DevSecOps Cheat Sheet

Updated 2026-03-19

DevSecOps integrates security practices directly into the DevOps pipeline, transforming security from a post-deployment checkpoint into a continuous, automated responsibility shared across development, operations, and security teams. The discipline emerged as organizations recognized that traditional security gates—performed manually at the end of development—were too slow and reactive for modern continuous delivery workflows. At its core, DevSecOps embeds automatic security scanning, policy enforcement, and vulnerability remediation into every stage of the software development lifecycle, enabling teams to ship faster without sacrificing security. The critical mindset shift: security becomes "shift-left" rather than "shift-blame," where finding issues early in development is exponentially cheaper and faster than discovering them in production.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 15 focused tables and 121 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Core DevSecOps PrinciplesTable 2: Security Testing Types in SDLCTable 3: Shift-Left Security PracticesTable 4: CI/CD Pipeline Security IntegrationTable 5: Container and Kubernetes SecurityTable 6: Secrets ManagementTable 7: Policy as Code and Compliance AutomationTable 8: Vulnerability Management and RemediationTable 9: API SecurityTable 10: Security Observability and MonitoringTable 11: Security Champions and CultureTable 12: DevSecOps Metrics and KPIsTable 13: Supply Chain SecurityTable 14: DevSecOps Tools and PlatformsTable 15: Incident Response in DevSecOps

Table 1: Core DevSecOps Principles

Principle	Example	Description
Shift-left security	`Security scanning runs in IDE, pre-commit hooks, and pull requests`	• Move security as early as possible in the development lifecycle to reduce remediation cost and time • catch vulnerabilities before code merges.
Shared responsibility	`Developers fix vulnerabilities they introduce; security teams provide tools and guidance`	• Developers own security outcomes for the code they write • security teams enable and guide rather than gate.
Security as code	`Security policies written in Rego, HCL, or Python and version-controlled in Git`	• Define security policies, tests, and configurations as code in version control • enables automation, peer review, and rollback capabilities.
Continuous security validation	`Every commit triggers SAST, SCA, and secret scanning; every deployment runs DAST`	• Security checks run automatically on every code change and deployment • not a one-time gate but a continuous feedback loop.

Table 1: Core DevSecOps Principles

Principle	Example	Description
Shift-left security	`Security scanning runs in IDE, pre-commit hooks, and pull requests`	• Move security as early as possible in the development lifecycle to reduce remediation cost and time • catch vulnerabilities before code merges.
Shared responsibility	`Developers fix vulnerabilities they introduce; security teams provide tools and guidance`	• Developers own security outcomes for the code they write • security teams enable and guide rather than gate.
Security as code	`Security policies written in Rego, HCL, or Python and version-controlled in Git`	• Define security policies, tests, and configurations as code in version control • enables automation, peer review, and rollback capabilities.
Continuous security validation	`Every commit triggers SAST, SCA, and secret scanning; every deployment runs DAST`	• Security checks run automatically on every code change and deployment • not a one-time gate but a continuous feedback loop.