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Are any of these words familiar? These are recent instances of threat actors using software vulnerabilities to advance their malicious efforts.
Solarwinds is perhaps the best-known example of a supply chain attack, in which hackers penetrate a vendor's network and infect its software before it reaches customers.
Information is at the core of all modern business processes and relationships, prompting presidents to issue executive orders on cybersecurity.
Cyberattacks tend to focus on software that manages today's data.
This article will present best practices for building secure software and how to identify vulnerabilities early and address them cost-effectively during development.
We'll also highlight resources created by experts that you can utilize as part of your own security development efforts.
What is Secure Software Development?
Secure software development (also referred to as DevSecOps) is a method for creating software that integrates security at each step of its Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC).
Security should be built into code from its inception rather than only being addressed after product testing has revealed critical flaws; additionally, planning stages include security considerations before any actual coding takes place.
Developers tend to view security as an impediment to innovation and creativity, which slows product launches. Unfortunately, this mindset impacts companies negatively, as fixing issues during implementation is six times more expensive than during testing.
What will customers make of new features if they can't use their app because it contains vulnerabilities hackers can exploit? Security has become an essential component of software engineering; organizations that fail to prioritize it will struggle in competition.
How can security become part of SDLC from its inception? Two methods exist. First, perform regular static and dynamic security tests, with documentation covering both software security requirements as well as functional requirements.
Next, conduct risk analyses during the design phase to help identify environmental threats and address them accordingly.
Organizations looking to provide secure software must prepare their people, processes, and technologies properly to be successful.
A well-crafted secure software development strategy provides the optimal conditions for creating secure software products.
What is a Secure Software Development Policy (SSDDP)?
A secure software policy provides guidelines that outline how an organization should reduce vulnerability during software development, with instructions on how to view, assess, and demonstrate security throughout each stage of SDLC, including risk management methods.
Secure software development policies must lay out rules for your team members. They should be well informed of their duties and receive comprehensive training before being subjected to rigorous employee screenings.
Segregating duties will help to ensure no single person controls or has complete knowledge of a project; testing protocols should also be employed as quality checks on employee work performance.
An effective software development policy must also include processes required to protect software. Separating Development, Test, and Operational Environments is one such process that fosters autonomy while eliminating test bias.
Access Control ensures employees only access data related to their jobs, while Version Control keeps a record of code changes made over time and their sources.
At the heart of every tech policy for secure software development lies its first step - setting forth rules governing programming languages and coding languages themselves.
Since some coding languages can contain vulnerabilities that need to be mitigated against, developers should receive guidance in terms of mitigating attack paths through education on such strategies as minimizing attack paths. A good policy also includes instructions on creating secure repositories for managing and storing code.
At times, having a secure development policy is both recommended and required for organizations adhering to SOC 2 Type 2 or ISO 27001 compliance requirements.
You can create your policy using resources like ISO 27001's Template Guide as inspiration or use one such as ISO 27001's Policy Template as a starting point.
Use a Secure Software Development Framework for Consistency and Best Practice
Organizations often reap benefits by aligning practices with a standard framework like NIST's Secure Software Development Framework.
Organizations like OWASP and SAFEcode have also created resources for secure software development that provide detailed information on software security issues; these tools aim to reduce, mitigate, or prevent vulnerabilities within software products.
Take a look at the NIST recommended processes for secure software development, which are divided into four stages.
- Prepare Organization (PO): Make sure that the people, processes, and technology of an organization are ready to develop secure software at the organizational level, as well as, in some instances, for individual projects.
- Protect software (PS): Prevent unauthorized access and modification of all software components.
- Produce Well Secured Software (PW): Software with minimal vulnerabilities in its release
- Respond To Vulnerabilities: Identify software vulnerabilities, and take appropriate action to fix them and prevent future vulnerabilities.
The following elements are included in the definition of each practice:
- Practice: A short statement of the practice along with an identifier and a description of what it is and why it is beneficial.
- Task: A single action or series of actions required to complete a practice.
- Implementation Example (Example): A scenario that can be used to demonstrate the practice.
- Reference: A document describing a secure development process and mapping it to a specific key task.
The sections that follow provide an in-depth description of NIST’s four secure software design processes.
Prepare the Organization: Tasks, Practices, and Examples
The first step to secure software development within an organization is defining its security requirements clearly both internally (Policies and Risk Management Strategies) and externally (Laws, Regulations).
Teams then undergo role-specific preparation with SSDF roles assigned and tools installed that speed SDLC; final step: security checks are installed to verify the software meets organization standards.
Tasks visible associated with security standards compliance include defining, communicating, and upholding requirements.
Training regimes, management support tools, and other resources will then be selected before creating benchmarks to track the achievement of security standards.
Examples include
- Developers need to know the specifics of coding and architecture.
- At least annually, and especially after incidents, review and update security requirements
- Assigning SSDF related roles, installing periodic reviews, and preparing for any role changes in the future.
- I am automating the toolchain management process by defining categories and tools and specifying each.
- Create an audit trail for actions related to secure development
- Identification of key performance indicators using automated tools to collect feedback and review and documentation of all evidence for security checks to support standards
Protecting Software: Tasks, Examples, and Practices
It is important to protect the code and ensure the integrity of the software until the final customer receives it.
