What is Code Security | Cloud | Software

What is Code Security?

Imagine building a house using good-quality bricks, steel, cement, and other required materials with a perfect blueprint, and forgetting to lock the doors and windows when you roll out. Writing code without embedding security practices is the same.
Code security is nothing but the practice of embedding security into code. Cloud code security puts light on code using several use cases such as Infrastructure as Code (IaC) security, Application coed security, and software supply chain security to name a few. The mere purpose of code security is to make sure that the developed code is robust, resilient to attack, and adheres to security best practices.

Secure Your Code

How does Code Security work?

We have noticed that security comes into play when developers have completed developing a feature, tool, or application. This shouldn’t be the case! Security and development should go hand in hand and develop a robust design that does not compromise security as well as its user’s functionality.
Consider this scenario: If companies don't plan for encryption during their development cycle, it is challenging as well as costlier for developers to encrypt it later. Companies should build a culture of developers learning and knowing how to embed security in their SDLC.

To explain at a glance, here is a list of things code security should cover; These also include OWASP's top 10 for secure coding

Preventing unauthorized access: Strong passwords and access controls.
Protecting data: Encryption and secure storage.
Preventing errors and crashes: Careful testing and error handling.
Staying up-to-date: Fixing vulnerabilities when they are discovered.
Broken Access Control: 94% of applications were tested for some form of broken access control.
Cryptographic Failures: Failures related to cryptography often lead to sensitive data exposure or system compromise.
Injection: 94% of the applications were tested for some form of injection, and the 33 CWEs mapped into this category have the second most occurrences in applications. Cross-site Scripting is now part of this category in this edition.
Insecure Design: Risks related to design flaws.
Security Misconfiguration: 90% of applications were tested for some form of misconfiguration.
Vulnerable and Outdated Components: Issues related to struggle in testing and assessing risks.
Identification and Authentication Failures: Earlier broken authentication now includes CWEs that are more related to identification failures.
Software and Data Integrity Failures: Primarily focuses on making assumptions related to software updates, critical data, and CI/CD pipelines without verifying integrity.
Security Logging and Monitoring Failures: Failures in this category can directly impact visibility, incident alerting, and forensics.
Server-Side Request Forgery: This category represents the scenario where the security community members are telling us this is important, even though it’s not illustrated in the data at this time.

4 Phases of Code Security

Cloud code security works in four phases as shown. Let us help you understand how each phase is responsible for its functionality.

Prevention

Code security focuses on preventing security breaches before they occur by implementing robust measures during the development process.

Detection

In case of potential threats, code security practices cover mechanisms to detect anomalies, unauthorized access, or malicious activities countered by unknown resources.

Response

A well-secured codebase has response mechanisms put in place to address and mitigate security mishaps proficiently.

Continuous improvement

As we always say; Security is not a set-and-forget practice. Code security is also an ongoing process, with regular updates, patches, and improvements to adapt to emerging threats and vulnerabilities.

By implementing cloud-based container security measures, organizations can reduce the risk of data breaches, misconfigurations, ransomware attacks, and other security incidents. This can help to protect sensitive data, prevent disruption to operations, and maintain the reputation of the organization.

Different Code Security tools and techniques

Basic hygiene can be followed manually but for rigorous security, it is recommended to have tools and techniques put in place. There are different tools and techniques to secure your code. Let us look at some of the popular options;

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

SAST tools hold a database of all the known vulnerabilities which gets compared against your code. Although looks like static typography these are focused more on security best practices. SAST tools scan code at different stages of SDLC and are also easy to integrate with your IDEs and CI/CD pipelines such as detecting SQL injection vulnerabilities. Before adopting any SAST tool, make sure it supports the programming language your organization is using.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Unlike SAST, DAST also uses a database of known vulnerabilities. However, DAST solutions are more inclined to the runtime behavior of your application and not necessarily on code. DAST solutions are slightly slower than SAST, as they include application execution. DAST tools are not tied to any specific programming language.

Automated Code Review

With the rise in AI and other Large Language Models (LLMs), automated code review is getting popular to ensure code security. In the case of LLMs, users need to be very clear about what they are asking and what exactly they want to build. Once you bridge this gap between “Clear thought and Clear ask” LLMs are used as a good starting point for your automated code review process.

Secure frameworks and libraries

Frameworks provide a ready-made structure and tools that help engineering teams to build software much easier. New and emerging technologies also include built-in security features and practices saving developers time by including necessary security practices.

What are the challenges of Code Security?

Now that we have a good understanding of “What Code Security is” let us try to address the challenges of code security.
Where secure code benefits businesses in different ways, it comes with its challenges. Maintaining the right balance between switching tasks, speed, functionality, and security is a delicate process. Let us understand this in detail;

Security tools and processes

Too many security tools can be overwhelming. Select a tool that satisfies your needs including other security aspects rather than just code. Integrating such a tool into your development lifecycle improves your overall security posture.

Awareness

Even if it sounds like security is a separate task, it should not be. With continuous training and awareness, developers get into the habit of secure coding practices.

Speed and Functionality

Businesses cannot compromise on time and slow down their SDLC when embedding security. Having dedicated security teams, periodic training, encouraging developers to point out security flaws, and timely remediations are some of the ways speed and functionality can also be achieved with a secure SDLC environment.

Evolution and Upgrades

As we said before; Security is not a SET and FORGET practice. As technology evolves, so does their security appetite, including the number of possible attack vectors. To keep up with such a rapidly changing landscape, developers should stay up-to-date with the latest threats and best practices.