DevSecOps in Azure DevOps: A Practical Guide with Real Examples

DevSecOps integrates security seamlessly into the DevOps pipeline, ensuring that security considerations are an integral part of the development process from the start. Azure DevOps, a suite of development tools by Microsoft, supports implementing DevSecOps with various built-in features and extensions. This guide provides practical examples of how to incorporate DevSecOps practices into Azure DevOps pipelines using YAML syntax.

Setting Up Azure DevOps for DevSecOps

Before diving into the examples, ensure you have an Azure DevOps account and a project set up. Azure DevOps pipelines are defined in YAML files (`azure-pipelines.yml`), which describe the steps and stages for continuous integration and deployment.

1. Static Code Analysis (SAST)

Static Application Security Testing is crucial for catching vulnerabilities early in the development process.

YAML Example: SAST in Pipeline

File: `azure-pipelines-sast.yml`

trigger:
- main
pool:
 vmImage: 'ubuntu-latest'
steps:
- task: UseDotNet@2
 inputs:
 version: '5.0.x'
 packageType: 'sdk'
- script: |
 dotnet tool install - global dotnet-sonarscanner
 dotnet sonarscanner begin…