8 Secure Software Tips For Developing Reliable Production-Ready Applications

It’s a challenge to create secure software, but it’s essential to protect business operations and data. New Relic hosted a Twitter Space recently with Harry Kimpel of Snyk, and Frank Dornberger of movingimage to discuss the importance of software engineers acquiring an awareness of security that will lead them to develop reliable, production-ready apps.

In the course of this discussion, we discovered 8 ways to help developers develop safer apps and to develop a security-minded mentality. These tips are a result of that discussion and additional research on how to make your software as secure as possible.

Make sure your employees are well-aware of how to recognize and close security vulnerabilities in their code. Train them that covers safe coding practices and how to protect against common threats such as phishing. Plan regular, cross functional gatherings to introduce new threats and vulnerabilities to your team. This will also give your developers the opportunity to collaborate with different teams affected by the same vulnerabilities.

Set up a knowledge repository and a written record of your company’s software security policies. This will provide your employees with a reference when they’re writing code and ensure that everyone knows what the rules are.

Take into consideration the security implications of using third-party libraries or components in your applications. If they’re not updated regularly cybercriminals could be in a position to exploit security weaknesses. Use a tool that checks for libraries and other dependencies in your source code to help detect any vulnerabilities.

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