Make security decisions during the design stage
Building security into the early stages of development is the best way to prevent a security risk. Keeping software security top-of-mind while making any design decisions will prevent attacks from disrupting your product. Early involvement in the design process will save time later on, and it’s cheaper than using a break/fix method to address issues as they arise. You can safeguard the security of software and prevent security breaches, as well as dangerous software defects. If security is a priority for everyone on your team throughout the design process, particularly when making important product decisions. Keeping customer needs at the forefront of decision-making is just as important as considering security every step of the way. A security breach or application downtime could have a severe negative impact on your stakeholders and users.
Embed software security into your software development lifecycle (SDLC)
Make software security a part of your software development life cycle (SDLC). Intentionally including it in your SDLC will ensure that building secure software is a part of your standard business practices. It may take some time to ensure that security is adequately represented in your SDLC, but it is well worth the effort. Put in the time upfront for tasks such as searching for security vulnerabilities, remediating them, reviewing code, conducting risk analysis, and conducting software composition analysis. Addressing bug fixes and vulnerabilities as soon as possible is the optimal course of action.
Implement least privilege access
The principle of minimum privilege or the principle of least authority is also known as the principle of least privilege (PoLP). This is an information security concept and practice that provides modules (such as users and programs). or processes) the minimum level of access or permissions required to perform their or its standard job functions.
The authority to bypass security restraints is referred to as the least privilege for a person or program. Protecting privileged access to high-value data and assets is a cybersecurity best practice. Such access should only be granted on a need-to-know basis to safeguard against security issues.
Access granted to an intern or temporary employee is not the same as that granted to a manager or business owner. Their access will be limited to what is necessary for them to complete their job.
Your security can be negatively affected by privilege creep. Access control and other privileges not being revoked by administrators is what causes this. when they are no longer required, like at the conclusion of a project or when changing roles. Make certain that your business leaders have protocols in place to keep track of access.
Vulnerable Web Services
Sensitive user information is often handled by web services. Malicious actors can take advantage of vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access, steal data, or perform other illegitimate actions on the website. As a result, you may experience data breaches and privacy violations.
Legacy Software
Older applications that may not have been built with modern security practices are considered legacy software. These systems are often not updated regularly, and their codebase may lack important security measures. Because hackers can exploit known (and not fixed) vulnerabilities, they become attractive targets for cyberattacks and data breaches.
Patch management
The process of patching your software involves updating it with new code that fixes a software vulnerability. Once a vulnerability is discovered, it is important to do this as soon as possible. Security flaws can also be found in third-party libraries, so make sure to update them on a regular schedule to take advantage of any new patches that they have released. Dependency updates are automatically checked by solutions like Dependabot or Renovate when they are integrated into your CI workflow.
Authentication and authorization
Using the principle of least privilege (POLP), you can restrict the privileges of users who can access your software development tools, source code, and sensitive data. Role-based access control (RBAC) can help prevent hackers from infiltrating your infrastructure and tampering with your code. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) or token-based authentication like OAuth can be used to delegate access to third-party applications without sharing user credentials.
Implementing similar functionality in the software you are developing is necessary. Providing users with tools to reduce their attack surface by controlling access to the data your code processes and stores, minimizing the risk of a data breach.
Security awareness and developer training
Training developers is essential for software security, so that they can know how to keep their devices and toolchains secure. To avoid being the source of a security vulnerability in the software they’re developing, it’s important to keep them up-to-date. Social engineering techniques are being increasingly used by malicious actors to target developers with phishing emails. Phone calls and direct messages are used to try to get them to give up secrets like API keys, admin credentials, and MFA codes. Identifying these attempts is a crucial part of their training.
