App security is a big issue today. There are over 7 million apps available on Android and iOS platforms today, all of which have vulnerabilities. Mobile use has exploded, and people use apps daily for various tasks.
Yes, these apps make our lives easier and help us save time, organize our schedules, get the latest information, etc. However, this rapid expansion of mobile apps combined with new technologies presents various security risks. In 2022 over 1.4 billion app records were exposed, with around 60% being the result of hacking.
For a while, it was all about quantity rather than quality. Developers didn’t put in enough time securing the apps they released since the only thing that mattered was offering something new first. Here are some things developers could do to secure these apps better.
Add secure practices into the DevOps process
Most development companies today use the DevOps method, and it’s essential to incorporate all the best security practices into the process. That helps the team understand the security requirements and create a more secure solution.
Teams can recognize potential security issues and deal with them immediately. Having all DevSecOps practices set in place, along with JFrog DevOps tools, will enable your business to eliminate bugs and reduce vulnerabilities.
Companies can even create bug bounty programs that reward people for finding bugs or security gaps. Simply put, companies must create a development culture where security is one of the top priorities and must be considered early on.
Invest in security awareness training
Software developers are often obsessed with their work and want to learn new technologies and coding languages. However, they often need to be more educated about security issues, app vulnerabilities, common attacks, and how to avoid security issues.
Developers create apps and must understand security to ensure they don’t create significant security liabilities. Development companies need to invest in security awareness training and teach employees about common vulnerabilities, types of attacks, and how hackers exploit weaknesses.
When developers know the security mistakes when writing code, they are more likely to avoid them. Consistent education and training are essential since security threats change and improve, just like software development practices.
Companies should do code reviews to recognize issues
Code reviews are methodical assessments of code by other developers. The goal is to help developers learn about the source code, improve the quality of the code, find bugs, and recognize security issues. Safe design practices are imperative for creating robust software.
Developers should have a defensive approach when writing code. On top of that, it’s essential to perform writing unit tests and code tests to ensure you’ve covered all potential scenarios and attacks.You should check each code change you introduce for any security issues. Review your security requirements to ensure you follow all the best practices throughout the development lifecycle.
Use maintained and well-established frameworks and libraries
Maintained and well-established frameworks and libraries have fewer vulnerabilities compared to now code bases. Adding open-source components helps manage security through patches and early bug detection. At the same time, using the most reliable libraries reduces the overall attack surface of the app.
Developers should always take the time to learn about a framework or library before they start using it for their applications. There are various online tools with detailed information about essential metrics, release frequency, patches, community efforts, etc. All this information can help you learn how reliable a library or a framework is and help you decide if you’re choosing the suitable component for your security needs.
Adopt secure coding standards and guidelines
Safe apps are the result of robust coding standards and guidelines. The development company must define these elements through a consensus while looking at the current best industry practices. Adopting the correct standards helps you improve the whole organization’s design principles, thus reducing vulnerabilities. Furthermore, by setting a set of restrictions and rules about what kind of code needs to be written, teams can use the correct testing methods to determine whether there are vulnerabilities and how they can be fixed. Threat modeling is useful for identifying threats by going through data flows and analyzing what can disrupt them.
Conclusion
Developing secure apps is more than just having a safe code. Teams must adopt a holistic approach while implementing the proper DevOps practices in everyday workflows. Secure DevOps means adopting security as one of the most important outcomes from the start of the development
through deployment and app usage.