Your team received an assignment to develop and deliver a new company Web application for outsourced suppliers to use as they help support your company's production resources. The IT director recently returned from an OWASP conference in India and insists that the app will have strong security. As he walked out the door from your initial project briefing the IT director said, "I do not want to wait 200 days after an exploit to hear about it. If something happens, I want to know yesterday."
Instructions
The project specs require a multi-page design. The app will need to provide an interface to your company's supply database for reading and entering data remotely as well as the ability to contact, via the e-mail server, your company supply managers. In an effort to save money, management decided that the team will use some open-source software library modules.
Provide at least six steps in the SDLC during which security-strengthening behaviors will be applied.
Explain the specific security-relevant actions taken during each step, including the people involved, the considerations taken, and the security assurance methods used.
Identify and briefly explain at least three different security testing methods and indicate which methods analyze the app's front end, source code, or vulnerabilities while the app is running. Justify when you would use each method.
Explain at least six different vulnerabilities that could potentially affect your app and actions that your team could take to prevent each.
Enhancing Security in Company Web Application Development
Developing a secure web application for outsourced suppliers requires a systematic approach to ensure robust security measures are implemented throughout the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC). By incorporating security-strengthening behaviors at various stages of the development process, potential vulnerabilities can be identified and mitigated effectively.
Steps in the SDLC with Security-Strengthening Behaviors:
1. Planning Phase
- Action: Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify potential security threats and vulnerabilities.
- People Involved: Security experts, project managers, and developers.
- Considerations: Evaluate the impact of security risks on the application and define security requirements.
- Security Assurance Method: Threat modeling to analyze potential attack vectors and prioritize security controls.
2. Design Phase
- Action: Implement security controls such as authentication, authorization, and data encryption.
- People Involved: Architects, developers, and security specialists.
- Considerations: Ensure data privacy and integrity are maintained throughout the application.
- Security Assurance Method: Secure design review to validate security architecture and controls.
3. Development Phase
- Action: Follow secure coding practices, conduct code reviews, and use secure open-source libraries.
- People Involved: Developers, code reviewers, and security analysts.
- Considerations: Mitigate common vulnerabilities like injection attacks, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure deserialization.
- Security Assurance Method: Static code analysis tools to identify potential security flaws in the source code.
4. Testing Phase
- Action: Perform security testing, including penetration testing and vulnerability scanning.
- People Involved: Quality assurance testers, security analysts, and ethical hackers.
- Considerations: Validate the effectiveness of implemented security controls and identify any remaining vulnerabilities.
- Security Assurance Method: Dynamic application security testing (DAST) to simulate real-world attacks on the running application.
5. Deployment Phase
- Action: Securely configure servers, implement secure communication protocols, and monitor system logs for suspicious activities.
- People Involved: System administrators, network engineers, and security operations teams.
- Considerations: Ensure secure deployment practices to prevent unauthorized access or data breaches.
- Security Assurance Method: Continuous monitoring and intrusion detection systems for real-time threat detection.
6. Maintenance Phase
- Action: Regularly update software components, patch known vulnerabilities, and conduct periodic security audits.
- People Involved: DevOps teams, IT support staff, and security experts.
- Considerations: Address emerging security threats promptly and maintain a proactive security posture.
- Security Assurance Method: Regular security assessments and incident response planning to handle security breaches effectively.
Security Testing Methods:
1. Static Analysis
- Front End / Source Code Analysis: Analyzes source code for potential vulnerabilities without executing the application.
- Justification: Used during the development phase to identify coding errors and security flaws early in the process.
2. Dynamic Analysis
- Front End / Vulnerabilities Analysis While Running: Tests the application while it is running to detect runtime vulnerabilities.
- Justification: Effective during the testing phase to simulate real-world attacks and identify vulnerabilities in the live environment.
3. Penetration Testing
- Front End / Vulnerabilities Analysis While Running: Involves ethical hacking to discover weaknesses that malicious attackers could exploit.
- Justification: Conducted periodically during deployment and maintenance phases to assess the application's resistance to attacks.
Common Vulnerabilities and Prevention Measures:
1. Injection Attacks (e.g., SQL Injection)
- Prevention: Use parameterized queries, input validation, and stored procedures to prevent malicious input.
2. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
- Prevention: Implement input sanitization, encode user-generated content, and use Content Security Policy headers.
3. Insecure Deserialization
- Prevention: Validate serialized objects, avoid deserializing untrusted data, and use secure serialization libraries.
4. Sensitive Data Exposure
- Prevention: Encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit using strong encryption algorithms.
5. Broken Authentication
- Prevention: Implement multi-factor authentication, session management controls, and secure password storage mechanisms.
6. Security Misconfigurations
- Prevention: Regularly update software components, configure secure server settings, and follow least privilege principles.
By integrating these security-strengthening behaviors and testing methods into the SDLC, along with addressing common vulnerabilities proactively, the company can enhance the security posture of its web application and minimize the risk of cyber threats or data breaches.
Work Cited
(Include any references or sources consulted while crafting this response)