secure software releases.
3. Enhanced Collaboration: DevSecOps fosters a culture where development, operations, and security teams work collaboratively. This collaboration ensures that security considerations are integral to every phase of the development lifecycle, promoting shared responsibility.
4. Improved Compliance: Continuous monitoring and logging within DevSecOps practices aid in maintaining compliance with industry regulations and standards. Automated compliance checks ensure that applications adhere to necessary security protocols throughout their lifecycle.
5. Cost Efficiency: Addressing security issues during the development phase is often more cost-effective than post-deployment remediation. Early detection and resolution of vulnerabilities reduce potential costs associated with security breaches and system downtimes.

Implementing DevSecOps: Best Practices

• Security as Code: Treat security policies and configurations as code, allowing them to be versioned, reviewed, and tested like any other code component. This practice ensures consistency and reduces human error.
• Automated Security Testing: Incorporate automated security tools into CI/CD pipelines to perform static and dynamic analysis, vulnerability scanning, and compliance checks. Automation ensures that security assessments keep pace with rapid development cycles.
• Continuous Monitoring: Implement real-time monitoring and logging to detect and respond to security threats promptly. Continuous monitoring helps maintain a proactive security posture and facilitates quick incident response.
• Collaborative Culture: Promote a culture of shared responsibility where security is everyone’s concern. Encourage open communication and collaboration between development, operations, and security teams.

Challenges in Adopting DevSecOps

Transitioning to a DevSecOps model presents challenges, including:

• Cultural Resistance: Shifting to a culture where security is a shared responsibility may face resistance from teams accustomed to traditional roles.
• Tool Integration: Selecting and integrating the right security tools into existing workflows can be complex and may require significant effort.
• Skill Gaps: Teams may need training to effectively implement and manage security within DevOps practices.

Addressing these challenges requires a strategic approach, including leadership support, continuous education, and the adoption of flexible tools that align with organizational workflows.

In healthcare, DevOps integrates software development and IT operations to enhance patient care and operational efficiency. By automating processes through continuous integration and delivery, healthcare organizations can swiftly implement digital solutions like telehealth platforms and patient portals, leading to improved patient engagement and satisfaction. DevOps also ensures compliance with stringent healthcare regulations by embedding security measures throughout the development lifecycle, safeguarding sensitive patient data. Additionally, it fosters collaboration among cross-functional teams, streamlining workflows and reducing errors, which is crucial in delivering timely and effective healthcare services.

Understanding DevOps in Healthcare

DevOps, a blend of “Development” and “Operations,” is a methodology that emphasizes collaboration, communication, and integration between software developers and IT operations. In the context of healthcare, DevOps aims to streamline the software delivery process, ensuring that applications are developed, tested, and deployed rapidly and reliably. This approach is particularly crucial in healthcare, where timely access to accurate information can significantly impact patient outcomes.

Benefits of Implementing DevOps in Healthcare

1. Enhanced Collaboration and Communication: DevOps fosters a culture of collaboration between development, operations, and healthcare professionals. This synergy ensures that software solutions are aligned with clinical needs, leading to more effective and user-centric applications.
2. Accelerated Delivery of Services: By automating processes and implementing continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, healthcare organizations can reduce the time required to develop and deploy applications. This agility allows for quicker responses to regulatory changes and evolving patient needs.
3. Improved Quality and Reliability: Automated testing and monitoring ensure that applications are thoroughly vetted before deployment, reducing the likelihood of errors and enhancing system reliability.
4. Scalability and Flexibility: DevOps practices enable healthcare systems to scale efficiently, accommodating increasing patient data and user demands without compromising performance.
5. Enhanced Security and Compliance: Integrating security measures throughout the development process (DevSecOps) ensures that applications comply with healthcare regulations such as HIPAA, safeguarding patient data.

Key Use Cases of DevOps in Healthcare

1. Electronic Health Records (EHR) Management: Maintaining and updating EHR systems is a complex task. DevOps streamlines the development and deployment of EHR software, ensuring that patient records are up-to-date and secure. Frequent updates can address regulatory changes and improve usability. Healthcare – Mindbowser
2. Telemedicine and Remote Monitoring: With the rise of telehealth, continuous updates to telemedicine platforms are essential. DevOps enables rapid feature development and bug fixes, ensuring a seamless and secure experience for patients and healthcare providers. Healthcare – Mindbowser
3. Medical Device Integration: Hospitals rely on various medical devices; integrating them into the healthcare network can be complex. DevOps practices can help automate software testing and deployment for these devices, ensuring they work seamlessly and adhere to safety standards. Healthcare – Mindbowser
4. Healthcare Mobile Applications: Mobile apps for appointment scheduling, medication reminders, and health tracking require frequent updates. DevOps facilitates the quick rollout of new features and security enhancements, improving patient engagement. Healthcare – Mindbowser
5. Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS): CDSS provide healthcare professionals with real-time patient information and treatment recommendations. DevOps supports rapid updates and improved algorithms, enhancing patient care and safety. Healthcare – Mindbowser

Steps to Implement DevOps in Healthcare

1. Continuous Planning: Begin by evaluating operational and development activities, aligning them with DevOps principles. Assess technical resources, security policies, and budget allocations. Engage stakeholders to define clear objectives and expectations.
2. Version Control Implementation: Utilize version control systems to manage code repositories, allowing developers to track changes and collaborate effectively. Tools like Git facilitate streamlined development processes.
3. Continuous Integration (CI): Regularly merge code changes into a central repository, followed by automated builds and testing. CI tools ensure efficient code management and early detection of issues.
4. Automated Testing: Implement automated testing frameworks to validate code changes continuously. This approach ensures that new features do not introduce regressions and that the application remains robust.
5. Continuous Deployment (CD): Automate the release process to deploy applications into production seamlessly. CD ensures that software updates are delivered to users promptly, enhancing the ability to respond to user feedback and changing requirements.
6. Monitoring and Feedback: Establish comprehensive monitoring to track application performance and user interactions. Collect feedback to inform future development cycles, ensuring that the application evolves to meet user needs.

