The modern software developer faces an enormous amount of challenges. From continuously creating innovative apps to ensuring high quality and meeting tight deadlines, developers need to cope with many responsibilities. As a result, security is still one of the last priorities on many developers’ minds during the software development lifecycle.
Vulnerable Apps Increase Cyber Threats
Despite that the 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report indicates that most data breaches happen through vulnerable web applications, many developers are still hesitant to adopt a security mindset. Even though the news headlines are filled with the names of companies being compromised every day, they make the mistake of thinking it could not happen to them.
Many software developers do not typically worry about data breaches and other attacks until it affects them directly. One major difference between someone building an app and someone trying to exploit it is that the attacker does not follow the same modus operandi and they do not usually have constraints of time or risk of failure. All they need is one weak application which can be the vehicle for deploying DDoS attacks, rendering services unusable.
It is imperative for developers to understand how hackers are operating. For example, there are effective ways of mitigating SQL Injection, and there are well known patterns on how to prevent them in popular languages that are used to create applications. However, application breaches show that SQL Injection still stands as one of the top cybersecurity threats today.
Why Do We Need Developers with a Security Mindset?
Contrary to what many may think, developing secure software is not about teaching developers how they can stop attacks. Rather, it is about creating a security mindset so that if security is not an ever thought, an application breach will impact their business sooner or later.
Here are 4 reasons why:
1. Apps Generate More Data and More Risks
The rise of medical, fitness and fintech apps along with the increasing number of connected devices produce lots of sensitive data about us. We are trusting these apps with our healthcare records, banking information, and even the locations we visit. If the vendors developing these services lack security insight and a strategy for secure software development, the risk that all this sensitive information could be exposed to cybersecurity threats is increased. With more and more regulations mandating the protection of this data, no company can afford the consequences of a privacy breach.
2. Security-By-Design Strategies
No matter how robust your hashing algorithms are, if your database security is weak, your users’ data is at risk. Companies need to develop software with security in mind from day one to build secure systems and minimize vulnerabilities. Even the strongest castles may fall because of a forgotten open door.
3. Balance Security and User Experience
It is not always easy to balance between secure and user-friendly solutions. Making sure your level of security is top-notch might increase development time for a feature that is not visible for end-users and it might affect the overall performance. Considering this balancing exercise, developers make important decisions on “what’s secure enough” for each use case. To find the right balance of security and usability or performance, they need to have practical knowledge of cryptography and secure coding techniques.
4. Integrating Crypto Components Helps
Security challenges are frequently solved by integrating third-party components and Software Development Kits (SDKs). Selecting and integrating them properly on all platforms and in a scalable way requires actionable knowledge on security. Also, integrating tools requires regular maintenance and updates: not only do you have to find the right components, but you also must ensure they work together properly.
The Key to a Security Mindset: Continuous Education
Application developers need to have an actionable set of cryptography and cybersecurity foundational skills to be able to complete several tasks related to writing secure code and minimizing vulnerabilities. This is not an in-depth understanding of the theoretical background, but a solid understanding of the main rules, best practices, do’s, and don'ts.
Education is the best way to ensure software developers are adopting security practices daily. With proper training, such as the (ISC)² Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP) certification, developers can understand how to build secure code and put the proper protocols in place for the complex interconnectivities all applications have today by mitigating insecure patterns, reducing the attack surface and making their applications harder to exploit.
Software developers and architects who have obtained the CSSLP certification have benefited from the certification in multiple ways, from professional growth to self-confidence and reputation, to a deeper understanding of the secure software lifecycle.
How (ISC)² Can Help
CSSLP is the industry’s premier secure software development certification. Earning the globally recognized CSSLP secure software development certification is a proven way to build your career and better incorporate security practices into each phase of the software development lifecycle (SDLC).
CSSLP certification recognizes leading application security skills. It shows employers and peers you have the advanced technical skills and knowledge necessary for authentication, authorization, and auditing throughout the SDLC using best practices, policies and procedures established by the cybersecurity experts at (ISC)².
(ISC)2 is the leader in security certifications and is acknowledged by companies worldwide. To learn how you can benefit, read our white paper, The Confessions of a Software Developer.