Federal agencies are striving to become more innovative and iterative, leading to growing adoption of open source within the government. The issuance earlier this year of the Federal Source Code Policy illustrates how this technology, once anathema to government agencies, has become the de facto standard for the creation and deployment of many applications.
With the explosive adoption of open-source components being used to assemble applications, agency personnel are now tasked with ensuring the quality of the components that are being used. Developers must have confidence in components’ security, licensing and quality attributes and know for certain that they are using the latest versions.
Unfortunately, many agencies that are adopting the RMF are also relying on outdated and inefficient practices and tools that are not designed for today’s open and agile world. In addition to relying on potentially vulnerable components to build applications, some agencies have continued to depend too heavily on common application security tools, such as static application security testing and dynamic application security testing.
Here are three steps that federal IT professionals can take to monitor their software supply chains and ensure that only the best open-source components make their way into their organizations.
1. Implement an automated firewall. The best protection starts with the creation of a firewall that automatically and continuously blocks substandard components from entering into the software supply chain. This first line of defense should be configured with automated policies that meet NIST security standards for the RMF.
2. Apply user-defined policies and security controls. The RMF gives agencies leeway to set up myriad security controls and components to help support risk management, vulnerability scanning, flaw remediation and more. Agency IT personnel should enhance these efforts by applying user-defined policies and controls that govern which open-source and third-party components can be used in application development. In the event that a software component that does not conform to security policies gets through the firewall, alerts will be triggered and remediation scenarios presented, allowing users to respond quickly and effectively.
3. Continually audit and assess. After components have been procured and applications are in production, it’s important to continually audit and assess those applications to ensure they remain secure. This activity can help proactively identify vulnerabilities and alert managers to potential hazards even after an application is up and running.
Read more at 3 ways to strengthen security with software supply-chain automation
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