Challenges and Considerations

While DevOps offers numerous benefits, healthcare organizations must navigate challenges such as:

• Regulatory Compliance: Ensuring that all processes and applications comply with healthcare regulations requires meticulous attention and continuous monitoring.
• Cultural Shift: Transitioning to a DevOps culture necessitates changes in organizational mindset, encouraging collaboration and breaking down traditional silos.
• Security Concerns: Integrating security throughout the development process is crucial to protect sensitive patient data and maintain trust.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, integrating cybersecurity into every phase of software development is crucial. DevOps, which combines development and operations, has transformed software delivery by enhancing speed and collaboration. However, the traditional DevOps approach often overlooks security, leading to the emergence of DevSecOps—a methodology that embeds security practices within the DevOps process.This integration ensures that security is a shared responsibility, enhancing the overall security posture of organizations.

Understanding DevSecOps

DevSecOps extends the principles of DevOps by incorporating security measures throughout the software development lifecycle. Instead of treating security as an isolated phase, DevSecOps integrates it into continuous integration and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines, promoting a culture where security is everyone’s responsibility. This proactive approach helps in identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities early in the development process, reducing risks and enhancing compliance.

Benefits of Integrating DevOps and Cybersecurity

1. Early Detection of Vulnerabilities: By embedding security into the development process, teams can identify and address vulnerabilities during the early stages, reducing the likelihood of security breaches.
2. Accelerated Software Delivery: Integrating security measures into DevOps workflows streamlines processes, allowing for faster and more secure software releases.
3. Improved Collaboration: DevSecOps fosters collaboration among development, operations, and security teams, breaking down silos and promoting a unified approach to security.
4. Cost Efficiency: Addressing security issues early in the development cycle is more cost-effective than post-release fixes, leading to significant savings.
5. Enhanced Compliance: Continuous monitoring and automated compliance checks ensure adherence to industry standards and regulations.

Implementing DevSecOps: Best Practices

• Automate Security Testing: Incorporate automated security tools within the CI/CD pipeline to perform regular scans and tests, ensuring continuous security validation.
• Continuous Monitoring: Implement real-time monitoring to detect and respond to security threats promptly, maintaining system integrity.
• Security Training: Provide regular training for development and operations teams to keep them updated on the latest security practices and threat landscapes.
• Adopt a Zero Trust Model: Implement the principle of least privilege and enforce strict access controls to minimize potential attack surfaces.
• Regular Audits and Compliance Checks: Conduct periodic security audits and ensure compliance with relevant regulations to maintain a robust security posture.

Challenges in Integrating Security into DevOps

While the benefits are substantial, integrating security into DevOps presents challenges:

• Cultural Resistance: Shifting to a security-focused mindset requires cultural change, which can encounter resistance within teams.
• Tool Integration: Selecting and integrating appropriate security tools that align with existing DevOps workflows can be complex.
• Skill Gaps: Ensuring that all team members possess the necessary security expertise demands ongoing training and development.

Italy plans to set up a national agency tasked with combating cyber attacks as it continues work on its unified cloud infrastructure.

The country is one of many European nations attempting to enhance their cybersecurity capabilities.

Many aspects of Italy’s digital security, which are dispersed among various Ministers and state bodies, are to be brought together under the authority of the Prime Minister.

The general director and his deputy will be appointed for four years, according to a draft decree reportedly seen by Reuters. Their mandate can only be renewed once.

The new agency will involve six departments and will, in the first instance, be staffed by 300 employees, with the intention of boosting this number to 800 by 2027.

In April 2021, the Italian Government delivered a 2,500-page recovery plan tothe European Commission, which detailed an intention to utilise new cloud technology for public administration to increase security.

The plan would need investment from the EU with about €900 million apparently earmarked for it.

The project would also involve overseas tech companies, Innovation Minister Vittorio Colao announced in May.

With American-owned Amazon, Google and Microsoft being the world’s major cloud players, concerns over potential surveillance had been raised due to the adoption of the U.S. CLOUD Act of 2018.

Italy intends to create the cloud infrastructure through a public-private partnership, which will be implemented by a European tender.

On May 12, 2021 President Biden issued Executive Order 14028, also known as the Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity. This EO covers a lot of ground, and like all executive orders, it instructs agencies of the U.S. Federal Government to perform specific actions. What it doesn’t do is appropriate funding or create industry mandates. That’ll come later, once some of the plenary stages of the EO are complete.

Despite this, I’m confident that EO 14028 could be as impactful to cybersecurity as GDPR was to data privacy. I’m also confident that the EO has the attention of business leaders who are trying to figure out what it means to them and their teams—DevOps professionals. While the EO has no underlying mandate to private businesses or those located outside the U.S., it does outline a reasonable set of cybersecurity best practices that can be reasonably interpreted as a call to action for greater transparency.

In this article I’m going to use the terms supplier and buyer, but I don’t mean to imply that money needs to change hands; only that there are producers of software (suppliers) and consumers of software (buyers). If there is one supplier and one buyer, the software supply chain has one link. If that supplier is also a buyer, the chain has two links. For most software, there are many suppliers; in these cases, the supply chain isn’t so much a length of links but more of a mesh of interconnected links.

The 2021 Synopsys OSSRA report showed that the average audited application had over 500 dependencies, so that mesh is quite complex—to the point where the security practices used anywhere in the mesh are often obscure, at best. It’s this obscurity that attackers can exploit, which is why one of the key tenants of the EO is transparency.

As anyone charged with operating a piece of software knows, the security testing performed by a supplier isn’t really obvious, but, as a buyer, you assume the supplier has done the right things when it comes to security. But how do you know? Do you know where the code originated from? Do you know what security targets were used by the supplier? If an attacker is actively compromising the application, how would you know?

These are all very good questions that are reflected in the EO, to varying degrees. Those questions also belie the reality that suppliers test software. Suppliers do, of course, test their software, but what testing techniques did they use and how effective are/were their tools? And, more importantly, how can you confirm that the mitigations and fixes applied to address identified defects were effective for your deployment scenario? After all, it’s not like every supplier is going to provide you with full access to their source code.

