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Originally Posted On: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/mastering-security-best-practices-for-secure-software-development/ar-AA1ji2UL
Cyber security is at the forefront of the minds of business owners and private citizens, with data breaches and hacks becoming a regular occurrence. A shocking 80 percent of businesses in the United States claim to have been hacked by cyber thieves. Secure software is one of the best ways to keep these would-be thieves at bay.
Knowing how to handle access control and threat modeling is critical when developing software for your business clients or consumers. The wrong steps could create liability and damage your brand’s image. The proper steps and precautions will help you provide a secure and beneficial product.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the perfect spot to learn about the best practices for secure software development. Continue reading to ramp up security and improve access control today!
Implement Threat Modeling
One of the first practices to implement when creating secure software is threat modeling. Threat modeling is a valuable addition to your development processes because it analyzes the software’s architecture to determine weaknesses.
Threat modeling makes ensuring secure software a breeze. You’ll know which security controls to add when developing the software to keep unauthorized users on the outside. Finding your software’s vulnerabilities is much more time-consuming and frustrating without threat modeling.
Use Secure Coding Practices
Secure coding practices are another essential thing to add to your process when creating secure software. Input validation and communication protocols are two vital areas to focus on.
These practices are the best defense against buffer overflow attacks and cross-site scripting. Put secure coding practices to use to create better software products and services that grant your customers peace of mind. Work with these DevOps Consulting Services for guidance on improving your security practices.
Coding Review
Coding review is a crucial step in bolstering your coding security. The process entails reviewing the code you’ve written for the software program. Developers can use these reviews to identify potential problems with security.
Implement coding review to provide an extra layer of security and accountability. You can identify these risks early in the development process. It will save time and resources when developing your next product or software program.
Software Testing
Secure software is only possible with software testing as part of your development process. Part of that testing should include regular security tests. These tests will tell you much about how accessible your software is to hackers.
Penetration testing and vulnerability scanning are the best ways to test your software. You can fix issues before deploying your software. It’s an excellent way to avoid unnecessary software updates in the future.
Access Control
Access control is a massive vulnerability for companies nationwide. Building access control into your software is one of the most effective ways to develop secure software. User identification measures are an effective way to keep unauthorized users out.
It’s also wise to include role-based access within the software program. You’ll limit who can see sensitive data irrelevant to their jobs. Authorization will ensure your sensitive data remains safe from prying eyes and malicious attacks.
Regular Software Updates
Software updates are a fantastic trick to have up your sleeve when seeking solutions for secure software. It’s an excellent way to patch any vulnerabilities that hackers could attempt to exploit. Running these updates lowers the risk of data breaches through your software.
Allowing for automatic updates is the best way to provide additional security for your consumers and products. Ensure all components of the software are covered with these updates. It’s the best way to keep hackers out and sensitive data safe.
Secure Configuration Management
All software you develop should come equipped with secure configurations. Part of your development process should include configuring each component for optimal security. It’s the best time to configure access controls to keep unauthorized users out.
Network settings are another significant risk. Check to ensure they’re configured to close any loopholes hackers could try. You’ll improve the odds of protecting your customers and their data.
Security Training
Most breaches occur through online activity, but guarding against them starts with security training for your developers. It’s vital to provide ongoing training for your developers to prevent easy access to data that could cost your brand millions of dollars.
The training should cover the most recent practices for developing secure software. Ongoing training will help your developers stay ahead of the hackers in this game of cyber cat and mouse. Developers must understand the importance of data security and encryption when developing software.
Incident Response
Knowing how to respond to incidents in advance gives your team of developers the best shot at stopping hackers in their tracks. Take time to draw up a response plan so your brand is prepared for the worst.
Your incident response plan should include plans to contain the breach and identify potential security threats. It’s also critical to provide ways to recover lost data during a breach.
Continued Monitoring
Developing secure software and keeping it free of cyber threats requires continued monitoring. Hackers constantly identify new ways to access sensitive data and information. Monitoring the software is the best way to learn about new holes in your software’s security.
You’ll have the capability of monitoring and responding to security breaches instantaneously. System logs are an essential part of your software to monitor for threats and hackers.
Network traffic is another hotspot to watch when building secure software for your customers. Monitor the traffic to look for suspicious activity and website visitors. User behavior is another option to monitor to look for patterns and suspicious behavior that can help you find cyber threats.
Start Developing Secure Software Today
Secure software is an essential part of providing software as a service to other businesses and consumers. Taking the proper steps to safeguard data and keep cyber threats at bay is critical, and it starts with software updates and access control.
Coding review will help your developers find any vulnerabilities. Threat modeling is valuable for identifying potential threats attempting to access your information. Taking steps to create secure software will save your brand time and money.
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