How to Build an Application Security Program

Application security involves creating, adding, and testing security features in applications to protect them from threats like unauthorized access. The Application Security Program uses various policies, procedures, and technical measures to keep the applications and their data confidential, intact, and available.

In this blog, you will learn about application security programs, why they are important to organizations, and their essential components. You will also follow a step-by-step guide to effectively build an effective application security program and explore metrics, challenges, and solutions related to application security programs.

Let's explore!

What is an Application Security Program?

An Application Security Program is a structured approach to shielding an organization's software applications from potential security risks and vulnerabilities. Application programming helps address the security requirements of a software application throughout its lifecycle.

Why is an Application Security Program Important?

Below are the reasons why an Application Security Program is important:

1. Sensitive Data Protection

An Application Security Program adequately protects sensitive data within applications. This includes users' personal information, the organization's financial data, proprietary business information, and more. Cybercriminals often target such data for theft or exploitation using SQL injection and XSS.

2. User Trust

Users expect the application to secure their data. Building secure application programs maintains user trust. Such programs also ensure that users' sensitive information remains confidential, boosting reliability and confidence in the application's integrity.

3. Prevention of Data Breaches

Data breaches in the application can cause the organization to suffer reputational and financial loss. Secure application programs prevent data breaches and keep sensitive information intact and confidential.

Implementing robust security measures within the application, such as encryption, access controls, and regular security assessments, significantly reduces the risk of data breaches.

4. Requirements for Compliance

Organizations can avoid legal problems by following rules like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These rules protect data privacy and honesty, so following them is important for safe software. Truly safe and reliable software always follows these and other related rules.

5. Integrity and Reputation

Security breaches may harm an organization's reputation. Maintaining application security fosters consumer faith in the company, which promotes a sustained organizational reputation. An organization that can confidently state that its applications are secure and take all necessary precautions to keep them that way is likely to be trusted by more users and clients.

Essential Components of an Application Security Program

Building an effective Application Security Program involves several components. These include:

1. Security by Design

Enhance application security most effectively by considering it from an architectural and design perspective before writing any source code. When application security engineers and developers collaborate at the beginning of a project, they develop more secure applications. They identify and specify security control objectives and requirements based on risk that are aligned with the organization's risk tolerance.

Once the design is in place, they evaluate the inherent risks through security risk assessments, considering data types, business processes, and third-party systems. To mitigate these risks, they then incorporate appropriate security controls, such as web application firewalls (WAFs) and API security gateways.

2. Secure Code Testing

Application security engineers should conduct secure code testing continuously instead of limiting it to quality assurance or security testing phases. Use Static Application Security Testing (SAST) to uncover flaws during development and Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) to assess operational applications.

Identifying issues early through SAST reduces the need for extensive corrective efforts later on. Integrate penetration testing (pen testing) and utilize both automated tools and human-driven tests to provide comprehensive security evaluations, particularly for high-risk applications.

3. Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)

Security teams should generate an SBOM through Software Composition Analysis (SCA) to catalog all open-source components used in an application. This is essential for pinpointing vulnerabilities, such as the Apache Log4j incident.

Pair SBOM with reputational analysis to evaluate these components' reliability and security track record, enabling organizations to make well-informed decisions regarding their utilization. Security engineers and developers should adhere to security policies informed by this analysis when selecting acceptable open-source components.

4. Security Training and Awareness

Training on application security is crucial for a strong security program. Educate developers about the common security issues listed in the OWASP Top 10. Focus continuous training on specific vulnerabilities identified, offering tailored guidance to the developers accountable for the mistakes. Security engineers must regularly provide information about common vulnerabilities and new attack methods, explaining how attackers carry out their attacks and how security teams counteract them. This helps developers comprehend and prevent security issues in their code.

5. WAFs and API Security Gateways

WAFs and API security gateways guard critical applications from external connections. Integrate these protective measures into the application's architecture and design phase rather than postponing them until the production stage.

Establish and test well-defined rules for WAFs and API gateways early to ensure immediate protection once the application is deployed. This proactive approach guarantees that applications shield against common security threats from the beginning rather than rely on developing rules after deployment.

Guide to Building an Effective Application Security Program

Ensuring the security of applications is important to secure sensitive data and protect against cyber threats. Follow this step-by-step guide to build a robust application security program:

Step 1: Understand the Organization's Scope and Objectives

Set Goals & Success Criteria

Each organization will have different goals, but it's important to focus on key areas like:

• Risk Management.

• Data Protection.

• Legal and Compliance Requirements.

• Incident Response and Recovery.

• Employee Training and Awareness.

To measure success, define clear, measurable outcomes. Examples include:

• No critical vulnerabilities.

• Meeting all regulatory compliance requirements.

• No major security breaches over a set period.