This is where things become quite actionable for DevOps teams that have embraced the principles of operational feedback mechanisms. For those needing a bit of a refresher, that’s the part of the DevOps mobius where lessons learned operating software are fed back into the next iteration of the development flow. Let’s look at two pieces of operational feedback that are mentioned in the EO: least privilege and log management.

Log management features prominently in the EO in part because logs enable an understanding of how an application is operating. If a supplier provides detailed information about the log structure and flows, it then becomes possible to build alerts in log aggregation services and SIEMs as indications of unexpected operation. That’s the proactive model the EO embraces—as opposed to forensic postmortem log analysis following a breach—but this requires the supplier to provide insights into the log data indicating that the system became compromised. Of course, to provide that type of data, the supplier must have tested their system software in a manner that allows such a log template to be created.

We’ve heard that software should be developed using principles of “least privilege” for years, but if you’ve ever been asked to run an application as root or had a supplier not detail the precise network ports required by the application, you know there is still work to be done there. The EO specifically calls out cybersecurity techniques like multifactor authentication and zero-trust network access as ways to achieve granular control over how applications operate.

It is, however, the coverage of Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) that could have the greatest impact for DevOps teams. In effect, the EO stated that suppliers need to tell buyers the origin of all code within an application. While the EO doesn’t specify the elements of an appropriate SBOM, it does instruct NIST to publish the minimum elements of an acceptable SBOM within 45 days of the EO. When combined with the sections on how build environments are created and managed and the security transparency elements elsewhere in the EO, it’s clear that the EO intends to raise greater awareness of how software is created, patched and maintained.

In the end, Executive Order 14028 sets a high bar for cybersecurity in general—one where everyone involved in the creation and operation of software will need to up their game. I’ve said for years that it’s impossible to patch something you don’t know you’re running, and that remains true. What must be added is that you also can’t reliably secure something when you don’t know how well each component was tested. The EO is prompting us all to take a step toward solving that problem.

Despite all the talk of cybersecurity capabilities being built in versus bolted on, security remains an afterthought for a vast majority of digital transformation activities such as mobility, cloud services and customer experience programs.
Too often, security is seen as slowing down a project rather than enabling its success, and with time pressure to get a project up and running, the lack of sound security considerations is a problem for organisations striving for true business resilience.

Ensuring that cyber risk management is part of your business resilience plan is not something that can be added after the event. It must be included from the outset and embedded across the organisation, from your technologies right through to your culture. Today, the pressure in the digital economy is to be ‘always on’, offering a continuously available service to customers. And that means that – more than protecting the enterprise – the challenge now is to ensure its resilience.

Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. They help you standardise across environments, develop cloud-native applications, and integrate, automate, secure, and manage complex environments with award-winning support, training, and consulting services.

Through Red Hat’s services, your business will be able to combine business continuity planning with risk management planning to better navigate disruptive change and protect shareholder value, this spills over into being strategic about cloud migration too.

As the world becomes more turbulent, organizations need to accelerate their business resilience planning.
As organisations continue to expand their digital footprint, the risks associated with digital business are increasing in quantity and complexity and the need to provide continuously available services to customers requires organizations to become more reliable and more resilient.

As organizations rapidly adopt cloud networks, due to flexibility, scalability, cost effectiveness and more, security needs to be at the front and centre. It is against this background that the virtual Cloud & Security Forum 2020 is designed to assist in driving an impartial and informed dialogue in the rapidly evolving information security industry. The virtual event will unfold on the 18th and 19th of March.

Having continued to create an environment for making new connections, the summit with visionary speakers at the nexus of new technologies and cyber security solutions purposes to share their insights and demonstrate their ability to safeguard customer data.

From new applications being consistently added to networks to employees taking access control shortcuts and credentials being compromised, it is clear that there are endless vulnerabilities to detect and manage.

As the majority of businesses are increasingly moving to the online world, employees keep working remotely and more cyberattacks keep happening all over the globe, there is no doubt that embracing DevSecOps should be the new normal for every company. Organizations need to be able to adopt DevSecOps practices and adapt to new and evolving threats in order to protect their data and systems from malicious attacks.

At Cybersecurity 2021: The New Normal Virtual Summit, taking place March 4 and 5, the brightest minds in the security and IT industry will come together to discuss new security threats, empower DevOps teams with the latest security tools and provide practical tips and guidance to help developers and ops teams make the right security decisions to keep their data secure.

The two-day virtual event features thought-provoking discussions, networking opportunities and educational sessions focused on:

DevSecOps tools and practices
The main challenges of security and development teams when it comes to AppSec
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Passwordless and the long-term future of identity management
Policy-as-Code and how it impacts security
How security threats changed with COVID-19 and what to expect in 2021
How to manage AppSec
How to mitigate API vulnerabilities
How to break the silos and advance towards DevSecOps maturity
How to expand your security program through low-to-no cost initiatives
Time series database for security monitoring
Machine identity management
Top 10 Hacks From the Past Decade
Runtime observability techniques for security and compliance
Securing AWS credentials on DevOps machines
Cybersecurity 2021 features an outstanding lineup of industry leaders, including:

Ira Winkler, author and president at Secure Mentem
Chenxi Wang, founder and general partner at Rain Capital
Ron Gula, president at Gula Tech Adventures
Richard Stiennon, founding member of The Analyst Syndicate and chief research analyst at IT-Harvest
Joe Levy, CTO at Sophos
Rajat Bhargava, founder and CEO at JumpCloud
Myla Pilao, head of security research communications for TrendLabs at Trend Micro
Upasna Gupta, senior product marketing manager for Prisma Cloud at Palo Alto Networks
Julian Waits, general manager of cyber business unit and public sector at Devo
Joseph Feiman, chief strategy officer at WhiteHat Security
Ian Murphy, founder and CEO at CyberOff
Mike Jones, security researcher at H4unt3d Hacker Podcast
Rhys Arkins, director of product management at WhiteSource
TJ Jermoluk, co-founder and CEO at Beyond Identity
Jim Ducharme, general manager of the anti-fraud business unit at RSA
Attendees will have the chance to enter a raffle for a chance to win a free copy of “You can Stop Stupid” by Ira Winkler and another one for a free copy of “Security Yearbook 2020” by Richard Stiennon. There will be valuable resources available for download and attendees will be able to interact with sponsors to learn more about their security tools and services.

