A large part of cybersecurity is reactive. Effective cybersecurity relies on promptly detecting and responding to threats and adjusting security programs accordingly. However, relying solely on a reactive approach takes up a vast amount of security teams' time and resources and can result in missed attacks and cyber incidents.
Effective cybersecurity requires a balance between proactive and reactive protocols. The most crucial element of a proactive cybersecurity approach is security by design; developers need to write secure code to nip vulnerabilities in the bud.
This article will outline the risks inherent in software development and how organizations can mitigate them.
Software development risks
Organizations must understand the most common software development risks to empower their developers to write secure code.
Aggressive deadlines are one of the most significant barriers to securing code. The digital market is more competitive than ever, and in the scramble to get applications to market, many organizations impose unrealistic demands on their developers. The fact is, for most organizations, time-to-market, and functionality trumps security. If organizations want their developers to write secure code, they must set realistic deadlines and accept that secure applications take a little longer to develop.
Similarly, poor-quality code is a significant risk in software development, especially if developers rush projects due to time constraints. While we'll cover secure coding practices in more detail later, developers must test code frequently, resolve bugs and logical errors when necessary, and organizations should develop secure coding standards for developers to follow.
Poor risk management is also a significant software development risk. Organizations must perform a risk assessment for all software development projects, asking themselves:
- What could go wrong
- Why it could go wrong
- What the impacts would be
- How to fix it
Performing a risk assessment before launching a software development project reduces the possibility of insecure code. It places security and development teams in a better position to respond to threats when they occur.
Develop and implement secure coding practices
Secure coding practices are the paramount security consideration for software developers. Organizations should develop their secure coding framework that includes the following OWASP-defined practices:
- Input validation – Developers should analyze inputs and disallow unsuitable inputs to prevent attackers from entering inputs designed to harm the system.
- Output encoding – Output encoding transforms data into a safe format that does not interfere with a web page's intended functionality or appearance and prevents Cross Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.
- Authentication and password management – Developers should implement strong authentication and password management practices, including multi-factor authentication (MFA), storing only salted cryptographic hashes of passwords, and disabling password entries after multiple failed login attempts.
- Session management – Web sessions are a sequence of HTTP request and response transactions associated with the same user. Effective session management must include proper session ID configuration, using secure, HTTPonly, and SameSite cookies.
- Access control – Developers should implement secure protocols to regulate who can view and use resources properly.
- Cryptographic practices – Developers should encrypt all data with modern cryptographic algorithms and follow secure key management best practices.
- Error handling and logging – Developers must capture any errors in the application logic that may cause the system to crash and log them to prevent them from entering production.
- Data protection – To prevent data loss, developers adhere to data protection best practices such as encrypting sensitive data, least privilege principles, and supporting the removal of unneeded sensitive data.
- Communication security – Developers must prevent unauthorized access to any transmitted or transferred information.
- System configuration – Developers must implement security measures in code to mitigate vulnerabilities.
- Database security – Developers must regularly patch database servers, disable public network access, encrypt all files and backups, and lock down accounts and privileges to adequately protect databases. Data loss prevention solutions are also useful for preventing unauthorized data access.
- File management – File management involves naming, storing, managing, and securing digital files to prevent unauthorized access or use.
Alternatively, organizations could utilize publicly available secure coding frameworks, such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Secure Software Development Framework (SSDF) or the BSA Framework for Secure Software.
However, the most crucial security consideration for software developers is communication. Security and development teams have existed as disparate, siloed entities for too long. Security and development teams have long since viewed one another as a barrier to success, but that needs to change. Security teams need to be involved in the development process at the earliest possible stage to ensure that development teams aren't forced to implement security protocols retroactively, while development teams must work closely with security teams to understand the reasoning behind security decisions.
Secure software development relies on setting realistic expectations and deadlines, writing secure code, and performing comprehensive risk assessments. Organizations must also develop secure coding practices for developers to adhere to or utilize existing secure coding frameworks available online.
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