#cybersecurity | #hackerspace | Secure Developer Workstations Without Slowing Them Down

#cybersecurity | #hackerspace | Secure Developer Workstations Without Slowing Them Down

Fueled by automation, the adoption of DevOps processes and more, the role of the developer has become increasingly important and widespread for enterprises going through digital transformation. Developers need access to privileged credentials in order to access key developer tools like Kubernetes or Jenkins admin console. These credentials can be saved locally, making developers’ workstations — whether they are Macs or PCs — high-value targets for hackers.


These workstations are often vulnerable to something as simple as a phishing email, which attackers can use as an entry point to get access to the developer’s credentials. Because of these vulnerabilities, developers’ workstations are extremely important to secure. However, developers are famous for prizing speed above all else — and seeing security as little more than a speed bump.  So how to ensure that developers take security seriously?


Securing privileged access through the principle of least privilege needs to be a top security priority. It is no secret that no-one should have full-time admin rights. But, what does that mean for developers?


Security teams face a difficult dilemma. They need to better secure developer workstations while still providing them the elevated permissions and privileges—and freedom—they need to get their job done. And they need to do all that without impacting velocity.


I recently encountered this comment on the Stackoverflow forum:


 “There is almost no legitimate operational reason for restricting admin access to local PCs for staff that need it to do their job.”


Is that true?


Developers, DevOps and other engineers all perform administrative tasks as part of their job responsibilities, so they also have “full control” of their environment. Furthermore, because of the work developers do, there are extra challenges involved in hardening and restraining their workstations regardless of ..

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