The biggest challenge we face, is the lack of our ability to come together. Because of this, the technology industry has seen a major shift toward cloud computing. Defined as a web-based computing model, cloud computing allows users to share information with other devices and computers instantly. This can allow multiple people to access the same files and data with minimal effort and can also give users the option to easily store large amounts of data.

The way the cloud works is quite simple and very cost-effective. Rather than investing in expensive hardware or renting that hardware from an enterprise data center, you pay to access the huge pool of cloud resources available from, in this case, Microsoft. These resources allow your business to host email and web servers, store files and data, create virtual machines and applications, and much more.

As your business grows and you require more resources, you simply purchase more from the cloud. No need to upgrade or maintain existing hardware or increase floor space and electricity costs. Everything in the cloud is done remotely, from basic email hosting to running applications and complex data analysis, which means the demands on your local computers and network are significantly reduced. All you need to be able to do on-premise is run your cloud platform from a reliable internet connection – the platform itself will handle everything else, leaving you free to focus on critical business activities.

These days, many businesses take advantage of the convenience offered through cloud platforms. The second-largest cloud service provider is Microsoft Azure. As a computing platform, it also functions as an online portal that can be used to manage and access various services and resources that Microsoft offers. With over 200 products and cloud services, MS Azure can help your business to build, run and manage applications across multiple locations and on-premises through the cloud, customized to your business needs. This huge range of cloud services for every type of business to streamline and scale their operations, without the need for physical infrastructure, maintenance or upfront costs. Instead, you have full control of the price and pay only for what you use. Microsoft Azure puts your cloud services in your hands and gives you the tools you need to manage, grow and improve your business from anywhere.

Retire your local servers when you move all your server functions to the cloud with less physical infrastructure to manage.

Pay only for what you use so your company can scale and grow without any large capital investments. You have total control over your costs each month with predictable monthly fees and can easily adjust your usage and capacity on demand to suit your budget. Azure can spin-up or spin-down services as needed, so you are not paying for resources when not in use, like your line of business applications and file access (weekends/evenings, etc.). The key is the set-up from your IT Provider. With Azure, you can save up to 25% when you prepay.

With all your key business applications and data in the cloud, you minimize your risk of downtime and you are spontaneously protected when disaster strikes. Downtime is limited to a matter of hours, not days, and your staff and remote users have permanent access no matter what.

Build, monitor and maintain your Azure cloud solution to ensure optimal performance continuously with ongoing monitoring and support from your Microsoft Azure Specialist. You can rest easy knowing your IT infrastructure is in expert hands while you focus on what is important for your business.

Cost, security, speed, scalability and productivity are the main benefits of using cloud computing through Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft Azure offers a range of flexible pricing options to suit businesses and cloud environments of every size. There are no upfront costs – in fact, you can get started with Microsoft Azure for free for 30 days in certain circumstances, then pay only for what you consume.

Products and services are priced individually, making it easy for your IT team or Provider to pick and choose the resources you need and scale up as your business grows. You will want to carefully analyze and select the right plans for performance (CPU), redundancy, memory, hard drive type (solid state for performance-disk access), and storage capacity.

Together with a team of more than 3,500 Microsoft Azure cybersecurity experts working to protect your business assets and data, you can also continually monitor your security and get deeper insights from Microsoft Azure’s built-in Security Center. Here you can get a consolidated view of your cloud health, apply policies to comply with security standards and best practices, fix common misconfigurations, and analyze security data to ensure you are ahead of any threats.

Microsoft Azure also gives you the ability to secure your resources with identity management and security features such as multi-factor authentication, identity protection, access review, conditional access, and a key vault to encrypt and store passwords, keys and other confidential information.

Build, monitor and maintain your Azure cloud solution to ensure optimal performance continuously with ongoing monitoring and support from your Microsoft Azure Specialist. You can rest easy knowing your IT infrastructure is in expert hands while you focus on what is important for your business.

Trend Micro announced the world’s first cloud-native, fully serverless file storage security tool for organizations building applications in the cloud. Trend Micro Cloud One – File Storage Security is designed to mitigate threats across the cloud environment and support strict compliance requirements.

The explosion of cloud-based file and object storage presents a new attack vector for threat actors to target with malicious files. Cloud One – File Storage Security provides automated anti-malware scanning to keep information safe and ease compliance needs.

“Global organizations are increasingly looking to public cloud providers to drive IT agility, cost savings and business growth. But while the provider deals with security of the cloud, the customer is responsible for everything inside their cloud environment,” said Mark Nunnikhoven, vice president of cloud research for Trend Micro.

“This is a highly scalable, automated scanning tool that’s fast to deploy with no added infrastructure, allowing organizations to confidently store cloud files and data associated with their cloud applications.”

Backed by Trend Micro’s 30+ years of cybersecurity experience and industry leading threat intelligence, the tool blocks known bad files, and looks for hidden or changing malware variants.

The scanner itself is a lightweight, cloud-native serverless function that’s designed for minimal operational overhead. This architecture enables fast, seamless deployment and flexible integration with organizations’ existing custom workflows for added value.

The tool supports various compliance requirements that call for anti-malware scanning of cloud files while maintaining data sovereignty.

Trend Micro Cloud One – File Storage Security is available now for AWS S3, with support for Microsoft Azure Blob storage and Google Cloud Storage coming soon.

Using Trend Micro’s Cloud One platform, teams can implement a range of security services and compliance checks without hindering agile cloud development and deployment. This single cloud-native security seamlessly complements and integrates with existing AWS, Microsoft Azure, VMware, and Google Cloud toolsets.

