3.1 Regular Update of Software & Systems
3.2 Build a Secure Software Development Policy
3.3 Enable Multi-factor Authentication
3.4 Application of Lockfiles
3.5 Focus on Automation
3.6 Configure Secure Default Settings
3.7 Conduct Security Awareness Training
3.8 Use Code Reviews to Figure out Security Threats
3.9 Lean on Reproducible Builds
Software security has been an indispensable topic since we started relying on the internet. The random cyber attacks compelled us to think more about the security of the software we use. Secure software development is as relevant as software upgradation and their new launches.
Secure software development includes the practices and reliable procedures an organization must follow to avoid threats during the software development life cycle (SDLC).
Software security entails a set of instructions on assessing, demonstrating safety, and tight security checks at every stage of the SDLC. Secure software development entails planning security requirements, designing software architecture, incorporating security features, etc. It also provides guidelines for the security of the underlying infrastructure through source code review and penetration testing.
We live in a time when threats such as data breaches and denial of service are predominant and dangerous software invades networks, systems, and applications from nowhere.
Today, designing secure software must be a prime concern. At a time when cyberattacks may harm everyone, from individuals to organizations to governments, the risks are many.
That is why companies must focus on software security at a high-quality level. Software application delivery must be handled with utter precaution and best practices.
While developing software, one should keep the following practices to protect the software from getting attacked. These are:
Software security evaluation is a continuous process. To keep your software safe, you must apply security updates frequently, even if no new features are added. Updates to software often provide a variety of benefits. Rewriting is essential for success as it will resolve problems and correct security flaws.
Regular software updates include:
Having a well-etched-out policy on the security of your software development will give you guidelines to train your team and work on your process and system better. This can help you opt for a top-notch training curriculum to protect company data and digital assets.
A software security development policy will also provide specific instructions to apply security measures in every stage of the software development life cycle so that you can take the help of the tools to reduce the vulnerability risk in software production. The policy should be based on current trends and industry-specific standards and regulations.
Multi-Factor authentication may not protect your software completely, but it will surely provide some coverage that will bypass the hackers. MFA is a proven method that checks the user's identity from various angles before granting access. The more complex the MFA becomes the more difficult it gets for the hacker to breach any data. If you implement MFA, this will prevent unauthorized access to your system.
Lockfiles will help your software from harmful new versions of dependencies. With the help of it, you can know which systems are corrupted and when they did get corrupted. Without them, it is impossible to know which versions of dependencies were installed. It also lets you know where and when the dependency version changed. Hence, use the applications of lockfiles and maintain another protective layer of security in the software development.
Automation is one of the best practices applied in software development security. It minimizes the necessity for human assistance in repetitive tasks.
Automation allows software-generated detection, investigation, and treatment of security threats. There are various benefits to opting for software automation, such as faster threat detection, assurance of secure software development, workflow streamlining, and much more. Hence, automation tools hold paramount importance in the software development workflow.
Security configuration is a process that adjusts the default settings of a system and reduces any vulnerability. Security configuration management points out the misconfiguration of a system. Early misconfiguration detection can help avoid inconsistency, poor performance, and many more. If you have arrangements of security default settings, this will protect the users at the early stage.
For the robust performance of software, developers need to know about the common cyber attacks and ways to avoid them. If the developers know about the common mistakes while writing code, they can prevent them firsthand. Proper training and knowledge transfer will help to write secure codes from the beginning.
AppSecEngineer provides comprehensive and hands-on training on various courses like AppSec, cloud security, threat modeling, Kubernetes, etc.
Code reviews can aid software developers in figuring out security breaches and fixing them. Avoid the traditional method of testing code at the end of the software development lifecycle. Instead, run the code reviews early to avoid wasting time and money invested in it. It is always better to conduct the developer review and automated testing side-by-side to discover any flaws in the written code.
As the name suggests, a build is reproducible if it offers the same output irrespective of when and where it runs. The main objective of reproducible forms is to verify that no vulnerabilities have been inducted during the developmental stage. These builds will help you learn about any unwanted or harmful changes in the system.
To conclude, following the above practices on secure software development will help you detect the vulnerability faster and take action to provide better user service. However, applying the right approach at the right time may be difficult because of a shortage of time and expertise. Hence resorting to an expert like We45 can ease your effort and provide the highest security for your software. We45 delivers a wide array of software security services like AppSec, Cloud Security, Kubernetes Security, and Threat Modeling. We also undertake mobile application and web application security testing.
To learn more about our services, visit our site at https://www.we45.com/.
