How do you secure your system design and development?

1 Define security requirements

The first step to secure your system design and development is to define the security requirements for your system. These are the specific goals, standards, and criteria that your system must meet or comply with to ensure its security. Security requirements can be derived from various sources, such as business objectives, legal regulations, industry standards, customer expectations, or risk assessments. You should document your security requirements clearly and communicate them to all stakeholders involved in the system design and development.

2 Apply security principles

The second step to secure your system design and development is to apply security principles to your system architecture and design. These security principles are general rules that help you make sound and consistent security decisions, such as granting only the minimum level of access and permissions necessary for each user, role, or function. Additionally, it is important to use multiple layers of security controls and mechanisms to protect your system from different types of threats and attacks. Furthermore, your system should be designed to fail securely and gracefully in case of errors, faults, or breaches. It is also essential to divide your system into distinct and independent modules or components that have clear boundaries and responsibilities. Finally, you should integrate security into every stage of the system design and development process, from planning to testing to deployment.

4 Test security performance

The fourth step to secure your system design and development is to test the security performance of your system. Testing is a vital activity that allows you to verify and validate that your system meets your security requirements and principles, as well as confirm that your security controls are effective and efficient. It also helps you detect and fix any security vulnerabilities or weaknesses that may be present in your system. You should carry out various types of testing, including functional testing to check if your system functions correctly and securely according to specifications, non-functional testing to assess how your system behaves under different conditions and scenarios, and penetration testing to evaluate how it responds to simulated attacks from malicious actors.

5 Monitor security status

The fifth step to secure your system design and development is to monitor the security status of your system. This continuous activity allows you to collect and analyze data and information about your system's security performance, events, and incidents, as well as detect and respond to any security issues or threats that may arise or escalate. To monitor effectively, you should use different tools and techniques such as logs, metrics, and alerts. Logs are records of activities and transactions that occur in your system, including user actions, system events, errors, or alerts. Metrics are quantitative measurements or indicators of your system's security performance such as availability, response time, throughput, or error rate. Alerts are notifications or warnings that inform you of any abnormal or suspicious situations or events that may affect your system's security, such as breaches, anomalies, or violations.

6 Review security practices

The sixth and final step to secure your system design and development is to review your security practices regularly and periodically. This iterative activity will allow you to evaluate and improve your security processes, methods, and outcomes, as well as adapt and update your security requirements, principles, and controls. You should conduct different types of reviews, such as audits - independent and objective assessments or examinations of your system's security compliance, effectiveness, and efficiency - feedback from users, customers, or partners on their satisfaction with the system's security; and lessons learned from security successes or failures to improve future system design and development.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?