Implement OWASP Proactive Controls to Work

It is important for developers to write secure code, but with the broader implementation of DevOps, agility, seamless integration and continuous delivery are more important than before. Companies realize that they can save time and money by quickly finding and correcting errors. And developers who find that coding is excellent, not only in terms of speed and functionality but also to minimize security risks.

As developers prepare to write more secure code, though, they’re finding that few tools are designed with software writers in mind. For example, the OWASP Top 10, a cornerstone of web application security, identifies the risks of the most common vulnerabilities in applications.

However, as developers prepare to write code more secure, discover that there are software tools customized to their requirements. For example, OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) Top 10, identifies the most common vulnerability risks in applications.

These include things such as injection, broken authentication and access control, security misconfigurations, and components with known vulnerabilities. But the list doesn’t offer the kind of defensive techniques and controls useful to developers trying to write secure code. These include things like injection, faulty authentication, and access control, components and security configuration errors, with known vulnerabilities.

Top 10 OWASP Proactive Controls contain security techniques that must be included in every software development project.

Establish security requirements

According to OWASP, security requirements are statements of required functionality that meet many of the security properties of software. Requirements can come from industry standards, applicable laws, and history of vulnerabilities in the past. The OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS), catalog of security requirements and audit criteria, is a good starting point for finding criteria.

By defining security requirements, you can determine its security features, integrate security at the beginning of the development process, and avoid the emergence of vulnerabilities later in the process.

Take advantage of security frameworks and libraries

Developers who write applications from the beginning often do not have the time, knowledge, or budget to properly implement security. Using a secure code library and a software infrastructure can help to overcome the security objectives of a project.

Ensure access to the database

Access to all data stores, including relational and NoSQL data, must be secure. Make sure that untrusted entries are not recognized as part of the SQL command. Enable the security settings of the database management system if they are not enabled by default. Every access to the database must be correctly authenticated.

Encoding data

This defence technique is used to prevent injection attacks. Encoding transforms the characters into equivalents that are not harmful to the translator. For example, the angle bracket <can be converted to <. The encoding should be applied to the interpreter immediately before sending the content so that the encoding does not affect the implementation of the program.

Use this technique to avoid injection vulnerabilities and cross-site scripts, as well as the client-side injection vulnerability.

Validate inputs

Before an application accepts any data, it should determine whether that data is syntactically and semantically valid in order to ensure that only properly formatted data enters any software system component. Syntax validity means data sent to a component should meet expectations. For example, if a PIN is supposed to consist of four numbers, then something calling itself a PIN that consists of letters and numbers should be rejected.

Input validation can reduce the attack surface of an application and can make attacks on an app more difficult.

Implement a digital identity

The digital identity is a unique representation of a person, it determines whether you can trust this person or who and what he claims. This is done through passwords, multi-factor authentication or cryptography. Strong authentication can prevent vulnerabilities.

Apply the access control

Access control, also known as authorization, is to grant or deny requests from users, programs, or processes. When designing access controls, do it in advance and force all requests to go through an access control check. By default, deny access control and restrict access to what is required to complete the task. Digital identity, authentication can be very difficult. Therefore, it is a good idea to use your best technical talent in your identity system.

Protect data

Inadequate protection of confidential information (passwords, credit card numbers, medical records, trade secrets, etc.) can be very detrimental to the organization, especially with regard to laws such as the General Data Protection Act) and regulations such as PCI privacy standards. For this reason, you must protect the data requirements in all places where they are handled and stored.

If you have protected your data properly, you can avoid the vulnerabilities associated with sensitive data and unsafe data storage issues.

Perform security and monitoring

Most developers know the registry. The security log collects security information from the application during execution. With this data, you can enable intrusion detection systems, assist with forensic analysis and investigation, and meet regulatory compliance requirements. It can also show when a user is behaving badly.

Deal with all errors and exceptions

When an application detects an error, exception handling determines its response. Exception handling and error correction are very important to make the code reliable and secure. Exception handling can be important in intrusion detection because sometimes attempting to compromise an application can trigger an error that raises a red flag indicating that the application is being attacked.