Making the Case for Cybersecurity
8.2 SUPPORTING CONTINUOUS AUTHORIZATION
This same infrastructure enables continuous authorization, where operational security posture is evaluated in real time, not through static milestones. Traditional Authorization to Operate( ATO) processes( e. g. NIST SP 800-37) [ 6 ] are designed for relatively stable systems and rely on slow, manually curated risk documentation. As a result, they often lag behind system evolution or miss emergent threats.
With risk-centric DevSecOps, security becomes part of the pipeline. Each deployment carries with it an up-to-date assurance argument, grounded in real system data and validated controls. Only the affected claims are re-evaluated when updates occur, dramatically reducing overhead while improving precision and responsiveness.
This model aligns with ongoing efforts in the U. S. Department of Defense— such as the Continuous ATO( cATO) initiative— and reflects a growing need for security governance that evolves with the system itself.
9 CONCLUSION
As modern digital and cyber-physical systems grow more interconnected, complex, and missioncritical, traditional cybersecurity approaches— static assessments, reactive scans, and manual risk assessments— no longer suffice. What’ s needed is a shift: from fragmented controls to an integrated, continuously evolving cybersecurity practice grounded in formal reasoning, automation, and semantic traceability.
This paper introduced a framework for Risk-Centric DevSecOps, in which cybersecurity is reconceived as a continuous, knowledge-driven process. At its core is the formal cybersecurity argument— not a compliance artifact, but an intelligent controller that orchestrates tools, data, and decisions. Through structured claims and traceable evidence, the framework connects system models, threat intelligence, vulnerabilities, and mitigations into a cohesive risk picture— adapted to both system context and mission priorities.
The framework enables automation across asynchronous cybersecurity cycles: engineering, defense, governance, and threat modeling. System facts, attack characterizations, vulnerability descriptions, and controls flow through semantically aligned pipelines. Risk claims become the organizing principle, driving automated risk enumeration, prioritization, and remediation.
A central innovation is the use of the assurance case as a controller. Tools are no longer invoked in isolation— they are triggered to resolve specific claims. This enables real-time assurance: as systems evolve, only the impacted argument branches are re-evaluated, supporting continuous authorization and agile governance.
This vision is made possible by a family of interoperability standards developed by the OMG. Together, these standards enable a future where commercial tools can interoperate across the
Journal of Innovation 55