Ever been betrayed?
You tell a friend a secret and suddenly, other people know of it. It wouldn't matter if your friend said: “I tried”. It wouldn't be enough because you know they could have tried more.
Usually, depending on the secret, that friendship/relationship is ruined. Even though that friend tries to mend bridges, it takes a long while and might still get the relationship to only cordial.
How do you think your customers would feel then if they trusted you with their personal data and you didn't do enough to protect it?
Customer relationships would be ruined and even if you try to fix it, that period is an avenue for lost deals and competitors to swoop in. It's too risky. 43% of all data breaches already target small businesses.1
But if you implement the necessary security measures, you will be able to save most customer relationships despite breaches. Because you did your due diligence
This measure is called Application Security.
Application Security (AppSec) is the practice of securing software applications from various security threats and vulnerabilities throughout the development lifecycle.
It's not an all-or-nothing situation. The primary goal of AppSec is to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the application and its data. And this is done using appsec tools.
Hence there are varying degrees of security but we always aim higher than lower. Remember no one wants to be betrayed.
Importance of Application Security (AppSec) Tools
As application security protects software applications throughout the software development lifecycle, it positions the app to be more security resilient. Appsec tools drive application security by:
1. Protecting Against Cyber Threats: Because applications are increasingly used by businesses and customers, they are prime targets for cybercriminals seeking to exploit vulnerabilities for financial gain or data theft.
2. Ensuring Compliance Requirements: To get industry compliance, proof that your app/software uses a secure process is important. Using appsec tools ensures you check a big to-do off your list if you start consciously implementing it now. Security compliance mandates regulatory frameworks to protect sensitive data. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in severe penalties and damage to reputation.
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3. Preserving Brand Reputation: A security breach can have devastating consequences for a company's brand reputation and trust among its customers. Being proactive by using application security tools helps reduce the risk of breaches and demonstrates a commitment to security for your customers.
4. Saving Noncompliance Costs: On average, noncompliance with security measures generates more costs than compliance. 75% of US customers are ready to stop working with a company after a data breach2. That's revenue down the drain. And the average data breach costs $4.45 million3. Addressing security vulnerabilities early in the development process is far more cost-effective than dealing with breaches and their aftermath later on.
The Best AppSec Tools You Need for Top Security
1. Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Tools: SAST tools analyze the source code or binary code of an application without executing it, hence are static. They identify potential security vulnerabilities, such as injection flaws, insecure configurations, and hardcoded credentials, by examining the code structure.
2. Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) Tools: DAST tools interact with the running application to identify vulnerabilities from the outside. They act like hackers by simulating attacks and analyzing responses to uncover security weaknesses such as input validation flaws, authentication issues, and session management vulnerabilities.
3. Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) Tools: IAST tools are a hybrid that combines elements of both SAST and DAST. They check if known vulnerabilities in code are actually exploitable in the running application. And they provide real-time feedback on security vulnerabilities within the code as it executes.
4. Software Composition Analysis (SCA) Tools: SCA tools scan the code to determine the origins of the components and libraries to find the third-party and open-source components used in an application and identify known vulnerabilities and license compliance issues. They do this by comparing the modules in the code to a list of known vulnerabilities. This helps mitigate risks associated with using outdated or vulnerable libraries.
5. Web Application Firewalls (WAF) Tools: WAFs monitor and filter HTTP/HTTPS traffic between a web application and the internet. They detect and block malicious requests, such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF), before they reach the application.
6. Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) Tools: RASP tools embed security controls directly into the application runtime environment. They monitor application behavior in real time and can automatically respond to attacks by blocking malicious actions and raising alerts.
7. Container Security Scanning Tools: With the rise of containerization and microservices architecture, container security scanning tools help identify vulnerabilities within container images and ensure secure deployment and orchestration.
These tools arm you with the proactive protection necessary to safeguard your software assets and contribute to the overall security posture of your organization's applications and systems.
Specific tools for the types outlined above are explained here: 12 Awesome Application Security Tools for 2024
Need guidance in implementing application security in your organization? Contact Us
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