Top DevSecOps Engineer Interview Questions

Breaking into a DevSecOps role means more than knowing your way around code, cloud, and security; it requires thinking like an engineer, a hacker, and an architect, all at once. Interviewers are looking for more than technical know-how; they want to see how you solve problems, manage risk, and automate security at scale. Expect more than surface-level questions; interviewers want to see how you approach complexity under pressure. This article brings you a curated set of DevSecOps interview questions that reflect what today’s teams are really asking.

Top DevSecOps Engineer Interview Questions and Answers to Ace Your Next Job

Here are some of the top DevSecOps Engineer job interview questions and answers:

1. How would you implement secret scanning in a CI pipeline?

To implement secret scanning in CI, integrate automated tools early in the pipeline to catch secrets before they reach production.

• Use tools like GitLeaks, TruffleHog, or Talisman
• Configure them to scan code at pull request or commit stages
• Fail builds on detection or sends alerts
• Maintain allowlists and custom regex rules to reduce false positives
• Combine with Git hooks and pre-commit checks locally
• Store secrets in a vault (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager) and reference them securely in pipelines

This proactive setup prevents credential leaks, reduces attack surfaces, and reinforces secure coding practices.

2. What are some common security misconfigurations in Jenkins/GitHub Actions/GitLab CI?

Security misconfigurations in CI/CD platforms often expose credentials or open doors for privilege escalation. Common issues include:

• Storing secrets in plaintext or hardcoding them in scripts
• Over-permissive access controls (e.g., public GitHub Actions with write permissions)
• Insecure use of third-party plugins or actions
• Lack of job isolation, allowing one pipeline step to affect another
• Running agents with unnecessary root privileges

Mitigation includes using secret managers, least privilege policies, sandboxed runners, and signed or vetted actions/plugins. Regular audits are key.

3. How would you secure Terraform or CloudFormation templates?

Securing infrastructure-as-code (IaC) templates involves proactive validation and strict governance. Start with policy-as-code tools to catch risky misconfigurations early.

• Use tools like Checkov, TFSec, or cfn-nag to scan templates for security issues
• Enforce least privilege for IAM roles and restrict public exposure of resources
• Integrate template scanning into CI/CD pipelines
• Use version control with pull request reviews to track changes
• Encrypt sensitive variables using Secrets Manager or SOPS

4. What are some best practices for managing secrets in IaC workflows?

Managing secrets securely in Infrastructure as Code (IaC) is critical to prevent leaks and unauthorized access.

• Never hardcode secrets in code or configuration files
• Use a secrets manager (e.g., HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager)
• Store secrets in encrypted state files, not plaintext
• Implement least privilege access to secrets via IAM
• Use environment variables or CI/CD pipeline secrets injection
• Scan repositories for exposed secrets regularly
• Rotate secrets frequently and log access

IaC tools like Terraform support integrations with secret managers, making it easier to securely inject credentials at runtime rather than during provisioning.

5. What is Software Composition Analysis (SCA), and how do you integrate it into the pipeline?

Software Composition Analysis (SCA) identifies vulnerabilities, licenses, and outdated components in third-party libraries used by your application. It ensures you aren’t unknowingly shipping insecure or non-compliant dependencies.

• Tools like Snyk, OWASP Dependency-Check, and WhiteSource scan dependency files (package.json, pom.xml, etc.)
• Integrate SCA early in the CI pipeline—typically right after code checkout or build
• Set thresholds to break builds on high-severity CVEs or license violations
• Generate reports and route findings to dev/security teams for remediation
• Automate scheduled scans to catch new vulnerabilities as databases update

SCA reduces the risk of supply chain attacks and helps maintain security and license compliance throughout the SDLC.

6. How do you prevent drift in infrastructure and ensure compliance?

Preventing drift means keeping deployed infrastructure aligned with declared configurations. To manage this:

• Use Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or Pulumi
• Enforce GitOps practices—IaC stored in version control is the source of truth
• Automate drift detection using tools like terraform plan or driftctl
• Integrate compliance as code with policies (e.g., OPA, Sentinel)
• Monitor and alert on unauthorized changes

Combine continuous monitoring with policy enforcement to ensure your infrastructure stays compliant and reproducible.

