How to Strengthen Your Software Security?

• By Anna Shipman
• 18-11-2022
• Mobile Apps

If you are a software developer, you will know how important it is to follow the best security practices. However, there is a good chance that something might slip your mind. The realization only hits when any security issue comes up, so it becomes important to consistently come up with ideas that will boost software security.

Software security is not limited to strong credentials or authentication. It takes place long before a product is developed. Oftentimes, security practices come to our notice when things are out of control. Even large organizations and skilled developers make mistakes. Thus, keeping track of your software security and consistently improving it will help you safeguard your as well as your user's data.

By implementing best practices, software developers can incorporate rigorous security measures into every aspect. The basic purpose of following these practices is to reduce any vulnerabilities in your code, secure it from hackers and cybercriminals, and keep the users' data private.

Let us share some of the software security considerations you must make:

Password Protection

Oftentimes, developers deploy encryption for storing their passwords, which is why an unwanted party might find the decryption key or algorithm. In order to eliminate this opportunity, hashing is an ideal solution as it doesn't exhibit a direct reverse. So hashing the passwords would mean no one would have the authority to reverse them.

Application of Code Signing Certificate from a Reputable CA

Although you have made your software live and it is all ready to be downloaded, what decides its success is its online reputation. Code signing your software from a reputed Code Signing Certificate provider is recommended to increase its reputation. Whether it will help you in many ways as it will:

• Eliminate or at least get less security warnings for unsigned software
• Show how reliable your software is
• Authenticate your software's integrity
• Improve your user's confidence

Comodo Code Signing Certificate is one of the most preferred certificates among software developers. While a reputable CA's Code Signing Certificate might be expensive, you can always opt for a cheap Code Signing Certificate from a reliable vendor.

Whether an EV Code Signing Certificate or an OV certificate, each has its own pros and cons.

Consistency with Coding Standards

The format guide of your coding should be on the basis of the programming language so it must cover topics like file naming conventions, non-ASCII character representation, and how to use wildcard imports. Likewise, you must avoid rules that have zero contribution in improvement of your coding maintenance, security, reliability, or consistency.

Protection of Confidential Data

It can be fatal if there is a loss of confidential data of the company, like health records or financial details. Therefore, it is important to protect it by all means so that it is not subjected to compromise.

Similarly, when you develop software, it is crucial to check the categorization of information and mechanisms for safeguarding it against interception, disclosure, or tampering. A good example can be categorizing data. It is an organized and planned decision for delegating its confidentiality level to decide at what level a given information needs to be protected.

Suitable Addition of Security Requirements

It is important to make a suitable division of all the needs, such as validations and functional and non-functional requirements. Moreover, you can develop misuse cases, use cases, and other things that attackers can do. The list must also have what you want in your whitelist rather than a blacklist. You can employ approved encryption for dynamic and static data.

Exceptions and Errors Handling

We understand that handling all the exceptions and errors isn't a pleasing job to do, but it is a good idea to handle it suitably. During the exception or error handling, if any issue occurs, it can result in different types of issues, sometimes even exposing the software to serious vulnerabilities that can damage your brand's reputation.

One fine example can be avoiding offering a detailed error message. If you disclose any technical data about the run-time environment of the software, a hacker can leverage this opportunity to launch an attack.

Third-Party Tools

Although your internal security measures are top-notch, you must also consider and look up third-party tools you are integrating. For example, you must ensure that your third-party tool providers agree with you regarding the security measures. It is because if anything goes south with them, it can result in a problem for you too.

Cloud backup can be considered an ideal example. There is a wide availability of cloud backup providers, each varying from one another in terms of security and features. Thus, it is important to know that you are using a cloud provider that is not risking your data or its security.

Authorization

It is considered the best practice when you prioritize the execution of authorization. However, oftentimes it is overlooked, and because of that, it becomes a significant vulnerability that can result in the leakage of user information or modification of users' information without their consent or knowledge.

Typically developers monitor the sessions requested by the end user and respond depending on the parameter that comes via the query. In the case of an API, they pass the parameter value once the login verification is done. Rather than doing this, developers should begin checking for authorization and should not only rely upon authentication.

User Access

You must always be careful about who you give and what type of access and features. Providing access based on a user's role in an organization is recommended. Similarly, you can examine it upfront while designing the software, as it is quite a time-intensive process to change the access control later.

For example, you can execute access control rules within a central management library instead of implementing rules throughout the business code logic. Thus, it becomes convenient to update or audit rules when needed. Moreover, you must make the rules that, by default, deny and verify to make sure the user can go further and access any given functionality or feature.

These are some of the key considerations you must make for your software security. Make sure you keep them in mind while ensuring your software security.

Concluding Words

Your end-users heavily rely on the applications, so it is important to be secure. Software security will protect you against threat actors, hacking, or other online risks. In addition, it is a preventive way of addressing security early instead of waiting for security issues to happen.

With each year, the number of cyber-attacks keeps increasing, and there is no sign of slowing down. As more and more business practices and personal lives are shifting towards digital mode, hackers are getting more powerful, thanks to the overlooked data security. Considering the factors mentioned above will help you strengthen your software security.