Embedding Security in Software Development Lifecycle: Golden Path Development

Organizations experience security incidents due to a fundamental disconnect: security teams are responsible for all security problems, yet developers control the infrastructure configurations, dependency choices, and code implementations that directly impact security. Golden Path Development solves this by embedding automated security capabilities directly into development workflows, transforming security from a developer burden into invisible platform capabilities. You can start immediately with a 60-day approach focusing on secrets scanning, security checks, and dependency analysis to achieve measurable security improvements.

The Core Problem

There is a fundamental disconnect between security team responsibilities and developer scope of work. Security teams are expected to handle all security problems, while many development elements that directly impact security are within the developer's scope of work.

Security risk cost exponentially more to fix later in the development lifecycle, and manual security processes create bottlenecks that force developers to choose between security and delivery timelines.

Golden Path Development Solution

Golden Path Development is a platform engineering approach that provides pre-configured, secure-by-default templates and automated workflows for developers. It creates standardized pathways from code development to production deployment, embedding security controls directly into the development environment rather than treating security as a separate process.

Key Differentiator: Unlike traditional approaches that add security as external gates or manual reviews, golden paths integrate security as invisible infrastructure. Developers follow familiar development patterns while security controls operate automatically in the background.

Security Capabilities for Golden Path

Based on AWS Prescriptive Guidance for Internal Developer Platforms, implementing golden paths requires specific security capabilities distributed across development lifecycle phases:

Capability	Description	SDLC Phase	Domain
Linting	Infrastructure code syntax validation	Implement	Infrastructure
Security checks	Infrastructure code security analysis	Implement	Infrastructure
Policy checks	Organizational governance enforcement	Deploy	Infrastructure
Software composition analysis	Dependency vulnerability scanning	Implement	Application
Static application security testing	Source code security analysis	Implement	Application
Artifact registries	Container image security validation	Deploy	Application
Secrets scanning	Credential exposure prevention	Implement	Application
Dynamic application security testing	Runtime security validation	Test	Application
Runtime application self-protection	Production threat detection	Maintain	Application

Implementation Details

1. Linting

Purpose: CloudFormation template syntax validation - "Will this work?"

Prevents deployment failures by catching basic syntax errors, invalid resource properties, and AWS service limitations early in development.

Tool: cfn-lint - AWS CloudFormation linter Implementation: Integrate into CI/CD pipelines and IDE plugins for real-time feedback

2. Security Checks

Purpose: Infrastructure code security analysis - "Is this secure?" (Infrastructure focus)

Identifies potential security misconfigurations in CloudFormation and CDK templates before deployment.

Examples: S3 buckets with public access, overly permissive security groups, unencrypted databases Tool: cfn-nag or cdk-nag Implementation: Embed in CI/CD pipelines alongside linting

3. Policy Checks

Purpose: Organizational compliance enforcement - "Does this comply with our rules?"

Validates infrastructure configurations against business rules, compliance requirements, and operational standards.

Examples: Prohibited regions, cost limits, mandatory tags, data residency requirements Tool: AWS CloudFormation Guard Implementation: Define policies as Guard rules, integrate into deployment pipelines

4. Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Purpose: Dependency vulnerability and license compliance checking

Identifies security vulnerabilities and licensing issues in third-party libraries declared in source code.

Examples: Vulnerable npm packages, outdated Python libraries, Java dependencies with CVEs Tools: Amazon Inspector, Anchore, or Snyk Open Source Implementation: Integrate into build processes with automated dependency updates

5. Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Purpose: Source code security vulnerability detection - "Is this application code secure?"

Analyzes application code for security flaws without executing the program.

Examples: SQL injection, XSS vulnerabilities, hardcoded passwords, insecure cryptography Tools: Anchore or Snyk Open Source Implementation: Integrate into IDE and CI/CD pipelines with automated scanning

6. Artifact Registries

Purpose: Container image forensic security analysis

Performs layer-by-layer analysis of built container images to identify all components regardless of installation method.

Examples: Vulnerable base image packages, malware in layers, transitive dependencies Tool: Amazon ECR continuous scanning Implementation: Enable automatic scanning with deployment policies for vulnerable images

7. Secrets Scanning

Purpose: Prevention of hardcoded credentials in source code

Detects and blocks sensitive information from being committed to repositories.

Examples: AWS access keys, database passwords, API tokens, private keys Tool: git-secrets Implementation: Install as pre-commit hooks across all repositories

8. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Purpose: Runtime vulnerability assessment of deployed applications

Tests running applications by simulating attacks against live endpoints.

Examples: Authentication bypasses, session management issues, API vulnerabilities Tool: Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) Implementation: Deploy to test environment, trigger scans after deployment

9. Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP)

Purpose: Real-time threat detection and response in production

Monitors application behavior and automatically responds to security threats.

Examples: Zero-day exploits, insider attacks, data exfiltration attempts Tools: Amazon GuardDuty Runtime Monitoring, Sysdig Falco Implementation: Deploy monitoring agents with automated response actions

60-Day Quick Start

Achieve immediate security improvements by focusing on high-impact, low-effort capabilities:

Weeks 1-3: Secrets Scanning

• Install git-secrets as pre-commit hooks
• Configure patterns for AWS keys and API tokens
• Impact: Zero credential exposure incidents

Weeks 4-6: Security Checks

• Integrate cfn-nag into CI/CD pipelines
• Configure rules for common misconfigurations
• Impact: 90% reduction in infrastructure vulnerabilities

Weeks 7-8: Software Composition Analysis

• Enable dependency scanning in build processes
• Configure automated vulnerability alerts
• Impact: 100% visibility into critical dependency vulnerabilities

Next Steps

Golden paths transform security from a developer burden into automated platform capabilities. The disconnect between security team responsibilities and developer scope of work creates security incidents—golden paths solve this by embedding security-by-default practices directly into development workflows.

Immediate Actions:

1. Start with the 60-day quick wins approach focusing on secrets scanning, security checks, and dependency analysis
2. Measure security improvements through reduced incidents and faster vulnerability remediation
3. Build momentum for complete golden path implementation across all nine capabilities
4. Establish security-by-default as the standard development experience

The goal is not to make developers security experts, but to make secure development the easiest path forward.

References

[1] Amazon Web Services. "What is SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle)?" https://aws.amazon.com/what-is/sdlc/

[2] AWS Prescriptive Guidance. "Capabilities of an internal developer platform." https://docs.aws.amazon.com/prescriptive-guidance/latest/internal-developer-platform/capabilities.html