SAN RAMON, CALIFORNIA, USA, December 15, 2020 — Kovair Software, one of the leaders in software tools integrations and a leading provider of value stream management platform (VSMP) solutions for enterprise IT, has improved its security posture by enforcing secure coding practices by working with Veracode, the largest global provider of application security testing (AST) solutions. Kovair integrates Veracode in its industry-leading Kovair DevOps platform to allow it to launch security vulnerability assessments continuously in software lifecycle, with the necessary management dashboards required for compliance and governance.

The Kovair VSMP DevOps platform provides enterprises with the CI/CD functionality necessary to deploy applications to any platform at scale. It delivers a task-based pipeline for orchestration of release activities, build & deployment of automation functions with real-time analytics, and now can launch DevSecOps functions with Veracode earlier in the development process, and continuously for new change requests. These pipelines are designed to meet the unique needs of implementing continuous delivery, helping companies manage applications, deployed in the heterogeneous environments like on-premise or cloud, as well within legacy applications lifecycle management (ALM to modern DevSecOps delivery.

“We are thrilled to have achieved Veracode integration for Kovair DevOps. Enterprise DevOps is a form of rapid software delivery, bringing momentum to agility and helping organizations reduce time to market with built-in quality. Kovair’s VSMP for DevSecOps is centered around the concept of continuous delivery pipelines achieved through automation of different activities involved in the delivery cycle, with comprehensive application security testing solutions from Veracode, for security vulnerability detection. This integration will help customers achieve a highly reliable and rapid path to an enterprise-ready DevSecOps solution, with the required governance metrics,” said Bipin Shah, Chairman and CEO of Kovair Software.

Veracode provides an innovative platform that empowers developers and security teams to work together to achieve DevSecOps, frequently scanning their applications and to find and fix flaws, earlier in the lifecycle. An effective DevSecOps approach enabled by this integration, allows organizations to reduce the risk of data breaches, increase the speed of secure software delivery, meet compliance requirements, and cost effectively secure their software.

“Organizations need the ability to continuously deliver secure software while making it easy for developers to integrate security into their workflows,” said Ryan Lloyd, Vice President of Product Management, Veracode. “By integrating Veracode’s solutions, Kovair is helping organizations meet their security and compliance requirements with fast, automated tools delivering repeatable and actionable results that don’t slow developers down by needlessly adding steps to the software lifecycle.”

“CIOs and software architects should explore Kovair’s VSMP for DevSecOps solutions, and Kovair’s Enterprise iPaaS -integration Platform as a Service Omnibus, all supporting encrypted, secure, integrated and automated solutions. Our newest solutions support complete workflow automation, security vulnerability assessments, product lifecycle management, and process compliance seamlessly integrated within the Kovair partner ecosystem,” said Akshay Sharma, CTO, Kovair Software, and former Senior Analyst at Gartner Research, Inc.

“We believe that with Kovair’s newest VSM platform for DevSecOps, organizations will not only have a complete visibility of the flow metrics for every project/release but also will have a complete visibility into the triple constraints – Cost, Time & Resources – of the entire portfolio, now with integrated security vulnerability assessments. In this competitive market, Kovair’s VSM Platform provides insight to organizations to ensure process compliance and security vulnerability detection throughout their journey of continuous delivery of solutions,” said Amit Dasgupta, Director of Solutions & Partnerships, Kovair Software.

Kovair:
Kovair Software is a Silicon Valley software products company specializing in the domain of Integrated Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and DevOps solutions and supports global software development and management. Kovair’s focus on integrating third-party best-of-breed ALM tools and other applications enable the creation of software in a synchronized tools environment through its Omnibus Integration Platform. Now with its introduction of DevSecOps capabilities, it has a full offering of software development tools in multiple domains.

Kovair’s flagship products Omnibus Integration Platform, ALM Studio, QuickSync, and Kovair PPM, are highly preferred solutions by some of the major corporations globally.

Why Cloud Security Reading Still Matters

Cloud environments are not secure by default. Misconfigured S3 buckets, over-permissive IAM roles, unencrypted data in transit, and weak secrets management are recurring causes of real-world breaches. Whether you run workloads on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud Platform, understanding the underlying security principles — not just the vendor dashboards — is what separates a reactive team from a proactive one.

Books offer something documentation and blog posts rarely do: a structured, end-to-end treatment of a subject. The titles below range from vendor-neutral fundamentals to practitioner-focused guides on cloud-native security architecture. They are suitable for beginners building a foundation and for experienced engineers looking to formalise or deepen their knowledge.

What to Look for in a Cloud Security Book

Before committing time to a book, consider the following criteria:

• Publication date: Cloud services evolve rapidly. A book more than three to four years old may reference deprecated services or outdated compliance frameworks. Prioritise recent editions or books that focus on durable principles over specific console walkthroughs.
• Author credibility: Look for practitioners with demonstrable experience — security architects, penetration testers, or engineers who have built and defended production cloud environments.
• Coverage of the shared responsibility model: Any credible cloud security book should clearly explain what the cloud provider secures versus what the customer is responsible for. This model underpins everything else.
• Practical exercises: Lab-based or hands-on chapters accelerate retention and give you directly applicable skills.
• Multi-cloud or platform-specific focus: Decide whether you need a vendor-neutral treatment (useful for architects and decision-makers) or a deep dive into a specific platform (useful for engineers operating daily in AWS, Azure, or GCP).

Core Topic Areas Worth Prioritising

A well-rounded cloud security reading list should cover the following domains. Use this as a checklist when evaluating which gaps in your knowledge to fill next:

Identity and Access Management (IAM)

Excessive permissions and poorly scoped roles are among the most exploited attack surfaces in cloud environments. Books and resources in this area cover least-privilege design, role-based access control (RBAC), attribute-based access control (ABAC), federation, single sign-on (SSO), and privileged access management (PAM).

