It’s not easy to create secure software however it is essential to safeguard data and operations. New Relic hosted a Twitter Space recently with Harry Kimpel of Snyk, and Frank Dornberger of movingimage to discuss the importance of software engineers adopting an attitude of security that will lead them to develop reliable production-ready software.
In the course of this discussion, we discovered eight ways for developers to create more secure apps and develop a security-focused mindset. These suggestions are based on of that discussion and additional research on how to make your software as secure as you can.
Ensure that your employees are well-aware of how to recognize and fix security holes in their code. Through training, you can teach them safe methods of coding and how to guard themselves against common attacks, such as phishing. Organise regular, cross-functional meetings for your team to be exposed to new threats and vulnerabilities. This gives your developers the opportunity to work with other teams that are facing similar issues.
Set up a knowledge repository and documentation of your company’s software security policies. This will provide your employees with an understanding of the policies when they write code and ensure that everybody is aware of the rules.
Take into consideration the security implications of using third-party libraries or components within your applications. If they’re not maintained regularly cybercriminals might be in a position to exploit security weaknesses. Use a tool to check for dependencies such as libraries and other dependencies in your source code to find any problems.