What is Shift Left Security? Implementation Steps & Best Practices

Master shift left security to reduce risks, increase delivery speed, & build secure software faster.

Introduction

In a world where high-profile cyber attacks continue to disrupt businesses and erode trust, teams can no longer wait until the end of a development cycle to address security risks.

Increasing threats to the software supply chain and growing pressure from compliance standards are forcing organizations to rethink how they build and protect software.

One effective way to address these challenges is through a shift-left security approach, which brings security earlier into the development process rather than tagging it on at the end.

This method helps teams find and fix issues sooner, reduce costly late changes, and meet compliance needs without slowing down feature delivery. By embedding security throughout the development lifecycle and working collaboratively across teams, organizations can build more secure software with fewer surprises.

In this blog, we explore the basics of shift-left security, its benefits, implementation, and best practices for a smooth transition.

What is Shift Left Security?

Shift-left security is an approach in which security is considered from the very beginning of application development, rather than being checked at the end. It helps teams identify risks early, reduce rework, and build safer applications as they grow.

In practice, shift-left security involves integrating simple security checks into everyday development activities. As developers write code, basic reviews and automated checks help catch common issues early.

During planning and design, teams discuss possible risks and decide how to avoid them before development even begins. This prevents last-minute fixes that often delay releases and increase costs.

This approach also changes how teams work together. Developers are no longer expected to fix security problems at the end alone. Security teams guide developers with clear rules and practical feedback.

In addition, quality assurance teams support this process by validating that security checks are working as intended. Operations teams ensure that what is built remains secure when it runs in real environments.

Shift left security encourages shared responsibility. Everyone involved in building an application plays a role in keeping it secure. By addressing security early and collaboratively, organizations create more reliable software while maintaining speed and confidence throughout the development process.

Risks of Right-Shifted Security

Right-shifted security refers to the practice of addressing security only at the final stages of the development lifecycle, after most of the application has already been built and prepared for release.

Here are the top 3 risks of following this approach.

1. Traditional Security Measures

In traditional development models, security reviews were often performed after coding was completed. Teams relied on final audits, manual testing, or post-development assessments to identify risks.

While this approach worked in slower release cycles, it left little room to fix deeper issues without major rework.

As applications became more complex and release timelines shortened, these late security checks struggled to keep up with growing threats.

2. Last Stage Security Approach

When security is treated as a last step, problems tend to surface when deadlines are already tight. Fixing vulnerabilities at this point often requires code changes, redesigns, or delayed launches.

This increases costs and puts pressure on development teams. In some cases, known risks are pushed into production just to meet timelines, exposing the application to potential attacks and compliance concerns.

3. Right Shifted Security Approach

A right-shifted security approach also affects collaboration. Security teams often work separately from developers, leading to unclear expectations and slower issue resolution.

Developers may see security feedback as an obstacle rather than guidance. This separation weakens overall protection and makes it harder to build secure applications consistently over time.

3 Advantages of Shift Left Security

A shift left approach to security helps organizations build safer applications while maintaining development speed. By addressing security early and consistently, teams can avoid many of the challenges that arise when security is treated as a final step.

Let’s observe the top advantages this approach offers.

1. Less Human Intervention

When security is introduced early in the development process, much of the repetitive checking can be handled automatically. Regular security checks run alongside development activities, helping teams identify issues as soon as they appear.

This early visibility prevents small problems from turning into larger risks later. As a result, developers spend less time revisiting completed work, and security teams can focus on guiding improvements instead of chasing last-minute fixes.

2. Prompt Releases With Fewer Delays

Fixing security issues early removes the delays that often occur near release deadlines. When problems are found at the end of development, teams are forced to pause releases or rush changes under pressure.

A shift left approach avoids these roadblocks by resolving issues during development. This leads to smoother workflows, fewer disruptions, and more predictable release timelines. Over time, teams gain confidence in shipping updates faster without compromising safety.

3. Robust Application Development

Embedding security into daily development practices results in applications that are more resistant to threats. Developers become familiar with common risks and learn how to avoid them while writing code.