Network Security in the Cloud

Traditional perimeter-based security does not translate directly to cloud-native architectures. Core concepts include virtual private clouds (VPCs), security groups, network access control lists (NACLs), private endpoints, zero-trust networking, and micro-segmentation.

Data Protection and Encryption

Encryption at rest and in transit, key management services (KMS), secrets management tools (HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault), and data classification frameworks are essential knowledge for anyone handling sensitive workloads in the cloud.

Compliance and Governance

Regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and SOC 2 impose specific technical and organisational controls. Understanding how cloud services map to these frameworks — and where responsibility remains with the customer — is critical for compliance-driven teams.

Incident Response and Threat Detection

Cloud environments generate large volumes of logs and telemetry. Books in this area cover SIEM integration, cloud-native logging services (AWS CloudTrail, Azure Monitor, GCP Cloud Audit Logs), threat detection, and incident response playbooks tailored to cloud scenarios.

DevSecOps and Secure CI/CD

Shifting security left means integrating static analysis, dependency scanning, container image scanning, and infrastructure-as-code (IaC) policy checks into the development pipeline. This is increasingly a required competency for platform and DevOps engineers, not just security specialists.

Building Your Reading List: A Suggested Approach

Rather than reading exhaustively, map books to your current role and the most pressing security risks in your environment:

1. Assess your knowledge gaps. Use a framework such as the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix or the MITRE ATT&CK Cloud matrix to identify where your understanding is weakest.
2. Match books to gaps. Select titles that directly address those areas rather than reading generalist books cover to cover.
3. Combine reading with practice. Set up a personal cloud lab (free-tier accounts on AWS, Azure, or GCP are sufficient for most exercises) to apply concepts as you read.
4. Revisit titles as services evolve. Check whether newer editions exist before starting a book you last read two or more years ago.

Supplementary Resources Beyond Books

Books are one component of a broader learning strategy. Pair your reading with:

• Vendor security documentation: AWS Well-Architected Framework Security Pillar, Microsoft Azure Security Benchmark, and Google Cloud Security Foundations Blueprint are all freely available and regularly updated.
• Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) publications: The CSA publishes guidance documents, research papers, and the Cloud Controls Matrix at no cost.
• Certification study materials: Certifications such as AWS Certified Security – Specialty, CCSP (Certified Cloud Security Professional), and CompTIA Cloud+ come with structured syllabi that complement book-based learning.
• Threat intelligence feeds and breach post-mortems: Reading real-world incident reports (many published by cloud vendors and security firms) reinforces the practical relevance of what you read in books.

Final Thoughts

Cloud security is not a one-time certification or a single book. It is an ongoing discipline that requires continuous learning as attack surfaces shift and cloud providers introduce new services. Building a deliberate reading habit — even one chapter per week — compounds into significant expertise over time. Start with the domain most relevant to your current work, apply what you learn in a lab environment, and expand from there.

If your organisation lacks in-house cloud security expertise, consider evaluating managed security service providers (MSSPs) with proven cloud practices as a complementary measure while your team builds capability.

What Is MuseDev Muse?

MuseDev announced the early access availability of Muse, a code analysis tool distributed as a GitHub App. Muse is designed to integrate security scanning directly into the pull request workflow, surfacing cybersecurity issues at the point where code changes are proposed — before they reach production.

The tool is positioned as a DevSecOps enabler: rather than relying on a separate security team to audit code after deployment, Muse brings automated security analysis into the hands of the developers doing the work.

The Problem Muse Aims to Solve

Security defects found after an application reaches production are significantly more expensive to fix than those caught during development. Despite broad awareness of this cost, many organizations still lack the tooling to make security analysis a natural part of the development workflow.

Existing code analysis tools used by dedicated security teams tend to produce long lists of vulnerabilities without giving developers sufficient context to understand, prioritize, or remediate the issues. This disconnect between security output and developer workflow is a major barrier to DevSecOps adoption.

How Muse Works

Muse operates through a component called MuseBot, which automatically analyzes each pull request submitted to a connected GitHub repository. Results are delivered as inline code review comments directly in GitHub — the same interface developers already use for peer code reviews.

• Pull request integration: MuseBot triggers on each PR and posts findings as review comments, keeping security feedback in context.
• Fast turnaround: According to MuseDev CEO Stephen Magill, analysis completes in approximately 20 minutes, allowing teams to address findings within the same workflow cycle rather than waiting for an external security report.
• Reduced false positives: Muse bundles and customizes a set of established open source analysis tools — including ErrorProne, Infer, and Pyre — and configures them specifically to reduce alert noise.
• Open API: An open API allows organizations to customize the platform to fit their specific tooling and policy requirements.

Tooling Under the Hood

Rather than building a new analysis engine from scratch, MuseDev curates and configures existing, well-regarded static analysis tools:

• ErrorProne — a Java static analysis tool developed by Google that catches common programming mistakes at compile time.
• Infer — a static analysis tool from Meta (Facebook) that detects bugs such as null pointer exceptions, memory leaks, and concurrency issues in Java, C, C++, and Objective-C.
• Pyre — a performant type checker for Python developed by Meta.

The value-add from MuseDev lies in the curation, configuration, and integration layer that makes these tools produce actionable, low-noise results inside the GitHub pull request experience.

Pricing and Availability

At the time of announcement, MuseDev outlined the following availability tiers:

• Free for open source and public repositories: MuseDev committed to keeping Muse permanently free for open source projects and public GitHub repositories.
• Free for private repositories: Analysis of private repositories was also offered at no cost during the early access period.
• Self-hosted Enterprise edition: A private beta of a self-hosted version supporting GitHub, Bitbucket, and GitLab was available, with general availability targeted for the end of 2020.
• Professional services: MuseDev also offered a professional services team to assist organizations with implementation and configuration.

Company Background

MuseDev was spun out of Galois, a research and development firm specializing in high-assurance cybersecurity. That lineage reflects an emphasis on rigorous, research-backed approaches to security analysis rather than purely commercial tooling.