This process is focused on protecting code from unauthorized access, ensuring the integrity of the software, and protecting it after release.
's primary task involves storing code using the principle of least privilege to ensure that only authorized users have access.
Every customer receives a copy of each release, which includes the components listed and information on integrity verification.
Examples include
- Store code in a secure repository with restricted access
- Version control is a great way to keep track of all changes in code.
- Code signing only with trusted certificates authorities and posting cryptographic hashes of released software
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How to Produce Secure Software: Tasks, Practices, and Examples
This entire process is complex and involves various actors and practices. Software must first be designed and tested to meet security requirements before third parties are thoroughly evaluated to make sure they do as well.
Developers then employ best practices in code writing to boost product security, while manual and automated methods are used to analyze code to detect vulnerabilities, ensure compliance, and identify vulnerabilities that need fixing. Eventually, the software is configured with default security settings that provide protection right out of the box; trusted components may even be reused during production.
Tasks such as creating a trusted components list, using threat modeling to assess risk, and reviewing external security requirements are among the many tasks included here.
In addition, vulnerability tests must also be designed and conducted on all identified vulnerabilities before documenting results and rectifying all discovered issues.
Setting secure defaults can be a time-consuming and complex task that some may regard as redundant. They must fit with other security features on your single platform, then be explained to administrators.
Examples include
- Training a team of developers in the best practices for secure construction and risk assessment
- Reviewing current designs and reviewing vulnerability reports from previous releases to ensure that all security risks are addressed
- Include security requirements in contracts with third parties while creating policies for managing third-party risk
- Only develop in areas that require safe codes and avoid all unsafe building functions
- Use only the latest, validated version of compiler tools
- Combining peer reviews, static/dynamic analysis testing, and penetration testing in order to detect software weaknesses, then documenting the results and lessons learned
- Creating a repository of trusted components for building projects
- Documenting the proper use of administrators and verifying that security defaults are set to approved levels.
Practices, Tasks, and Examples to Respond to Vulnerabilities
Security experts' job involves more than simply finding vulnerabilities; it also encompasses remediation - correcting existing vulnerabilities while collecting data for future prevention.
Once vulnerabilities have been identified and verified, remediation must begin as quickly as possible to reduce threat actor attack window size. Furthermore, once an existing vulnerability has been mitigated, it's essential to understand its cause so as to avoid similar future incidents.
Tasks in this final phase include gathering customer information and testing code for undiscovered flaws, creating and implementing rapid vulnerability mitigation/response plans, as well as creating remediation plans for each vulnerability identified.
Additionally, it is critical to examine root causes over time in order to detect patterns and rectify similar issues in other software packages.
Furthermore, SDLC should be updated periodically in order to prevent similar issues in future releases.
Examples include
- Create a vulnerability report and response program
- Automating code analysis and monitoring to detect vulnerabilities
- Prioritizing remediation and assessing the impact on each vulnerability.
- The SSDF is being adjusted to include a suitable adjustment for future automatic detection.
Why do Developers Skip Security Steps?
There are many reasons why software developers choose to skip software development security Below we've listed the most common.
Time and Resources Lack
Developers under pressure to meet deadlines may skip security measures. According to statistics, 67% of developers do not address vulnerabilities in their code - one reason being tight deadlines.
An understanding and appreciating business leader will recognize the need for secure software development and be willing to invest extra resources and time into various security tools.
When one developer writes the code for a simple form, it typically takes only minutes; however, a longer form may require additional help to combat cross-site scripting attacks.
One developer will find it virtually impossible to design forms that include protection routines in less than an hour due to strict deadlines; therefore, they will most likely skip this step and focus on other components instead.
Lack of Education
There are many different types of developers, as well as differences in the way that they write code. There's a chance that some of your developers don't prioritize security in the development process.
Security and Development Silos
Many business leaders mistakenly believe that software security should be handled exclusively by specialists. While this may be true in certain instances, this approach typically isn't the most efficient means of creating secure software applications.
Due to this misconception, many organizations establish separate cybersecurity teams which work independently from developers and do not communicate directly.
Security vulnerabilities often lie dormant within code for months or even weeks before being discovered; this not only compromises system security but also slows development processes.
Important: While separate teams for security and development can exist, they should collaborate whenever possible and encourage open dialogue among them.
Security is not a top priority
A recent survey found that 86% of software developers do not consider security to be a priority when developing new software.
This alarming figure only shows that many organizations do not prioritize secure development practices.
Read More: Choosing Custom Software Development Company
Top Developer Security Practices
It's time to talk about the best developer security practices.
Make Software Security a Priority From the Start
Your team has already discussed the need to integrate security into the software development lifecycle process.
Adherence to the secure software lifecycle is vital. This means assessing security at each step in a project's lifespan: planning, design, development, bug fixing, and maintenance until its conclusion.
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Simple actions can significantly enhance SDLC security. For instance, encouraging developers to utilize security seat belts like pre-commit hooks can prevent secrets from being committed into repository source code and could make an enormous difference.
