Are you aware of the coding strategies used by developers? There will be fewer security flaws and better leads if the development team uses secure coding guidelines to design the product. As a layperson, one could ask, “What are the fundamentals of secure coding techniques, best practices, and how and when can we utilize them?”

In this blog, we will go through the basics of secure coding guidelines, best practices, how we can use them, and how VAPT can help in this.

What is Security Coding?

Security coding refers to a set of practices for applying security considerations to the way software is coded and encrypted to prevent any errors or weaknesses. This helps in simultaneously preventing and minimizing the most common vulnerabilities that eventually lead to cyber-attacks.

Why Do We Need to Secure Our Coding Techniques?

Secure coding aids in the minimization of vulnerabilities and risks associated with software development. It is very advantageous to secure the code with correct rules.

The major objective for the development team should be to discover and analyze the risks and security issues associated with the application, as well as to compare various mitigation strategies and choose the best one.

The following are the major reasons why one needs to secure the coding techniques: –

  1. Help to develop a standard for a platform and development language
  2. Find and remove the vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cyber attackers
  3. Ensure that every software has checks and systems in place to strengthen it and get rid of any security issues and vulnerabilities.
  4. Since exploits can result in the leak of sensitive user data, optimizing security through these techniques from the beginning can help you save a lot of money in the long run.

Security Coding Guidelines

Let’s look at some of the secure coding standards provided by OWASP that are used to guard against vulnerabilities. These standards are intended to detect, prevent and eliminate issues that may compromise software security.

  1. Password Management
  2. Access Control
  3. Cryptographic Practices
  4. Configuration of System
  5. Error handling and Logging
  6. Threat Modeling
  7. Security By Design 
7 Security Coding Guidelines
7 Security Coding Guidelines
    • Password Management – Passwords are still the most extensively used security credentials and sticking to basic coding standards lowers risk. 
    • Access Control – Make sure that requests to access sensitive data are double-checked to ensure that the user has authorization to read the information.
    • Cryptographic Practices – In the event of a compromise, using high-quality current cryptographic algorithms with keys stored in safe key vaults improves the security of your code.
    • Configuration of System – Make sure you’re managing your development and production environments safely if you work in various environments. Remove any unnecessary components from your systems and make sure all working software is up to date with the latest versions and fixes.
    • Error Handling and Logging – Software updates include vulnerability patches, making them one of the most significant and secure coding guidelines. Error handling and logging are two of the most effective methods for reducing the impact of errors.
    • Threat Modeling– Threat modeling is a multi-stage process that should be integrated into the software development, testing, and deployment lifecycles. 
    • Security Design– Organizations may have different goals when it comes to software engineering and coding. It’s possible that prioritizing security will conflict with prioritizing the development pace. 

How Can You Make Sure Your Code Is Safe?

A secure code is a requirement of a competent software development process. The project will be doomed if suitable data security protocols are not established. The competent and knowledgeable personnel at VAPT Security assists businesses in ensuring that data security standards are properly accepted and executed while considering your specific computing environment.

Secure coding best practices operate as a buffer against cyber threats attempting to exploit a software’s SDLC and/or supply chain.

The Kratikal VAPT team, which is a CERT-In-empanelled security auditor, has performed source code reviews for a variety of enterprises all around the world.

In VAPT services at Kratikal, we do a scan of the configuration and setup testing, covering all critical services to discover any misconfigurations or vulnerabilities.

Please contact us if you have any additional questions regarding VAPT by leaving a comment in the box below, and we would be happy to help!

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