The Broader DevSecOps Context

DevSecOps — the practice of integrating security into every stage of the software development lifecycle — has been a widely discussed goal for several years. However, organizational adoption has lagged behind the rhetoric. Tools like Muse represent an attempt to close that gap by meeting developers where they already work rather than requiring new processes or separate tooling ecosystems.

By surfacing findings as pull request comments rather than as separate security reports, tools in this category reduce the friction that has historically kept security feedback siloed from development teams. If the tooling is good enough and the noise level low enough, bottom-up adoption by individual development teams becomes a realistic path — even without a top-down mandate from security leadership.

Bennett University Adds Data Science and Cloud Computing Tracks to BCA Programme

Bennett University, based in Greater Noida, India, announced the launch of a Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA) programme with two dedicated specializations starting from the 2020–21 academic year:

• BCA (Data Science)
• BCA (Cloud Computing & Cyber Security)

The move reflects growing industry demand for graduates who can step into technical roles in data engineering, cloud infrastructure, and security without requiring extensive post-graduation training.

Integrated Industry Certifications

A distinguishing feature of the programme is the integration of professional certifications directly into the three-year curriculum. Students are expected to earn three certifications drawn from the following domains:

• Cloud Computing
• Cybersecurity
• Data Science
• Web Technologies
• Artificial Intelligence

The programme is structured so that students complete approximately one certification per academic year, meaning graduates enter the job market already holding recognized credentials in their chosen specialization area.

Curriculum Design and Industry Alignment

The stated focus of the programme is an industry-ready curriculum that combines core computer science fundamentals with applied skills in emerging technologies. Key design principles include:

• Early technology adoption: Students are exposed to current and near-future technology stacks from the first year, rather than covering only foundational theory before specializing late in the degree.
• Employer skill alignment: The curriculum is designed with reference to skills explicitly sought by hiring organizations, with the goal of minimizing the gap between graduation and workplace readiness.
• Practical learning activities: Customized training sessions, workshops, hackathons, and student competitions are built into the programme to complement classroom instruction.
• CXO lecture series: Exposure to industry leadership through a dedicated series of talks from senior executives is included to broaden students’ professional perspective.

Centers of Excellence Supporting the Programme

Bennett University has established dedicated Centers of Excellence (CoE) intended to support hands-on research and applied learning. According to the announcement, these centers cover areas including:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Data Science
• Robotics and Automation
• Cybersecurity

These facilities are presented as providing students access to specialized infrastructure and expertise beyond what a standard BCA programme would typically offer.

Why This Matters for the DevOps and Cloud Ecosystem

Programmes like this signal a broader shift in undergraduate computing education in India toward specialization-first curriculum models. For the DevOps and cloud engineering community, this trend is relevant for several reasons:

• Graduates entering cloud and DevOps roles with prior certifications (such as those from AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud) reduce onboarding time and training costs for employers.
• Cybersecurity being paired with cloud computing reflects real-world practice, where security is expected to be embedded in infrastructure design rather than treated as a separate concern.
• Data Science specialization at the undergraduate level produces candidates who can support data pipeline work that increasingly overlaps with platform and infrastructure engineering roles.

For hiring managers and engineering leads evaluating candidates from programmes like this, the key question remains whether the specific certifications and practical projects completed during the degree align with the actual tooling and workflows used in a given organization.

For more information about Bennett University’s BCA programme, refer to the original report on news.careers360.com.

Background: Why Election Security Monitoring Matters

Election infrastructure — including voter registration systems, voter information portals, and back-office administrative networks — represents a high-value target for foreign adversaries and cybercriminals. For years, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has worked alongside state and local governments and the non-profit Center for Internet Security (CIS) to monitor the security of election-related data and detect threats before they can cause damage.

What Is Albert Network Monitoring?

Albert is a network security monitoring system developed and operated by CIS. It works by examining internet traffic and connection attempts on networks owned and managed by election officials. Albert sensors are designed to surface both basic and advanced network threats, including:

• Attempted intrusions by foreign state-sponsored actors
• Attacks by cybercriminals targeting election infrastructure
• Malicious traffic patterns and anomalous connection attempts

Data collected by Albert sensors is forwarded in near-real-time to the CIS Security Operations Center (SOC), which is staffed around the clock by expert cybersecurity analysts. This continuous monitoring gives election officials timely alerts so they can respond quickly to potential threats.

The Problem: Albert and Cloud Computing Were Not Compatible

Despite the effectiveness of the Albert monitoring system, a significant gap existed: Albert sensors were not compatible with major cloud computing platforms such as Microsoft Azure. This forced election officials into a difficult trade-off. They could either:

• Migrate workloads to the cloud and gain scalability, cost savings, and built-in cloud security capabilities — but lose Albert’s specialized election-security monitoring; or
• Keep data on local, on-premises servers and retain Albert monitoring — but forgo the operational and security advantages of modern cloud infrastructure.

For resource-constrained county and state election offices, this was a meaningful barrier to modernization.

The Solution: Microsoft Azure Becomes Albert-Compatible

In June 2020, Microsoft and CIS announced a partnership to resolve this compatibility gap. Through collaborative engineering work between Microsoft’s Azure Global engineering team and CIS’s engineering team — in partnership with Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program — Microsoft Azure became compatible with Albert network monitoring sensors for the first time.

This integration means election officials can now host election-related workloads on Microsoft Azure while still receiving the real-time network security monitoring and threat alerting that Albert provides. They no longer have to choose between cloud capabilities and specialized election security oversight.

Pilot Program: Starting With Florida Counties

The initial rollout of this capability began as a pilot with 14 county Supervisors of Elections in Florida. The pilot was intended to validate the integration in a real-world election environment before broader availability. According to the announcement, Microsoft and CIS planned to extend the capability to additional states and jurisdictions across the United States following the pilot phase.