7. How do you scan Docker images for vulnerabilities before deployment?

Image scanning is key to catching flaws before they hit production.

• Use tools like Trivy, Grype, Anchore, or Clair to scan base and custom layers
• Integrate scanning into your CI pipeline to automate checks
• Use image signing and pull only from trusted registries
• Remove unused packages and use distroless images to minimize the attack surface
• Fail builds if critical CVEs are found

8. What steps would you take to secure a Kubernetes cluster?

Securing a Kubernetes cluster involves locking down every layer from access control to workload behavior.

• Enable RBAC and follow least privilege principles
• Use network policies to restrict pod communication
• Keep Kubernetes and dependencies patched
• Turn on audit logging and monitor for anomalies
• Enable PodSecurityPolicies or OPA/Gatekeeper for workload controls
• Run containers as non-root, with read-only file systems
• Limit access to the Kube API server and use TLS everywhere
• Use image scanning to detect vulnerabilities before deployment

Security should be layered—controls at the cluster, node, pod, and container levels all matter.

9. Explain how you would handle Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) in Kubernetes.

To manage RBAC in Kubernetes, I define roles and bindings carefully to enforce least privilege. I avoid granting cluster-wide access unless absolutely necessary.

Roles/ClusterRoles: Define what actions (verbs) can be taken on which resources.

RoleBindings/ClusterRoleBindings: Assign those roles to specific users, service accounts, or groups within namespaces or cluster-wide.

Best practices:

• Use namespaces to segment access
• Regularly audit permissions using tools like kubectl auth can-i or Polaris
• Use GitOps to version-control RBAC policies

This ensures access is scoped appropriately, reducing the risk of privilege escalation.

10. What are signed commits, and why are they important in CI/CD pipelines?

Signed commits use cryptographic signatures (GPG or SSH) to verify the identity of the author and ensure the code changes haven’t been tampered with.

• Ensure the commit is from a trusted source
• Prevent unauthorized or tampered commits
• Required in compliance-driven environments (e.g., SOC2, HIPAA)

In CI/CD, they add a chain of trust, ensuring only verified changes trigger deployments. Most Git platforms support the enforcement of signed commits via branch protection rules.

11. How do you implement a secure SDLC in an agile DevOps environment?

Secure SDLC must be integrated without slowing down delivery. Best practices include:

• Threat modeling early in the design phase
• Automating security scans (SAST, DAST, SCA) in CI/CD pipelines
• Enforcing secure coding standards and peer code reviews
• Using signed dependencies and managing SBOMs
• Including security testing in the sprint definitions of done
• Training developers on secure practices continuously

Security becomes part of the sprint rhythm—proactive, automated, and embedded.

12. What tools would you use for runtime security monitoring?

Monitoring live workloads helps detect and respond to threats in real time.

• Use Falco for rule-based anomaly detection in containers
• Sysdig Secure or Aqua Security for behavior-based monitoring
• eBPF-based tools like Cilium for deep observability and enforcement
• Integrate with SIEMs (Splunk, ELK) for alert correlation
• Collect audit logs from Kubernetes and cloud services

13. You detect unusual outbound traffic from a production container—what do you do?

Responding quickly and methodically is key when you see abnormal traffic.

• Isolate the container to stop potential lateral movement
• Pull network logs and container logs for analysis
• Check for known vulnerabilities or indicators of compromise
• Capture memory or file system snapshots if forensics is needed
• Scan the container image for backdoors or malware
• If malicious behavior is confirmed, rebuild from a clean source
• Conduct a postmortem and update detection rules and firewall policies

Contain first, then investigate. Focus on understanding the entry point and impact to prevent recurrence.

14. How would you design alerting thresholds that balance security with noise reduction?

Effective alerting requires tuning signals to catch real issues without overwhelming responders.