• Fewer identified issues over time.

• Quickly fixing vulnerabilities.

• Regular training completion rates.

Follow an Application Inventory Process

An effective inventory process is crucial. There are usually two types:

• Separate systems for application assets and other IT assets.

• Centralized system for all IT assets.

Step 2: Create Application Security Standards

Standardizing security activities for any application security program is important. Establishing clear security standards helps ensure that all applications adhere to the same security protocols. Applications security engineers must regularly review and update these standards to align them with the latest security best practices.

Step 3: Define & Implement an Application Security Workflow

An Application Security workflow outlines activities and stakeholder interactions. The basic steps are:

1. Security Onboarding: Identify when an application should join the security program. This usually happens when:

• Someone creates a new application.

• An existing application changes.

2. Risk Profiling: Classify the application based on its security attributes. Define risk tiers for all security activities.

3. Define Key Security Activities: This includes secure architecture review, threat modeling, secure code review, software composition analysis, dynamic application security testing, and manual penetration testing.

4. Report Security Risks: Report and track design flaws and security vulnerabilities. Use the organization's risk management and issue-tracking systems.

Step 4: Establish a Continuous Improvement Process

Analyze security outcomes regularly using defined metrics to see if goals are met. Ensure the program adapts to changing security needs.

Automation is key. Integrating security tools with software engineering pipelines is now an essential requirement for security tools.

Step 5: Conduct Training and Awareness

Training and awareness are essential. Tailor the efforts based on the audience:

• Training programs for the security team to improve skills.

• Awareness programs for other employees, like application teams, to ensure compliance with security goals.

Application Security Program Metrics

A strong application security program relies on four key metrics: policy compliance, scanning activity, flaw density, and fixing rate. Let's briefly examine each of these aspects and understand their importance:

1. Policy Compliance

To create an effective application security policy, classify all the organization's applications based on risk factors such as handling personally identifiable information (PII), internet exposure, and business criticality. This classification helps determine scan frequency, required testing types, and acceptable flaw severity.

For example, the organization might find it sufficient to prohibit vulnerabilities listed in the OWASP Top 10 or SANS 25. Security teams must work closely with development teams to ensure the policy addresses organizational risks while remaining feasible, thus promoting compliance.

2. Scanning Activity

Regularly and appropriately scan applications and code, particularly during the shift to Agile and DevSecOps within organizations. Integrate these scans into the development workflow to minimize vulnerability risks. Monitor scan timing, whether they occur with each release, follow a specific schedule, or automate them to ensure their effectiveness in reducing risks.

3. Vulnerability Density

Assess the security status of different applications by measuring vulnerability density, which counts the number of vulnerabilities per unit size of an application. This measure offers a valuable perspective amid variances in development teams, business units, and programming languages.

By concentrating on severe and very severe vulnerabilities, organizations can better prioritize their application security resources, directing training and remediation efforts where they will have the most impact.

4. Resolution Rate (Time to Remediate)

The efficiency of an Application security program shows in how promptly and effectively it addresses vulnerabilities. A high-resolution rate diminishes risk exposure, whereas a low rate indicates the need for improved training, workflows, or processes. Emphasizing the resolution of severe and very severe findings ensures that resources focus on the most critical vulnerabilities, enhancing overall security.

Challenges and Solutions in the Application Security Program

Building an Application Security program resembles constructing a digital fortress, but the rapid pace of application development often challenges organizations to keep up. Developers introduce risks that security teams may lack insight into, and the need for quick deployment frequently conflicts with thorough security testing. Addressing these challenges is crucial for safeguarding an organization's digital assets.

• Visibility: Security teams need tools and processes to clearly understand development activities.

• Resource Scarcity: Teams often spread thin and lack the necessary manpower or expertise to secure applications effectively

• Legacy Processes: Outdated security practices fail to keep pace with the agility of modern DevOps environments.

To overcome these obstacles, organizations should embed security into the development process, automate repetitive tasks, and regularly assess to stay adaptable in the face of increasing risks. Additionally, utilizing managed services can provide expert guidance to strengthen the Application Security program, helping to overcome resource constraints.

Final Thoughts

An effective Application Security Program is essential for organizations to protect sensitive data, maintain user trust, and prevent data breaches. By establishing clear standards, implementing structured workflows, and fostering continuous improvement, organizations can safeguard their applications against evolving threats.

Additionally, compliance with regulations like GDPR and HIPAA enhances data integrity and builds credibility. Prioritizing application security ultimately strengthens an organization’s overall cybersecurity posture.

Akto—a proactive API security platform with its extensive test library—can ensure a comprehensive approach to safeguarding application programs against cyberattacks. Akto offers a robust defense against cyber threats with advanced API security tools, continuous evaluation, and prompt upgrades.

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