In today’s world, it is difficult to overestimate the importance of information security. The internet is full of news about cyber-attacks and various types of violations. Software security is the concept implemented to protect software from malicious attacks and other hacker risks so that the software continues to function correctly under such potential risks.

When developing apps, you should ensure high security measures are taken. This especially relates to custom application development, since any compromise in integrity and authentication can make your product insecure. Software systems can be attacked to steal information, monitor content, and corrupt software behavior. Malicious software can cause a denial of service or crash the system itself.

In this article, we will talk about the importance of security, threats, principles, and examples of successful custom software protection. You can turn to a company like Sigma Software to develop quality software, taking into account all security regulations, needs, and preferences. For those looking for specialized cybersecurity insights, Sigma Software also offers cybersecurity consulting services https://sigma.software/services/cybersecurity-consulting-services

An Overview of Custom Application Development

Custom app development is needed to solve unique user/partner/customer tasks or business requirements and, thus, create benefits for your business.  During custom software development, it’s possible to create a program or feature that aligns perfectly (100%) with the business’s goals. Such precise solutions are impossible to find among pre-made or commercial software options.

Therefore, custom application development services can bring benefits to many companies and lead to a quality, successful product.

Tasks you can solve with custom software development:

• Automate unique or complex business processes
• Tightly integrate different systems
• Customize the user interface
• Meet specific security/compliance needs
• Go outside the box and do something that no one has ever done before

To create convenient, functional, and understandable software that will be in demand by users and be able to solve the customer’s tasks, the developer must look at the problem through the eyes of the client. It is important not to neglect the stages of software development, which include analysis of initial conditions, compilation of technical specifications, the development stage itself, QA testing, and deployment. Security is an aspect that is interconnected with all of these stages. For example, when designing, developers think like hackers to find vulnerabilities early. Threat modeling reveals risks to address upfront. Testing double-checks this work. Finally, after launch, through monitoring and audits, developers watch for new threats.

A vulnerability is a weakness in software that can be exploited, resulting in the compromise of security and privacy. The vulnerability can be caused by the misconfiguration of a system, a lack of hardening of software products, or a flawed architecture.Therefore, in the next block, we will discuss how vital software security is and how to deal with external attacks.

The Importance of Security in Application Development

Many factors can affect software security. High-quality application development services include implementation of the best design practices, complemented by well-established technical approaches and supported by management practices.

Hackers use the presence of vulnerabilities to carry out cyberattacks. If you do not follow security best practices during software development, you can get the following result:

• Network penetration
• Gaining access to the device and your software
• Compromised identity
• Gathering sensitive information

Financial and reputational damage are frequent consequences of non-compliance. Due to poor protection and data loss, the program may crash. As a result, the company suffers significant financial and reputational losses.

The use of web applications in business and in working with confidential data is only possible with thoughtful, comprehensive protection against all types of existing threats and a predictive approach to security.

Security Threats in Application Development

A variety of threats can lead to breaches and leaks of important data.  The diversity of threats can be narrowed down to the following major ones.

Threats to information security are classified according to various aspects and include:

• Nature of threat (malware, social engineering, denial of service (DoS) attacks)
• Source of threat (external threat, internal threat, partner and supply chain threat)
• Potential impact (confidentiality breaches, integrity compromises, availability disruptions)

To mitigate various threats, it is worth using secure software development practices. Therefore, we will consider the principles of such use further.

Principles of Secure Development

It is necessary to comprehensively assess information security threats, while assessment methods will differ in each case. There are such principles of secure development as:

• Economy of mechanisms – the architecture should be as simple and compact as possible
• Fail-safe default actions – decisions to grant access should be made based on the assignment of rights, not their exclusion
• Full control – granting access to any object should be carried out only after checking the availability of appropriate rights;
• Privilege sharing – a security mechanism that requires two keys is more flexible and robust than one that uses a single key to gain access. Therefore, where possible, it is better to use a two-key mechanism;
• Minimization of privileges – any program and any user of the system must have the minimum set of privileges necessary to perform their tasks;
• The maximum reduction in the number of common mechanisms – mechanisms available or dependent on more than one user;
• Acceptability from a psychological point of view – it is necessary to consider the features of the human-machine interface, which will ensure ease of use of the software, so that consumers, without hesitation, correctly apply protection mechanisms in their daily tasks.

Training company employees in the basic concepts of information security and the secure software development principles will help to avoid accidental data leaks and the accidental installation of potentially dangerous software on a computer. Also, as a precaution against loss of information, you should make backup copies. 

Secure Development Practices

To prevent vulnerabilities in the source code, several conditions must be observed during the development of the application. Here are some secure software development best practices

• Minimizing attack surface areas. One of the security goals is to minimize the attack surface by closing vulnerabilities and removing unnecessary services and applications that may pose a security risk.
• Input validation. The idea behind input validation is that a hacker cannot enter data intended to damage the system by only allowing input that meets specific criteria.
• Failing securely. This principle works when any errors and problems are solved gradually and safely. It is part of software security to prevent the disclosure of confidential information and other attacks.
• Separation of duties. This principle is responsible for the division of duties and responsibilities for the security of applications and infrastructure between specialists in the secure software development standards, security, and operation of the software.

Building a secure development process in the long term will positively impact the quality of the developed application and reduce the cost of maintaining it. Many of these secure development practices will help control the process.

Examples of Successful Security Implementation in Application Development

Successful solutions for secure application development include such application security examples:

1. Microsoft SDL applies security and data privacy principles to all aspects of software security. Thanks to this, the company receives a highly effective product with all possible safety measures. In addition, the company uses artificial intelligence to reduce security vulnerabilities.
2. For the Google company, the main priority is to improve their products’ security. There are effective ways to reward white hackers with various goodies. This allows you to detect vulnerabilities and fix them before the black hackers arrive. With the quality assessment check, any problems in the security system can be detected and reported.
3. Cloudflare is helping to “create a smaller Internet.” The company has developed a CDN, a reliable firewall, and DDoS protection. Here, the principle of minimizing attack surface areas has been introduced, which means the available APIs are moved into the dark, and the integration of third-party retailers is improved.

Conclusion 

Security should be an integral part of the application development lifecycle. A critical aspect of security is ensuring data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. When testing security, you need to use various methods and tools to assess the level of risk associated with a particular vulnerability. 

Vulnerabilities can lead to severe consequences, such as loss of confidential data, information leakage, blackmail, and even loss of control over the system. Therefore, custom software security is necessary to protect the system and its users from possible threats.