• Baseline Behaviors: Start by observing normal system patterns to set realistic thresholds.
• Severity Tiers: Categorize alerts into info, warning, and critical to prioritize response.
• Time-based Thresholds: Avoid alerting on transient spikes, use sustained anomalies as triggers.
• Correlation: Combine related events to reduce alert fatigue.
• Feedback Loop: Continuously review false positives and refine rules.

This ensures that alerts are actionable, reducing noise while maintaining a strong security posture.

15. A developer accidentally pushes secrets to a public GitHub repo. What’s your response plan?

Act immediately to minimize exposure and revoke compromised credentials.

• Step 1: Revoke the leaked secrets (API keys, passwords) from all systems.
• Step 2: Remove secrets from Git history using tools like BFG or git filter-branch.
• Step 3: Force push the cleaned repo and invalidate all cached clones.
• Step 4: Notify affected services or teams.
• Step 5: Audit access logs for any misuse.
• Step 6: Add secret scanning tools to prevent recurrence.

Fast, structured response limits damage and builds a culture of secure development.

16. An attacker gains access to your CI/CD pipeline. What steps do you take to respond and secure it moving forward?

First, contain the breach and investigate the impact:

• Revoke compromised credentials and tokens immediately
• Stop builds/deployments and audit logs for malicious changes
• Rotate secrets and validate the integrity of code/artifacts
• Rebuild compromised runners and reset access policies

Then, harden the system:

• Enforce MFA, least privilege, and signed commits/artifacts
• Add intrusion detection and anomaly monitoring
• Conduct a root cause analysis and update your incident response plan

Treat it like a production breach, swift containment, forensic analysis, and long-term mitigation.

17. A critical zero-day vulnerability (e.g., Log4Shell) is disclosed. How do you handle patching and communication across teams?

A zero-day attack requires swift coordination and prompt action.

• Assess exposure to identify affected services and versions using SBOMs or scanning tools
• Patch and redeploy affected components as quickly as possible
• Use WAF rules or runtime controls for short-term mitigation
• Notify all stakeholders via structured incident communication (Slack, email, status page)
• Conduct a post-incident review to improve response playbooks

18. What’s your process for ensuring secure network segmentation in a Kubernetes setup?

Segmentation reduces the blast radius of a breach. Kubernetes provides tools, but they must be configured intentionally.

• Define and enforce NetworkPolicies to limit pod-to-pod traffic
• Use Namespaces to logically isolate workloads
• Deploy workloads into separate VPCs or subnets when possible
• Use service meshes (e.g., Istio) for encrypted, controlled traffic
• Harden ingress and egress rules with firewall and NAT controls
• Limit access to external endpoints unless explicitly allowed

Effective segmentation keeps internal services hidden and minimizes unauthorized access paths, both internal and external.

19. How do you enable and monitor audit logging across cloud and container infrastructure?

Audit logging tracks who did what, when, and where—crucial for security, compliance, and incident response. You need to enable it across all layers and centralize the output for visibility.

• Cloud: Enable native services like AWS CloudTrail, Azure Monitor, or GCP Audit Logs
• Kubernetes/Containers: Use tools like Fluentd, Filebeat, or OpenTelemetry to collect logs from containers, pods, and kube-apiserver
• Aggregation: Send all logs to a central SIEM (e.g., ELK, Splunk, Datadog) with role-based access control
• Monitoring: Set up alerting rules for key events (e.g., privilege changes, unauthorized access)
• Retention: Define policies for log storage and integrity (e.g., immutability, encryption)

This setup ensures full traceability and fast response during security incidents.

Practical DevSecOps Training with InfosecTrain

InfosecTrain’s Practical DevSecOps Training equips you with hands-on skills to tackle real-world security challenges in modern DevOps environments. Through hands-on labs, expert-led sessions, and industry-relevant tools, you’ll master secure CI/CD, automation, and threat mitigation. Whether you are targeting a DevSecOps Engineer role or a broader security position, this course builds the confidence and competence employers demand, making you job-ready from day one.

TRAINING CALENDAR of Upcoming Batches For DevSecOps

Start Date	End Date	Start - End Time	Batch Type	Training Mode	Batch Status