Secure coding - What is it all about?
Security clashes take place all the time between organizations, no matter how big or small, they are continually bombarded by cyber attacks. These exhibit dire consequences over the normal operations of the businesses, not only the networking channels but also the software systems can be breached. That is why it is important that you secure your code and protect it fundamentally. Following is the definition of secure coding along with the reasons that explain its importance and finally the best practices for implementing secure coding.
What is secure coding?
Secure coding in literal meaning is the practice of writing code that is free from any and all vulnerabilities. This can mean various things such as deploying certain practices that limit the modification of the code by locking its reach to unauthorized personnel. Making sure that the code is encrypted and can't be modified in any form. OR using a variety of authenticating protocols to identify the developer of the code which has the right to employ changes. Secure coding is something that is important to all pieces of software. Whether you use it on servers, personal computers, mobile devices, or other embedded machines.
That is why it is important for you as a developer to validate your professional integrity by familiarizing yourself with all the tools and techniques required to master the art of secure coding.
Types of security vulnerabilities that affect code integrity
Buffer overflow
People are continually using embedded systems to connect with multiple devices. One such example is the IoT or internet of things. Not only sharing of data is more convenient here but the ease of connectivity is also stronger. But this also gives rise to malicious code attacks, one such example is the buffer overflow.
It simply interprets that the buffet overflow can allow a potential outsider or attacker to put their code within the software of interest, although the software doesn't allow such events to progress. But with buffet overflow it can be done. The direst and diabolic example of the buffer overflow is the Heartbleed. It has singlehandedly affected more devices and software systems on the internet that any other vulnerable program or tool ever did.
It gave a secret passage to the hackers sitting outside of the cloud to read and edit all the information within the cloud and such information wasn’t to be exposed at all.
Code injection flaw
Code injection flaw is another hearty example of the vulnerabilities that exist within the software systems. In this process the overall data of the software system or of code is changed with some of the corrupted data which leads to the processing of invalid data. Thus after some time it takes the form of a bug but it is not so fatal and you can probably secure yourself against it.
Shellshock is the result of the code injection flaw. It is the most sophisticated attack and yet is the most common as well. In shellshock a system or software infrastructure is rapidly bombarded with arbitrary data and it can be executed or taken into action from a remote system. The main theme of this attack is to spread malicious activity. Many embedded or linearly connected systems using a particular network are less prone to these types of attacks as they lack the additional level of sophistication for the processing of data when it comes to the modern systems.
Best practices for secure coding
Learning the essence of secure coding is not enough because even if you know about all the specifics but don’t know how to best use them then you are not really doing any great. That is why it is important to deploy the best practices around secure coding and most importantly to teach them the best you can. Following is a list of all the best practices that you should know about when dealing with secure coding;
- Never compromise on security till the end
It’s not about how many locks or restrictions you use over the security of your user interface because whenever a new change will strike the whole security would have to be redesigned. That is why it is important that you work step by step over the security of your software or code that you are working on and make sure that everything is guarded and fully secured right to the end.
- Motive for attack
Hacking is a term that is negatively represented in the computing world. However, there are other professional white hat hackers or ethical hackers who are an expert in developing code. They develop multiple codes and programs in order to test the security or vulnerability of the other software system they are presented with. These types of hackers exploit the vulnerabilities that exist within a particular system and then readily transpire back to the organizations with a list of vulnerabilities that were found and how to address them properly.
But you must never lose the sight of the bigger plot here. Hackers always have their motives, some do it for the sake of boasting about their coding or penetration skills, others do it for the cause of stealing valuable information which they can later sell and finally there are those who want to prove a certain point. Mind these motives of hackers and build your security systems to protect the software around this fact.
- No one is safe
No matter how secure a system is or an internet user using the most tightly bound connection they can’t confirm that they are still undetected by hackers and cybercriminals. A single breach can take you multiple years behind that is why it is necessary that you should take the security of your infrastructure strongly from the get-go.
Secure coding is necessary for you to learn and practice. Many would still ask how to learn it? Well, it is quite easy, enroll in our courses to learn secure coding training and other essentials for exponential growth in the sector.