Improve the organizational culture and foster cross-team collaboration to create an optimal working environment.
Remember that developers who are happy and satisfied will prioritize security when writing code.
Defining Project Security Requirements
Before the start of development, you must identify all potential security weaknesses and gaps. Use the following tips to help you.
- Multi-core software is designed to take into account unknown and unanticipated interactions between threads and processes.
- Improve your system's ability to resist unintentional and/or intentional failures. Cybercriminals, for example, often use fake queries and overload a system to make it unmanageable.
- Plan a hierarchy of rights for users (project roles) so that based on the individual's responsibilities, they can be granted limited access.
- Set limits on the way different processes behave and operate. This will help ensure that hackers do not cause damage to the system or interfere with it.
Identifying Potential Security Threats
Together with your team, identify any potential security risks associated with the tools that you use. This step must be done before the team begins development.
When writing code, adopt a defensive attitude and unit test each area that is of concern. Make sure your developers review their code after every change to see if they have introduced new security vulnerabilities.
Standards and Guidelines for Secure Coding
Each organization should implement secure coding guidelines tailored specifically to its project needs and data protection goals.
The primary goal is securing sensitive data, such as personal and sensitive financial records.
Data must always be protected during transit and storage - this includes cookies, sessions, file storage, and database storage.
You can protect these assets using encryption services, and keep in mind that communications channels within your team can also attract malicious actors who could compromise them and cause data breaches.
To create secure coding standards, it is best to adhere to the security standards of the tech industry.
These standards help to promote the use of better design principles in organizations. These are some of your best options for security standards.
OWASP SAMM and OWASP SAMM
OWASP is an acronym for the open web application project. It's a standard that provides developers with a set of requirements for secure web application development, as well as a foundation for testing security.
The OWASP SAMM is a tool to help organizations adjust their security operations according to their risk profile.
NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology - National Institute of Standards and Technology SSDF)
NIST SSDF is a set of rules for secure software development based on the best practices outlined by organizations that are security-oriented, such as OWASP.
The NIST Secure Software Development Framework breaks the software lifecycle down into four categories, as listed below.
- Preparing Organization: Making certain that all technologies, processes, and people within the organization are prepared for secure development. This includes both the development teams themselves as well as the organizational level.
- Protecting Software: Ensure the protection of all components in software from unauthorized access and tampering.
- Fully Secured Solutions: is the development and release of solutions with minimal security vulnerability.
- Addressing Vulnerabilities: Identifying security vulnerabilities and fixing them in order to prevent their occurrence in future releases.
Update Frameworks and Libraries
Organizations seeking to develop software must use various frameworks and libraries. When selecting these, organizations should opt for trusted frameworks with long histories; those that have been around longer tend to have fewer vulnerabilities than newer entrants.
Enhance software security with open-source components designed to facilitate early bug identification, as well as using secure libraries which reduce the attack surface on your system.
Before integrating any framework into their systems, developers should do extensive research into its reputation.
If possible, each new library added should be reviewed by an actual person before being added. A centralized software component registry also allows for more control of third-party applications used.
Conduct Security Awareness Training
Your software development team should understand all of the potential security issues they could encounter during development, so provide education on some of the more frequent threats affecting software creation.
Understanding how hackers and cybercriminals operate will enable developers to avoid code practices that could be exploited by cybercriminals.
Establish regular meetings between your teams so they can exchange information and explore techniques for secure development.
These gatherings can teach them how to write code that resists cyberattacks.
Secure Access to Databases
The database(s) is one of the most important and valuable parts of any software. They must be configured properly and protected.
It is important to make sure that there are no loopholes or cracks in your system which could allow unauthorized access or data leakage.
Use Digital User Identification
Implement digital user identities to secure access for specific users/developers.
If you are working on GitHub and provide unrestricted or unsecured access for users of your repository (and mistakes are more frequent than you think!), this could open the door to security breaches.
Make sure to implement and review a digital identity system to secure access.
Handle Errors and Exceptions in all Areas
It is essential to handle exceptions and errors in order to maintain the sustainability of a system. You can determine how the software will respond to unpredictability and create processes to prevent the system from failing.
Monitor Security Information
It is important to log security information in order to track the unusual behavior of your solution. It will not only help you detect security incidents but also give you valuable data about the suspicious behavior of the system.
You'll then be able to address the problem before it becomes a data breach.
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How Cisin Helps with Information Security Compliance
Individuals often fail to complete tasks on time, and this presents a major threat to information security. Human errors often lie at the core of many security problems; security professionals require platforms that allow them to assign and document tasks for security, monitor whether tasks have been completed on schedule, and maintain accountability.
Cisin was designed as both a project management system and an accountability framework for leaders in security and compliance.
You can easily implement best-of-breed security frameworks like NIST SSDF or Cybersecurity Framework using cisin. Furthermore, engineers, IT professionals, and system administrators can all distribute security tasks within cisin while monitoring its effectiveness over time.
Cisin makes it simple and fast to identify who is accountable for carrying out certain security/compliance activities and whether they have been completed, as well as automatically gathering proof from cloud-based tools and developer systems for verification of whether security review tasks were carried out.
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