How can you implement security measures throughout the development process?

Do threat modelling, when performed correctly, threat modeling can provide a clear line of sight across a software project, helping to justify security efforts. At the of the day, TM is a proactive method of uncovering threats not usually considered or found through code reviews and other types of audits.

To ensure the security of your software, you should first identify the specific security standards and regulations applicable based on its intended use and geographic location, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI DSS. Define clear security objectives for confidentiality, integrity, availability, accountability, authenticity, and non-repudiation. Define access controls, encryption, and monitoring to mitigate identified risks. Develop an incident response plan to respond quickly and effectively to security incidents. Incorporate security testing into your software development lifecycle to identify and address vulnerabilities early. Lastly, ensure that your team is trained in security best practices and the specific requirements of your software.

It can help to already perform some threat modeling sessions. With the high-level design, it is possible to identify risks together with the team and the architect. I like to use the STRIDE methodology for that. can be designed in Threat Dragon from OWASP or simply in Draw.io which makes it more accessible for the team. Identify the 6 threats of STRIDE S: Spoofing T: Tampering R: Repudiation I: Information disclosure D: Denial of service E: Elevation of privilege This a great moment to help identify possible threads in your platform and already think of possible mitigations prior to the developing phase which will save you time.

Avoid common design flaws, such as hard-coding sensitive data, which can be exposed if an attacker gains access to the code; using insecure protocols, which can be intercepted and manipulated by attackers; or trusting user input without proper validation, which can lead to vulnerabilities like SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS).

It’s much easier to implement security along with your software development, rather than adding it to an already developed app. By introducing input validation early on and utilizing secure libraries for database access, authentication, and authorization, etc., you lay a strong foundation. Additionally, choosing secure frontend technologies like templating engines or modern JavaScript frameworks such as Angular or React is beneficial. Thinking about these elements during the planning phase not only enhances security but also simplifies the process, demonstrating that security isn’t as daunting as it might seem.

Use tools like code review, unit testing, and static analysis to ensure the quality and security of your code. Code review helps identify and fix security vulnerabilities, while unit testing ensures that individual components of your software function as intended. Static analysis tools can scan your code for potential security issues, providing an additional layer of assurance.

There are many possibilities that you can and eventually should implement here. If you deploy your application by making use of pipelines. This is a great moment to also implement some security based tests. Think about secret scanning with gitleaks or thruffelhog Think about sast scanning with: Owasp dependency check, Sonar Qube container scanning with: Grype and Syft DAST scanning with for example Dastardly from Burp Suite. All these assessments will help identify possible risks. Which you can then mitigate prior to a pentest and eventually push your application live to production. Keep in mind that these tools do lead to lots of false positives. So good housekeeping and evaluation are required. But in time it will help immensely.

For security testing, consider using tools like OWASP ZAP, Burp Suite, Nessus, Metasploit, Nmap, Wireshark, OpenVAS, SQLMap, Aircrack-ng, and Nexpose. These tools cover a range of security testing aspects, including web application scanning, vulnerability assessment, penetration testing, network scanning, protocol analysis, and more.