Fortifying your applications against emerging digital threats has never been more important. In today’s connected world, millions of people use various applications every single day. With the rise of mobile and consumer-facing applications, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your apps are safe and secure. In this article, we will share the top 5 application security standards to help you protect your apps against growing cybersecurity threats.

Why Application Security is Important?

While many see application security as a requirement, not all understand why it’s so important. Application security is vital for businesses because of how common and costly security breaches can be. A single security breach can cost businesses on average $4.35 million.

Cybercrimes are up by 600% while cybersecurity remains a persistent threat and a growing challenge facing every industry on the planet. Skilled adversaries continue to identify and exploit security vulnerabilities present in modern business applications — targeting both businesses and application users. In fact, a recent research study conducted by Osterman, revealed that over 85% of commercial apps have ‘critical’ security vulnerabilities that adversaries can exploit for malicious purposes.

Another report published by Trustwave, reported that almost 99.7% of web applications have at least one security loophole while on average a single smartphone user uses 9 mobile apps per day and 30 apps per month. These statistics indicate the critical need for secure applications for both businesses and consumers alike.

To maximize customer experience and to ensure privacy and security of customers, developers and businesses of all types and sizes need to bake security parameters into the core of application architectures. Vulnerable applications can allow cybercriminals and malicious actors to potentially compromise your apps, steal critical user data or even find a way into other parts of your business. Therefore, it is critical to develop applications with a security-first mindset and a strong focus on user safety and privacy.

Application Security Standards

It’s vital that you implement effective application security standards throughout your app development lifecycle. These standards should be integrated into every step of development — from product conception through testing, deployment and beyond. Following these application security standards will help prevent breaches from happening in the first place, and will help you develop secure and customer-centric applications. Below are the top five application security standards that you should take into consideration when building a new application or updating an existing one.

1-  OWASP ASVS

The OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS) is a great way to verify that your app is up to par. Here are seven things to keep in mind when following the ASVS:

1. Make sure that you have a secure login system. This includes using strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
   1. Don’t store any sensitive data on the device without encryption or protection. Encrypt all sensitive data, both in transit and at rest.
   1. Use proper output encoding for any returned content from third party libraries or APIs.
   1. Ensure that the functions of your app are used properly to avoid unnecessary risks.
   1. Make sure there is no SQL injection vulnerability by never trusting user input, escape strings before inserting them into SQL queries, use parameterized queries where possible, and use stored procedures where appropriate.
   1. Test often and thoroughly to make sure everything is working correctly.
   1. Follow industry best practices such as keeping source code secret.

2-  OWASP TOP 10

The OWASP Top 10 Mobile Threats is a great place to start when thinking about application security. It is a list that provides ten guidelines in order to create safer applications. These guidelines can be applied at every stage of development: design, build, test, deploy, maintain and retirement. Below are some of the mobile threats listed by OWASP:

• Improper Platform Usage.
• Insecure Data Storage.
• Insecure Communication.
• Insecure Authentication.
• Insufficient Cryptography.
• Insecure Authorization.
• Client Code Quality.
• Code Tampering.

3-  Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE)

CWE is a list of software weaknesses that are likely to appear in source code. The list includes more than 900 common software weaknesses, including many that could have been used by hackers in their malicious attacks. By using CWE in your application security testing, you can be sure to identify weak points and determine ways to make them stronger.

4-  Internet of Secure Things Alliance (ioXt)

ioXt is a network alliance that focuses on secure and interoperable Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and solutions. Its goal is to create an open system of things, where devices can communicate securely and intuitively. The organization also intends to develop standards, systems, and procedures for managing IoT risk. Adhering to the guidelines of ioXt security standard can not only help you bake reliable security in your apps but can also enable you to secure the devices and digital infrastructure running those applications.

5-  National Information Assurance Partnerships (NIAP)

NIAP is a US based organization that provides standards for application security, much like other organizations such as ISO and SANS. Unlike ISO and SANS, NIAP is primarily focused on providing certifications rather than providing research and resources. While they have several certification levels, Level 3 has become an important standard in ensuring application security. What makes NIAP Level 3 so important? Well, it’s one of few standards that measures an application using both static (code review) and dynamic (runtime analysis) methods. By joining NIAP and following their guidelines, you can create high-performance and secure apps.

Top 5 Pro Tips to Protect Your Apps

Application security can be easy when done right. Leverage the following quick tips to increase security in your applications:

1. Use secure web development practices.
   1. Follow mobile application security best practices.
   1. Plan for mobile app vulnerabilities.
   1. Ensure compliance with industry standards.
   1. Conduct regular risk and vulnerability assessments to identify and mitigate loopholes.

Conclusion

Applications are the foundation of modern businesses. Cyberattacks as a result of unsecure applications can have lasting impacts on your business and the lives of the users. Application security best practices and security standards can help developers to build applications from a security and privacy prospective. Using application security standards as part of your

development and deployment processes can help you build secure apps, protect your brand, boost user trust and ultimately increase your app’s ROI.

Need help securing your applications? Let us help!

Kacidy is one the fastest growing cybersecurity and business consultancy firms headquartered in the United States. At Kacidy, we provide fully customized IT and Cybersecurity services to match your unique business needs. Whether you need better security for your applications or need a reliable managed IT service provider, we’ve got your covered.

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