DevSecOps: Why Security Should Be Built Into the Code

Digital transformation has accelerated software development but also exposed security gaps in increasingly complex environments. With agile teams, continuous delivery, and distributed infrastructures, risks have increased. It is in this context that DevSecOps emerges, a natural evolution of DevOps with a focus on security from the very start of development.

If DevOps promotes integration between development and operations to speed up deliveries, DevSecOps expands this vision by incorporating security at every stage of the software lifecycle. More than a practice, it is a mindset shift: security is not a checklist item at the end of a project but an essential component of architecture from the very first line of code.

What is DevSecOps and why it matters

DevSecOps stands for Development, Security, and Operations. In practice, it means integrating security practices into continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD) in an automated, collaborative, and preventive way. The goal is not to slow down delivery but to allow agility without compromising security and governance.

With the growing adoption of hybrid environments and cloud applications, DevSecOps becomes even more crucial. According to Google Cloud's “State of DevOps” report, companies implementing DevSecOps practices have four times fewer critical production vulnerabilities than those using traditional security approaches.

The importance goes beyond IT. For the business, it ensures customer trust, prevents losses from data breaches, and ensures compliance with regulations such as LGPD, ISO 27001, and other data protection laws.
Read also: Intelligent Cybersecurity: How AI is Anticipating Attacks Before They Happen

Where it applies: security in planning, coding, testing, and deployment

The key advantage of DevSecOps is its presence throughout the development pipeline, from conception to production. In the planning phase, practices such as threat modeling and defining secure requirements are applied. During coding, the focus is on security best practices and static code analysis tools.

During testing, vulnerability scanners, automated pen tests, fuzz testing, and other techniques simulate failures and strengthen software robustness. In deployment, continuous monitoring, access policies, traceability, and integrity checks ensure that environments are protected, even against malicious changes.

This cycle feeds itself, generating continuous insights that allow real-time adjustments, which is crucial in dynamic environments such as microservices and cloud-native applications.

Benefits: Risk Reduction, Compliance, Agility with Governance

Adopting DevSecOps allows faster delivery without compromising security. Key benefits include:

• Risk reduction: Vulnerabilities are detected and fixed early in development, where repair costs can be up to 100 times lower than in production (source: IBM Systems Sciences Institute).

• Agility with confidence: Continuous integration with automated validations reduces bottlenecks, enabling faster and safer releases.

• Simplified compliance: By documenting and automating security processes, companies are better prepared for audits and compliance with laws and standards.

Additionally, the DevSecOps culture promotes collaboration between teams, encouraging a preventive and proactive mindset that strengthens digital resilience.

Common challenges and how to overcome them

Despite the benefits, implementing DevSecOps can bring challenges, especially cultural and structural. One major challenge is the perceived conflict between speed and control.

Development teams often see security practices as obstacles to agility, and this perception must be addressed through communication, training, and modern tools that automate processes without bureaucracy.

Another common barrier is fragmented tools. Many companies use isolated solutions for security, testing, CI/CD, and monitoring, which limits visibility. The solution is standardization and integration of tools with centralized visibility and control dashboards.

Finally, the lack of specialized professionals can be a hurdle. Strategic partnerships with companies like MOUTS IT make a difference, bringing expertise, structure, and acceleration to the DevSecOps journey.

How MOUTS implements DevSecOps with a focus on results

At MOUTS IT, our DevSecOps approach starts with a thorough diagnosis. Before implementation, we analyze the company’s current pipeline, risks, and the digital maturity of the team. This allows us to create a personalized action plan with expert squads and processes adapted to the client’s reality.

Implementation is carried out using leading tools such as SonarQube, Snyk, Checkmarx, GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins, and others, always with a focus on integration with existing environments. Our engineers, security analysts, and developers work side by side with client teams, ensuring knowledge transfer and fostering a security-first culture.

The result: fewer failures, less rework, faster deliveries, and a more robust, reliable IT environment ready to scale securely.

Tips to get started: culture, tools, and visibility

If your company is starting the DevSecOps journey, here are some key steps:

• Work on culture from day one: security is everyone’s responsibility. Promote training and set clear security indicators in the pipeline.

• Choose integrable tools: select solutions that communicate well with your current ecosystem. Interoperability is key for smooth development cycles.

• Monitor and optimize constantly: implement metrics and alerts, and use dashboards to track open vulnerabilities, resolution time, test status, and compliance.

The secret is to start small and grow consistently. Continuous evolution is part of the DevSecOps journey.

Conclusion: security and agility can and should go hand in hand

Ensuring quality and speed without security is like building a tall building on sand. In an era of cyberattacks, regulatory pressure, and demand for digital transparency, companies that integrate security into development stand out for their resilience, credibility, and sustainable innovation.

MOUTS IT is ready to be your partner in this evolution. With expertise in DevSecOps, cloud, automation, and multidisciplinary squads, we provide the support your company needs to innovate safely, from the first commit to final deployment.

Want to strengthen your software security without losing agility? Talk to MOUTS IT specialists and discover how DevSecOps can accelerate your results with confidence and governance.