In recent years, various software solutions represented by B2B and B2C have greatly simplified the business and work processes of enterprises and improved the efficiency of their operations. More and more companies are tending to assist in the digitalization of operations through custom software development. According to statistics, global enterprises’ software spending in this area has reached US$605 billion .
Of course, when creating customized enterprise software products, one aspect that cannot be ignored is the user’s confidential data security . At the same time, governments around the world have put forward data security and governance requirements for enterprises. In order to meet these two needs, enterprises need to actively respond through methods such as DevSecOps (development + security + operations). It can be said that security plays a decisive role in the customization development process.
Why is data security so important?
According to statistics, the average cost of a global data breach each year is US$3.8 million, and 51% of organizations have to pay ransom to redeem locked data from ransomware operators.
As a key production factor, data can enable companies to gain valuable business insights and make better decisions. At the same time, data security in applications can bring the following advantages to enterprises:
- Improved application quality
The faster the team fixes bugs and vulnerabilities, the more stable and secure the application becomes.
- Reduced long-term costs
After being attacked, the cost for companies to fix security vulnerabilities is often 6 times higher than during development. It can be seen that a better security posture can reduce long-term costs.
- Meet compliance needs
Today, laws and regulations in various countries, represented by GDPR, will require companies to comply with corresponding data security policies. Failure to comply with such guidelines will result in huge fines.
However, in the face of today’s increasingly rampant global surge in cyber attacks, how can companies reduce vulnerabilities in software systems and resist cyber attacks?
6 Excellent Security Strategies for Custom Software Development
In order to avoid introducing various vulnerabilities and threats into application systems, enterprises should try to follow the following security policies when developing customized software:
1. Secure software development strategies
- When an enterprise begins customizing software development services, it should first establish guidance strategies and best practices related to development. In the policy, we should include detailed instructions for viewing, assessing, and monitoring applications to reduce the risk of security breaches.
- At the same time, such a policy should also define the responsibilities of each team member during the development process. We can provide appropriate training to ensure teams understand the strategy and follow relevant standards set by the industry. In short, these development strategies should be mandatory documents in the software customization process and require every member to follow them carefully.
2. Security awareness training
- When the development documentation of the software service is ready, security training is very necessary. Through the comprehensive approach provided by security awareness training, developers can gain a targeted understanding of common security vulnerabilities in applications and typical network threats they may face through actual projects.
- In addition, awareness training can also help developers understand the mistakes they are most likely to make in the form of cases, and then avoid them through basic programming skills and program code.
3. Update your software and systems
- As you know, most security vulnerabilities originate from outdated software and legacy operating systems. Obviously, it is very important to update software in a timely manner and switch to the latest enterprise-level systems.
- After all, hackers and cyber attackers understand the security threats in software and systems and can easily penetrate their basic layers of protection. At the same time, the software development tools used by developers are often open source, so it is necessary for them to compile a comprehensive list of software and components.
- It can be seen that regular patching and patching can not only prevent network attackers from easily using traditional methods to attack existing systems, but also allow developers to become more familiar with and master how to use more effective methods to continuously protect applications. with data.
4. Perform regular code reviews
- Companies developing software for the enterprise need to go through code reviews to identify and fix code-level errors early in the development process to avoid a variety of common security flaws.
- At the same time, before moving new code into the production environment, we should conduct a series of review actions such as testing the code and fixing errors to avoid the introduction of new security vulnerabilities due to code changes.
5. Data encryption and access control
- Today, data encryption, strong password mechanisms, multi-factor authentication, and on-demand password recovery have become standard in custom software development. It can be said that with the encryption of sensitive information, even if a network attacker penetrates the firewall, it can still provide certain application-level protection.
- We need to implement appropriate access control for customized applications to ensure that real users can access services and resources corresponding to their roles. At the same time, we must also ensure that identities and permissions can be adjusted transparently on a regular basis to achieve dynamic and flexible control.
6. Penetration testing
- After the customized software is developed and introduced into the production environment, the company can hire a professional penetration testing team to use various hacker-level testing tools to conduct simulated attacks against known security vulnerabilities to evaluate the security of the software product.
- The development team can make timely and targeted repairs based on the penetration test report and the threat severity level indicated therein.
- Typically, penetration testing should be performed monthly or quarterly to ensure the security posture of software applications. In addition, we can also carry out corresponding penetration testing for third-party software called and involved in customized software.
conclusion
Today, as the demand for custom software development continues to increase, so do the security requirements placed on them by users and businesses. It is hoped that the six security strategies introduced above can help enterprises better protect the confidentiality of data and the application itself during the development of customized software, thereby winning the trust of users.
