Securing identities in software development life cycles

Security within the software development life cycle (SDLC) has traditionally focused on safeguarding code — through secret scanning, open-source package vetting, and code analysis. While this has strengthened application-level security, the assumption that code security alone is sufficient to prevent breaches has proven inadequate. This paper explores the processes, tools, and best practices involved in the code-to-cloud journey, with a particular focus on a frequently overlooked aspect of SDLC: identity management, encompassing both human developers and non-human identities. Through a case study, it demonstrates why identity threats must be treated with the same urgency as code and infrastructure vulnerabilities. The paper presents a framework for establishing a secure software development process, offering end-to-end protection that includes both tooling and identity governance. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.