How To Secure The Development Cycle Of An Application

Security should be on the top priorities list for developers during the development of an application. With the rise of cyber-attacks and various other security threats, it has become critical for organizations to ensure the security of the software products they deliver to the market. However, a proper approach must be in place for developers to ensure the secure development cycle of an application. That’s where the Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL) comes into play.

What is a secure SDLC?

The Software Development Lifecycle is a process that comprises seven phases, including planning, analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, and maintenance. The Secure Development Lifecycle integrates security into each of these stages of the SDLC.

Traditionally, developers only conducted security-related activities later in the SDLC at the testing phase. It led to disclosing security issues of the applications too late in the development process or completely missing them without any identification.

The adaptation of the Secure Development Lifecycle enabled developers to identify security vulnerabilities of applications at the early stages of development and apply necessary fixes. It was achieved by incorporating security activities into each stage of the SDLC, from planning to deployment. These activities include code reviews, penetration testing, architecture analysis, etc.

Why is the secure development cycle of an application important?

Security is a critical aspect for any software development company. They need to secure the applications they develop, as well as the data their customers deal with those apps.

Depending on the type of application, this data can be extremely sensitive information that requires high privacy. Therefore, developers need to code with potential vulnerabilities in mind and be aware of potential security concerns at each stage of the development process. Thus, following a robust and secure development cycle is crucial for ensuring that the developed applications are not vulnerable to attacks by hackers or other cyber criminals.

The purpose of embracing a secure development lifecycle is not to replace traditional security measures. Yet, it makes security part of the developers’ responsibility and encourages them to build secure apps from the beginning. Besides, identifying and addressing security issues at the initial stages is much more efficient and cost-effective than fixing them in a later stage, or after deployment.

After all, customers cannot guarantee the security of a product developed without following proper security standards. While a specific product in the market may seem great functionality-wise, it may be worse from a security perspective. Such software can make companies victims of various cyber attacks, such as SQL/ XML injections and DoS (denial of service) attacks. It will sometimes lead to losing a great deal of money, as well as cause severe damage to the reputation of the company. However, a secure development lifecycle will ensure that all the possible security vulnerabilities are detected and fixed in a timely manner, saving organizations from various security threats.

What are the benefits of the secure development cycle of an application?

The main purpose of adopting a secure development cycle is to discover and mitigate any security threats in software applications. Apart from that, it offers numerous benefits for all the stakeholders of the development project. Following are some of the significant benefits of following a secure development lifecycle.

• It makes your applications more secure
• Help identify design flaws before moving to the development stage and those issues becoming permanent with coding.
• Makes all stakeholders aware of the security concerns of the developed application
• Prevent unnecessary costs through the early detection and resolution of security defects.
• Reduce overall business risks for application users
• Compliance with data security laws and regulations saves organizations from fines and penalties.
• Helps build the trust and loyalty of customers.

How to ensure Secure SDLC?

Every development company tries to stay ahead of the competition by rapidly delivering innovative software with state-of-the-art features. However, cyber-attacks are getting more sophisticated day by day, with new ways of exploiting security breaches and carrying out attacks. Thus, it has become challenging to track and address modern cyber-attacks.

Nevertheless, it is not very effective to conduct security testing only at the end of the development when you are reaching the deadline, and there’s a high pressure to finish the project. Thus, it has become critical to incorporate security into all the stages of the SDLC, making it secure.

Following are some ways to ensure a Secure Development LifeCycle throughout the entire development process.

• Conduct software security awareness programs
• Prepare a list of security requirements when defining functional requirements at the planning stage.
• Conduct an architectural risk analysis at the design stage.
• Acknowledge yourself and your team members regarding the best secure coding practices and available frameworks with high security.
• Utilize tools to scan the code for static and dynamic analysis and security testing of the applications.
• Consider security aspects when planning and creating test cases.
• Carry out a security risk analysis to identify the security risks associated with the application.
• Perform code reviews and security audits.

Secure Development Lifecycle requires some changes in the existing processes of the SDLC. Thus, it may be necessary to introduce new tools and solutions to support the new workflows. You may also have to make cultural changes within the organization to ensure that the development team successfully embraces the new tools and workflows.

How does Sencha ExtJS support a secure development cycle?

Sencha ExtJS has been helping developers build robust applications for over a decade. It provides a wide range of pre-built and pre-tested components to ensure the security of your code base. Sencha also offers a set of excellent tools, such as Sencha Architect, ExtGen, ExtBuild, and Sencha Fiddle to simplify the development process. Thus, developers can focus more on the security aspects of their applications and implement better security measures across different stages of the SDLC.

Furthermore, Sencha releases frequent updates of their ExtJS, fixing all the possible vulnerabilities to strengthen the security of your apps. Many Fortune 100 companies across the globe trust Sencha due to its high security and reliability.

Looking for an excellent JS framework to build a secure app? Try ExtJS today!