RunSafe Security, a provider of Alkemist tools that prevent memory exploits, has partnered with JFrog to create a plug-in for the Artifactory repository manager platform.
Alkemist employs a combination of runtime application self-protection (RASP) and moving target defense (MTD) methods to neutralize memory corruption exploits such involving, for example, a memory overflow.
Based on a research project for the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense (DARPA), the integration with Artifactory will make it easier to harden binaries and containers against memory corruption attacks before applications are deployed in a production environment, said RunSafe CEO Joe Saunders.
RASP describes a class of application security tools that detect attacks in real-time as an application is running. MTD refers to a strategy that relies on changing the attack surface regularly for applications to make it more difficult for cybercriminals to target them.
Cyberattacks that employ memory exploits attempt to either replace executables with malicious code or overwrite data in a way that changes application behavior. When aimed at operating systems, these attacks commandeer entire systems. They have also been used to launch self-replicating Worm attacks that both cripple systems and insert malware to steal data, corrupting files or installing a back door that enables remote access.
Saunders said the Alkemist plugin will enable developers to defend applications from these types of attacks without slowing down the pace of application development. Friction is removed from the DevOps process because as code moves through the DevOps workflow, Alkemist automatically hardens it to prevent memory exploits, he said.
With the growing popularity of containers, Saunders noted that as cybercriminals begin to target them the need to protect containerized applications from memory exploits using best DevSecOps processes will become even more pronounced than it is today.
While there is clearly a lot of interest in DevSecOps, most developers still don’t have access to the tools needed to better secure applications. As more cybersecurity plug-ins become available for repositories such as Artifactory, the easier it will become to embrace best DevSecOps practices.
JFrog, for its part, has been making a case for focusing DevOps teams on managing binaries rather than source code. The alliance with RunSafe extends that strategy into the realm of application security.
It may be a while before DevSecOps practices are widely employed. However, increasingly the issue is becoming less about the tools that might be available. Rather, the cultural challenges associated with implementing cybersecurity gates within a DevOps pipeline is now the major challenge. DevOps teams will need to reconstruct existing DevOps workflows to incorporate cybersecurity gates before an application is deployed. Once that’s accomplished, monitoring applications for anomalies will then need to be incorporated into observability platforms.
It’s not clear what role cybersecurity professionals will play in this new world of DevSecOps. The one thing that everyone can agree on, however, is the less involved cybersecurity professionals are in the application development and deployment process, the easier it should become to deploy applications that are truly secure.
