Cyber Resilience: Cybersecurity In Software Development

Could you imagine making a major investment in custom software for your business only to discover that it left your business vulnerable to cybersecurity threats? That is why cybersecurity in software development is so vital to your business’s cyber resilience plan. And it’s something that Sol Minion has made part of each custom software solution we develop and have been doing so for 20 years.

What Is Cybersecurity In Software Development?

A little over 20 years ago, OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project®) was created to provide guidance, resources, and standards for software security. We have made those practices part of our development process since day one at Sol Minion.

This means that we include the following in our development process:

• Data Protection: Data is what we are protecting here: usernames, passwords, personally-identifying information, account numbers, etc. Throughout the software development process, we identify and protect your data.
• Vulnerability Identification: Identifying the risks and potential harm that might come from an attack helps us create protections within the software.
• User-based Security: Strong passwords, role-based access to data, and ongoing training all work to create strong software security.
• The Platform: Using the latest technology is important, but so is keeping it updated and upgraded. Every time a patch or update comes out, that sends a signal to hackers that the door is open. Part of our process has always been to keep those doors closed.
• The Threat Environment: As software engineers, we have to stay up on the latest technology in both hardware and software. With cybersecurity, the need for education has been accelerating. Our job is to understand the threat environment in order to keep your software and your data protected.
• Communication: Once we have identified key data and existing threats, it is important to monitor the data for ANY unexpected access or changes. Upon detection of those changes, the software will send out notifications and alerts (do you know the difference?).

A Note About SaaS And Cybersecurity

More often than not these days, clients come to us with existing SaaS (software as a service, i.e. “cloud”) solutions, wanting the new custom software to integrate with that SaaS solution. When we bring up cybersecurity, they think it’s all safe and sound, protected by the cloud. Could you imagine the damage if a hacker got your Google, Microsoft, or QuickBooks password? That’s the human part of the cybersecurity equation. We design our software to protect against those attacks, but we recommend a good cybersecurity training plan as well.

Cybersecurity Goes Beyond Software And Hardware

Cybersecurity goes beyond your technology. In fact, we believe cybersecurity belongs on your board of directors’ meeting agenda. It belongs on every department leader’s meeting agenda. When cybersecurity is part of your culture -- just like ethics and customer service -- then it gets the resources it needs to keep your business safe. Those resources include budget and people. We’ve been building security into our custom software solutions for two decades. When you combine our software with a diligent cyber-culture, then you’ll be well-prepared to identify threats, protect your business, and detect any attacks before it’s too late.

Contact us today to discuss your custom software project, or download one of our free resources:

• Cybersecurity Principles
• Cybersecurity Checklist