There are an increasing number of vulnerabilities in the software in use. These flaws had a wide range of effects on a variety of different items. However, a lot of them just come down to repeating the same errors.

The source code of an application or piece of software is where most vulnerabilities originate. Malicious users can easily obtain control of a program and utilize it for their own gain by exploiting flaws or faults in the coding. With a few fast changes to the software, a skilled black hat hacker may swiftly take over your digital products. As organizations continue to digitize their processes, the risk of penetration will only increase.

Adopting secure coding practices is the answer. Fortunately, most widespread software security flaws may be prevented by adhering to recognized secure code writing.

What is secure coding?

Secure coding, which follows best practices for code security, defends against known, unknown, and unforeseen vulnerabilities such as security exploits, the leakage of cloud secrets, embedded credentials, shared keys, private business data, and personally identifiable information (PII).

It demonstrates a deeper understanding among developers, security teams, and DevOps that code security must be enforced as a crucial component of CI/CD, supporting continuous changes both in code and in infrastructure and offering visibility into all visible and invisible elements of a given environment.

The Importance of Secure Coding

The foundation of security is your code, so writing secure code is essential to producing excellent software. By adhering to a set of best practices and guidelines, or secure coding standards, developers and programmers can more easily weed out common weaknesses in their software.

Whether you write code for software that runs on mobile devices, desktop PCs, servers, or embedded devices, secure coding is essential. In order to support this approach, you should become familiar with the methods and technologies, including secure coding standards.

Secure coding guidelines aid in ensuring that embedded software is protected against software security flaws. These recommendations can help development teams avoid, find, and fix mistakes that might jeopardize the security of their product.

In order to eliminate frequently exploited software vulnerabilities and stop cyber attacks, secure coding methods must be adopted. Additionally, designing for security from the beginning lowers potential long-term expenses that could emerge from an exploit that exposes users’ sensitive data.

Types of few common vulnerabilities in vulnerable code

Common programming errors cause the majority of application vulnerabilities. Lack of security education for those who need it most is one of the main reasons why these vulnerabilities are still so prevalent and harmful.

  1. SQL Injections Vulnerabilities: Security flaws like SQL injections are most frequently discovered in web applications. It happens when an application doesn’t check user input before allowing it to enter the database.
    By using secure code, SQL injections can be avoided. This means that application developers should make sure that all user input is vetted before being processed by the database, rather than blindly believing anything the user says also use parameterized queries.
  2. Buffer Overflow Vulnerability: Through the IoT, embedded systems are connecting to the outside world more frequently. As a result, harmful code attacks have greater opportunities. Among these are buffer overflows.
    Buffer overflows give an outside attacker the same opportunity to “insert” code or data into a system as injection attacks do. If done appropriately, it makes that system susceptible to further outside instructions.
  3. Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability: A form of vulnerability in which attacker can be leveraged to attack by injecting malicious java script in vulnerable input and that script trusted by the application is called cross-site scripting (XSS).
    All user input that can contain dangerous scripts needs to be sanitized in order to defend your website against XSS attacks. These kinds of mistakenly created codes could lead a website or app to trust user input without first checking it.
  4. Insecure Sensitive Data Storage Vulnerabilities: Unsafe Storage of Sensitive Data A common issue in software engineering is vulnerabilities. It is crucial to take action to prevent the unsecured storage of critical data. This section will discuss the value of code security and the reasons why precautions should be taken to prevent the unsecured storage of sensitive data.
    Passwords are a prime example of sensitive information that should be securely secured or stored to prevent hackers from stealing it. This is a typical error made by developers. For instance, the most popular method of storing sensitive data is a hashing approach.

Secure Coding Techniques Reduce Exposure

It is quite difficult to protect and secure code to meet industry requirements. Security is a crucial component of every software application’s code. A secure code is crucial since it aids in preventing data theft and cyber attacks. Secure coding is an effort to build, evaluate, and test an application’s code while taking into account known programming flaws and vulnerabilities.

This can help a business lower some of the high costs associated with identifying and patching production vulnerabilities while also lowering the risk of data breaches and other pricey cyber security issues.

The most prevalent kinds of Vulnerabilities in vulnerable code can be found and fixed using a variety of procedures. These consist of:

  • Testing the code for bugs.
  • Reviewing the code for weaknesses.
  • Employing robust encryption techniques.

The necessary security measures are incorporated into newer platforms and devices as the security community gains more knowledge of common hacking and cyber-attack techniques. As a result, many of the typical flaws in PC operating system environments have been adapted for usage in more current mobile or smartphone interfaces. However, as hackers, cyber-attackers, and other “black hat” groups focus more on mobile, it has become the new frontier for secure coding and security work.

How Secure Code Writing  is done?

Best practices for secure code are well documented. For instance, The Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) has produced a set of recommendations that assist programmers in reducing common software security flaws. Similar to this, programmers can implement the 10 secure coding best practices outlined in the SEI CERT safe coding guidelines to increase application security.

Inadequate processes for security scanning of the code result in gaps in the code, which account for a significant share of these cyber attacks.

The following are some recommended practices that must be adhered to in order to make your code more secure:

  1. Data input validation: This addresses a wide range of data source and input validation issues. The majority of vulnerabilities dangers, such as cross-site scripting, buffer overflows, and injection attacks, originate from external data inputs. Establishing security procedures that specify which sources are trusted and how data from unreliable sources will be checked is therefore essential.
  2. Access management: Authentication and access control work together to prevent unauthorized users from quickly accessing the targeted system. Generally speaking, it is better to implement a default-deny strategy, which states that users who are unable to provide proof of authorization should not be allowed access. The code should periodically need re-authorization for continued access for web apps that involve lengthy log-in times.
  3. Cryptographic practices: This underscores the significance of putting in place strong cryptographic procedures to shield information from application users. To make sure that they are impossible to guess, all random values created as part of the cryptographic process should be produced using an authorized random number generator.
  4. Password administration and authentication: The program’s access should only be granted to those who are permitted in order to effectively stop cyber attacks and data breaches. Authentication and password management best practices include the following:
    • Using a reliable technique to hash passwords.
    • Enforcing the requirements for password complexity and length.
    • Preserving authentication information on a reliable server.
    • Multi-factor authentication is used.
  5. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): Once a piece of software has been fully developed, it should go through several cyber-attack scenarios that it might experience in the field. Dynamic Application Security Testing, often known as DAST, is the process of testing operational applications.
    DAST investigates the software’s usability resilience. If used correctly, DAST will find all security flaws that manifest themselves only when the software is in operation. This is a crucial secure coding technique that needs to be included in all phases of program development.

Stay ahead in your secure coding game with Elanus Technologies

Code security is a shortcoming in many businesses. Most programmers and developers don’t actually take it into account. If your company is going through. Worry not, we’ve got you covered.

At Elanus Technologies, our application security specialists are fluent in a variety of languages, ranging from simple Assembly and C code to complex scripting languages. The difference between finding important weaknesses and experiencing a significant data breach can be made by reviewing the code with language-specific security expertise.

For all penetration testing engagements, Elanus Technologies, adheres strictly to the Penetration Testing Execution Standard (PTES) methodology. While taking into account the distinctive technologies and industry threats of each customer, this well defined procedure assures consistent, repeatable evaluations.

Got quires, question or insurance coding? Get in touch with our experts.