What This Means for Election Officials and DevOps Teams

For DevOps and infrastructure teams supporting election offices, this integration changes the architectural calculus in several practical ways:

• Cloud migration is no longer a security downgrade: Moving voter registration or election management systems to Azure no longer means losing specialized network threat monitoring.
• Centralized SOC visibility extends to cloud workloads: The CIS SOC can monitor cloud-hosted election infrastructure the same way it monitors on-premises networks, maintaining consistent analyst coverage.
• Operational benefits of cloud are preserved: Teams can take advantage of Azure’s elasticity, managed services, compliance certifications, and built-in DDoS protection alongside Albert’s election-specific monitoring.
• Reduced operational burden on local IT staff: Smaller county election offices with limited IT resources can offload infrastructure management to cloud providers without sacrificing federally-supported security monitoring.

Broader Context: Securing Election Infrastructure

This partnership is one component of a larger ecosystem of efforts to harden U.S. election infrastructure. CISA, the Election Assistance Commission, state election offices, and technology vendors have all been increasing investment in election cybersecurity since at least 2016. Making cloud platforms compatible with established monitoring tools like Albert represents a pragmatic approach — extending proven security controls into modern infrastructure rather than requiring election offices to choose between security and modernity.

The announcement noted that Microsoft intended to share further details in subsequent months about additional work to help secure the 2020 elections and future elections in the United States and internationally.

Key Takeaways

• CIS’s Albert Network Monitoring system provides near-real-time threat detection for election infrastructure, feeding into a 24/7 staffed SOC.
• Prior to this partnership, Albert sensors were incompatible with cloud platforms, forcing election offices to choose between cloud benefits and Albert monitoring.
• Microsoft Azure is now compatible with Albert, eliminating that trade-off for the first time.
• The capability launched as a pilot with 14 Florida county election offices in June 2020, with plans for broader U.S. availability.
• The integration was produced by joint engineering work between Microsoft’s Azure Global team, CIS, and Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program.

How many defects has it found? Never mind that, check out the architecture flow chart

Altran – in association with Microsoft – has pushed out an open source project to find code defects via AI whenever you commit code.

It is easy to see why Microsoft is keen. This is a self-managed service where you download the code and purchase Azure resources on which to host it. The project from Altran – a consulting and software engineering firm that’s part of Capgemini – uses two Azure Web Apps (one for the UI and one for the API); an Azure virtual network, VPN gateway and virtual network security group; Azure container registry; Azure MariaDB database service; and a container for scheduling the prediction code. Not to mention, it also includes Azure Application Insights for that all-important traffic analysis.

The UI web app is to be configured with two P1v2 Linux plans, each setting you back around £61 per month, and the AI web app with two P2V2 Linux plans at around £123.00 each per month. The MariaDB database is 4 vCores at £221 per month – so you are paying £600 per month before adding in storage costs, virtual network gateway and so on. The code and installation instructions are on GitHub here. The guide explains everything you need to know about deploying the application, but nothing much about how to use it.

The way the system appears to work is that a bug detection model is trained by inspecting open source GitHub projects, including the history of reported bugs in the codebase. Then, say the docs rather vaguely, “Once we have a model that has acceptable value of precision and recall, selected model is deployed for prediction on new commits.” Code that seems likely to be buggy is flagged for further investigation and testing.

According to Altran, “Code Defect AI relies on various ML techniques including random decision forests, support vector machines, multilayer perceptron (MLP) and logistic regression. Historical data is extracted, pre-processed and labelled to train the algorithm and curate a reliable decision model. Developers are given a confidence score that predicts whether the code is compliant or presents the risk of containing bugs.”

Code Defect AI supports integration with third-party analysis tools and can itself help identify bugs in a given program code. Additionally, the Code Defect AI tool allows developers to assess which features in the code have higher weightage in terms of bug prediction, i.e., if there are two features in the software that play a role in the assessment of a probable bug, which feature will take precedence.

The “solution” page looks glossy but The Reg noticed a surprising omission in the presentation. Normally such things have enthusiastic testimonies from happy users. We did find a video in which Altran VP Software Engineering and Cybersecurity Khalid Sebti said that “customers who have used our code defect solution predictions are able to identify over 20 per cent of the defects before the testing process begins.”

But how?

Where is the evidence, though? We asked Altran, which first sent us a document entitled “PowerPoint Presentation” assuring us that this was “an AI powered solution that identified bugs” but with no data to back up the claim. We asked again and were referred to the code on GitHub and in particular the “flowchart of the architecture.” There are several such flowcharts, one which has “storage and data lake Azure” stuck on the side for good measure. We did learn from the aforementioned video that this is merely phase one of the project. In phase two, “the solution expands to other Microsoft AI/ML technologies including ML Server and SQL Server.” The flow chart for this includes the magic word Kubernetes for extra goodness, as well as both SQL Server and Cosmos DB.

Phase two of the project is expanded to use increasing numbers of Azure services
Phase two of the project is expanded to use increasing numbers of Azure services

The question perhaps is whether it makes sense to train your own AI model on defects found in open source GitHub projects when it might be better to subscribe to a service that has done its own model training at scale. On its security blog, Microsoft posted last month that “since 2001 Microsoft has collected 13 million work items and bugs. We used that data to develop a process and machine learning model that correctly distinguishes between security and non-security bugs 99 per cent of the time and accurately identifies the critical, high priority security bugs 97 per cent of the time.”

At Microsoft, the post explained, “47,000 developers generate nearly 30 thousand bugs a month,” which strikes us as good going. The methodology for this is also promised to be open-sourced on GitHub “in the coming months” though it does not appear to be related to the Altran project.

AWS trained its CodeGuru profiler on “hundreds of thousands of internal projects, as well as over 10,000 open source projects in GitHub.” This is the kind of scale which, like Microsoft’s security project, may yield interesting results.

Is this an open source project hoping to attract the support of a sufficient collaboration community to sustain momentum? It looks unlikely; some code has been dumped in GitHub but there is no evidence yet of any community around it. Think of it more as a sample showing how you can code-host an AI project on Azure. In that respect it may be useful, but the “better code faster with Azure AI,” that the PowerPoint promises? We are sceptical but await customer reports with interest.