This shared responsibility strengthens the overall development process and reduces reliance on last-stage security reviews. A consistent focus on security also builds awareness across teams, creating a culture where protecting applications becomes a natural part of how software is built and maintained.

Implementing Shift Left Security in 7 Simple Steps

Shift-left security works best when it fits naturally into existing engineering workflows. These seven steps show how to implement shift-left security without disrupting engineering teams.

Step 1: Understand Your Current Development Setup

Before adding security scans, you must understand how your applications are built and used. The right approach depends on your industry, customers, and the technologies used for your products.

For example, an embedded device faces different risks than a SaaS platform. Bring together technology leaders, security teams, and stakeholders to identify compliance standards and the most likely security risks based on your application design.

This helps you clearly see your threat landscape. If you manage multiple applications, start with a few critical ones first. Use them as pilots to test scanning tools, gather feedback, and decide which security checks make the most sense to enable first.

Step 2: Turn On Security Scans

Start by running security scans on the pilot applications selected in the first step. Conduct these first scans outside active development so teams can stay focused on building and fixing features.

Schedule scans on the main code branch to ensure consistent results. Enable only the most important scans based on your risk areas. Most teams begin with checking for exposed secrets and vulnerable dependencies, as these issues are common and easy to address early.

Step 3: Examine the Scan Results

After running the initial scans on your pilot applications, review the findings carefully. Some issues may not truly apply to your setup, such as alerts tied to tools used only during testing and not in live systems.

Others may be low-impact items that add clutter without posing real risk. Focus on what actually matters for your applications and users. At the same time, think about what the scans might have missed.

Use your understanding of the system and earlier risk discussions to spot gaps. This step helps you decide what to ignore, what to fix first, and whether you need more scans or manual reviews to improve coverage.

Step 4: Refine Scan Rules and Focus Areas

Use what you learned from the early scan results to set clear steps for reviewing and fixing issues. Then update the scan rules so they highlight only what truly matters.

This helps teams stay productive instead of sorting through large numbers of low-value alerts. Some findings may not pose a real risk because other controls already protect the application, and those checks can be turned off.

On the other hand, recurring issues such as sensitive test data being added to code should be flagged with custom rules. Make sure all rule changes are clearly documented, including why they exist, and review them from time to time to keep them relevant and effective.

Step 5: Prioritize What to Fix First

Leaders across business, product, and engineering teams should agree on which security issues matter most and clearly share those priorities with developers. High-risk problems that have a real chance of being exploited should be scheduled alongside regular feature work and added to the backlog.

This ensures security fixes are not delayed or ignored. Issues that do not pose immediate risk can remain open or be marked as acceptable, as long as the reason is clearly recorded for future review or audits. Having a shared and practical approach to prioritization helps teams stay focused, address real threats, and continue delivering features without unnecessary slowdowns.

Step 6: Plan Security Scans Into Development Workflows

Once the earlier steps are complete, gradually add security scans to development pipelines. Begin with the most important scans and use the settings refined during earlier testing. Run scans alongside existing build jobs so they do not slow down the build.

Keep an eye on pipeline speed and schedule slower checks to run separately. At first, focus on giving developers visibility into issues rather than blocking their work. Show new findings during code reviews and add approval checks only for serious risks if needed.

Support this with simple guidance and training so teams understand how to fix issues early. Strong collaboration between development, security, and operations helps teams address risks faster while still delivering new features on time.

Step 7: Improve and Expand

You now have security scans working for your pilot teams, but this is just the start. Learn from their feedback, refine your approach, and apply the same steps to the next set of teams. Roll out gradually until all key applications are covered.

Real World Value of Shift Left Testing

Shift left testing proves its importance through real security incidents. One common threat is Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA), a leading API security risk. When access control logic is weak, users can view data they should not access. In a USPS case, flawed authorization exposed customer information.

Shift left testing reduces this risk by validating business logic and access rules as soon as code is written. Security checks run early, not after deployment. This prevents vulnerable APIs from reaching production and reduces remediation effort.

6 Shift Left Security Best Practices

Adopting shift-left security requires more than tools. It needs the right practices in place.

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