The Importance of Secure Coding: Ensuring Data Security

While developing software, the most prominent factor is coding. Not only does it add necessary features to the software, but it also helps make it secure. Traditionally, securing the program is the security team's job and is mainly performed at the end. Though this approach will also help safeguard the program from security vulnerabilities, it consumes much time. With that in mind, the right approach is using secure coding. In this article, you will learn about secure coding, why it should be used, common security vulnerabilities from which secure coding protects, and the best secure coding practices.  

What is Secure Coding?

Whether adding security features or making way for security vulnerabilities, it is the coding stage where everything is added. Rather than adding security, poor coding practices make the program vulnerable to such attacks. Secure coding is an assortment of practices that help identify and eradicate code vulnerabilities that can compromise software security. With secure coding, it becomes complex for the attackers to breach the security layer and cause harm to the software or data.  

Secure coding surely enhances software protection from attackers. Still, it cannot be the sole barrier between the program and the attacker. Understanding that the software can only be protected with a collection of security layers and practices and not just by secure coding is pivotal. However, it is worth noting that it is the foremost step in accomplishing the goal of protected software. 

Benefits of Secure Coding

As the name defines, the benefit of secure coding is to protect software from malicious attacks, but that is not it. Such practices are used due to several other benefits, which are elaborated on below.

1. Eradication of Coding Errors:

Having an erroneous code is a common mistake committed by developers unintentionally. Though the mistake is small, the repercussions can result in exploitation by an attacker. Actions like buffer overflow, wrong format strings, and SQL injections can be committed. With secure coding, the developer tends to review the code, allowing them to rectify any error within the code, removing the possibility of common attacks. 

2. Coding Standards:

Secure coding involves the developer following a set of guidelines and standards. These standards give them a clear path to what they want to achieve. However, if secure coding is not followed, the developers only have one goal; to build the software quickly. On the other hand, with secure coding in place, their goal shifts to building 'secure software.' In simpler terms, secure coding standards provide developers with the roadmap they should follow to build safe software. 

3. Faster Deployment:

Software development is comparable to a race where faster deployments result in a better outcome. Without secure coding, the security team has to put in additional efforts post-development, resulting in more time consumption. One of the core elements of secure coding is implementing security practices in the development stage. With security in mind, while developing, the security testing teams must spend less time on their work. 

Furthermore, common bugs can be identified and fixed in the development stage rather than testing. All these factors shorten the software development lifecycle (SDLC), resulting in faster yet more secure deployments. 

Security Vulnerabilities that Can be Identified with Secure Coding

With secure coding, developers can prevent malicious attacks by fixing the code and removing vulnerabilities. Below are the commonest security vulnerabilities found in the code that would otherwise remain if secure coding is not implemented while writing the code. 

• Buffer Overflow: Sometimes, developers under allocate the memory reserves necessary for the optimum functioning of the software. Under allocation results in the leakage of confidential data on memory stacks, resulting in a major security vulnerability. The hacker can access and rewrite the exposed data, allowing them to control the software. C++ and C are the most susceptible to buffer overflow attacks among many. 

• Code Injection: Code injection attacks are among the most common attacks. Unlike many others, these attacks are not common in any specific language. Rather, popular languages like Ruby, SQL, Python, PHP, C++, and Java can become victims of such attacks if secure coding is not implemented. In such attacks, the attacker submits a code into the app, which influences the desired function and makes it perform as desired. 
  
  One common type of code injection is SQL injection, where the attacker can access a website's database. With such an attack, the attacker can access sensitive data, including personal contact details, email addresses, and bank details.

• Open Source Programs: Every developer loves to use open-source tools and programs for development. Organizations with a tight budget also prefer using such programs as they are free. However, open-source programs' code is public and comes with several security gaps. Attackers are aware of such gaps, which they tend to abuse to gain access to users' data. 
  
  Even though open-source software has a vast community meant to help users, hackers often become members of the same community to attain in-depth information about the software and its vulnerabilities. Due to this, open-source programs not only come with security flaws but are also the primary target of most hackers. 
  

• Leaked Access Keys: To access and manage cloud resources, secret programmatic keys are essential to access identity and access management roles that permit them to be used in cloud resources. Essentially, these keys should be encrypted so that no other entity can use them. However, developers may embed these into var files or local stores. When the desired repo is public, it becomes a security vulnerability as anyone can access and use it.  

Secure Coding Best Practices: Protect Your Software

Secure coding is all about using the right practices while writing the code to protect the developed program. The following section will explain some of the best secure coding practices.

