What is software security?
Software security is the idea of engineering software so that it continues to function correctly under malicious attack.
The engineers are well educated to understand that security and software have to go hand in hand, but it’s not essential that all teams are equally equipped. Some organizations retain security experts, some hire consultants, some use multitasking developers. There is a possibility that your company is not able to afford a dedicated security expert or team; in this case this blog will be helpful to you.
Each company has their own software security practices depending on their stability, their products and clients. There are chances when the budgets are too high to manage security, it is then who is responsible for risk management? question comes into the picture where who will manage the risks is decided.
The Good Factor
Organizations are always under the notion that software security is not optional. Any losses and damage will ultimately effect the brand reputation. Companies may have to beef up security to comply with a new regulatory mandate, rectify an audit, or prove to a customer that the company’s security practices are what the company claims.
Gyutae Park, co-founder of Moneycrashers.com, an online investing community, said his small company has been fortifying its security practices out of necessity. “Hackers used to target big corporations and left the smaller guys alone, but that’s not the case anymore,” said Park. “The larger corporations have gotten much more adept at handling security so many hackers are now focusing on smaller companies.”
Because general awareness of software breaches has increased, incidents are down at some companies, particularly the large ones whose reputations have been marred by repeated breaches.
Large companies know that people are making purchasing decisions based on security. You can easily see a decrease in total incidents because there is more knowledge about common security vulnerabilities. Nowadays people have a lot of information about software security attacks as its widespread over the web and media. Yet awareness and knowledge share a broad line of difference.
Risks versus Resources
It might seem balancing risks and resources is an easy task but it’s a misconception because time and budgets are always limited and not the whole bunch of the decision makers are familiar with the tradeoffs.
Automation is a fairly easy concept to sell to management because the ROI is apparent: More can be accomplished in less time with less human effort. That’s why automated network scanners, web app scanners, and patch management tools have become so popular. Automated tools are not designed to reveal all the potential vulnerabilities, however.
Best security is invisible. Unlike product features, security is not usually linked to positive ROI. It is associated with potential losses. For a better understanding of this hurdle it is advised to demonstrate a breach. If security analysis is missing, look for a responsible one to do a vulnerability test and record it on video and show the impacts.
Risks are ranked as high, medium and low so their priorities are set as it’s usually not practical to handle all security risks simultaneously. Very certainly, high priorities are addressed most immediately, medium priorities later, and if at all low risks at last.
There are several ways to handle security. The twist is to balance risks and resources in ways that are best favour the business. Irrespective of how security is handled, it is wise to have some level of expertise in the organisation who gives all it takes to ensure that third-parties are delivering value for the money.
Also read: Importance of software security testing
