Developing a security-first culture is crucial in today's digital age where cyber attacks and data breaches have become increasingly prevalent. As a developer or team, it may seem daunting to develop a security-first culture, but it's not that complex when put into practice. In this article, we'll list some activities that can help build a security-first culture.

Managing Secret Credentials

Using a .env file to hide secrets during development is a common practice, but it doesn't scale and doesn't improve codebase security. Using an enhanced tool like Onboardbase, a secure online vault for developers and teams to store and share app secrets, is a better and more improved option. Managing secret credentials the right way can help developers and teams reduce the rate of vulnerability in their codebase or project and create a good security culture.

Bug Hunt Session

Organizing a bug hunt session in a company can help the team discover issues fast and fix them before pushing to the general public. There are tools available to test codebase for bugs, leaked secret keys, and more. Gitguardian, for example, can scan codebase for leaked secret keys and reduce the stress of checking every single line of code in the codebase. Having regular bug hunt sessions and utilizing available tools can help foster a security-first culture.

Automate Security Initiatives

Security automation is a machine-based execution of security actions that can detect, investigate, and remediate cyber threats with or without human intervention. Security automation can identify incoming threats, triage and prioritize alerts as they emerge, and perform automated incident response. Automating security initiatives can help create a more secure and efficient work environment.

Security Awareness Training

Taking security courses and implementing security awareness training can help enlighten development teams and give them more insights on how to prioritize security when building products for themselves or the company. It is essential to put in place time and budget for taking security courses to ensure that developers are equipped with the necessary knowledge to develop a security-first culture.

In conclusion, building a security-first culture is vital to protect against cyber threats and data breaches. By following the activities listed above, developers and teams can develop a security-first culture and make it an integral part of their work environment.