1. Authentication:

One of the commonest ways of data theft is giving access to entire data to everybody. One of the best practices in secure coding is giving access to only authorized users and only to essential data, which is necessary to perform. In addition to that, you need to promote strong passwords and a reliable password management system. 

2. Scanning and Code Review:

Attacks like SQL injection and XSS abuse security vulnerabilities within the code where the code fails to differentiate between command and data. Through this attack, the hacker tries to access confidential data. Using automatic scanning tools can help identify any underlying common security vulnerability in the code that could otherwise remain unnoticed.

The code can further be made more secure by adding manual code reviews. Frequently renewing the code will allow you to fix any security issue in the code that may have slipped by the tool. 

3. Take Caution While Using Open-Source Components:

Open-source components are free to use and add several program features. Even though legions of organizations use such components, they are also the reason for multiple malicious attacks on their software. Many open-source components have known security issues that attackers exploit. 

To ensure that your software remains secure, check whether the component you intend to use has any known vulnerability. In addition, monitor the component for any new security flaws frequently.

4. Obfuscation and Minification:

The code may be written in a human-readable language so developers can understand it easily. However, it makes it easier to read for the attackers as well. Obfuscation is a technique of making the existing code complex to understand. 

Another practice is Minification, where the developers eradicate line breaks and white spaces from the code. Though minification aimed to improve the performance, it made it harder to read, preventing several attacks. 

5. Managing Errors:

No matter how skilled a developer is, they are bound to face several errors while coding. The right secure coding practice is to identify and fix the error as soon as it is noticed. Event logging helps identify issues accurately, as developers can access these logs to detect flaws. However, it is worth noting that these logs should not have confidential data, or anyone else can access them.

6. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST):

Once the software is developed, the desired team should mimic several cyber-attack scenarios the program may witness after release. This testing, also called DAST, helps identify the software's resilience. Successful completion of DAST will provide you with any existing security vulnerability in the code, making it a vital secure coding practice. 

7. Follow the Guidelines of Security Standards:

Many organizations have set security guidelines to prevent cyberattacks. Security standards like OWASP, CWE, and NVD have set specific guidelines to ensure that the software remains secure from any attack. For better security, knowing and following the guidelines should be included in secure coding. 

Security Standards: What Are Secure Coding Standards?

Currently, Many security standards provide guidelines and information on preventing cyberattacks and making software more secure. Here are the top standards that you should know about. 

1. Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP): OWASP is a non-profit entity that offers free application testing resources. It is far-famed for its top ten web application security risks, which are updated frequently, informing developers of every common attack. Their web security testing guide is also updated constantly so that they can integrate it during the development process for secure coding.
2. National Vulnerability Database: NVD is maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and is an initiative by the US government to identify data vulnerabilities. It allows the team to know essential information like impact ratings, severity scores, and how to fix vulnerabilities.
3. Common Weakness Enumeration: The CWE is a renowned system that lists all the major hardware and software security weaknesses in the most commonly used languages, including C++, Java, and C. The CWE list is prepared through constant research and user feedback, allowing it to identify the most catastrophic security vulnerabilities.
4. DISA STIG: Though it is specific for applications deploying on the Department of Defense (DoD), it still helps in-house and third-party applications in development and evaluation. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) offers different Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIG) that help implement secure practices on the applications deploying on DoD.
5. Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT): Operated by the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, CERT is a global network of cybersecurity experts. The focus involves vulnerability analysis, incident response, and developing best practices to boost cybersecurity. Collaborating with organizations worldwide, CERT provides resources, expertise, and guidance to prevent, detect and respond to cybersecurity incidents effectively.
6. Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE): Launched in 1999 by the MITRE corporation, CVE is a list of publicly disclosed information on security vulnerabilities and exposures. It is a free dictionary available to organizations with a motive to share information about far-famed vulnerabilities easily. By assigning a standardized identifier to every vulnerability, it makes information sharing among organizations easier.
7. Payment Application Data Security Standard (PA-DSS): PA-DSS, created by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), is a global security standard that outlines security requirements for payment application software involved in card transaction processing. This security standard aims to prevent payment applications developed for third parties from storing a card's sensitive information. To stay compliant with this standard, the vendor should meet the fourteen protections set by PA-DSS.

ThinkSys: Your Trusted Partner for Secure Coding Success!

At ThinkSys, we follow the best secure coding practices, ensuring that your created program never compromises security. 

• Add security during the development phase.
• Use leading secure coding practices for a better outcome.
• Follow the set guidelines and practices by leading compliance.
• Using the best tools for finding vulnerabilities in the code.
• Identify security vulnerabilities through constant code review.
• Fixing issues as soon as they are identified.

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