How Quality Vendor Selection Boosts Your Software Security
Technology is very much a part of our lives, especially now. Most, if not all, businesses have been heavily relying on technology for different needs, and everything has been more fast-paced and efficient. However, along with the technological advancements, there are corrupt people who take advantage of these advancements to manipulate and illegally obtain money by creating malware.
Malware of different types has been compromising very important data as early as the 1970s. The first recorded virus was the Wabbit virus, created in 1974, which multiplies itself until it eventually causes the computer to start crashing.
Since then, malware continues to evolve and cause more damage, not just to personal computers but also causing enormous and damaging data breaches in big companies like Nintendo, Facebook, and Estee Lauder. The most recent huge data breach was CAM4, which suffered a breach of 10.88 billion records of personal information that anyone can use for fraudulent activities.
Sonicwall reported 304.6 million ransomware attacks and 5.6 billion malware attacks in 2020, and Comparitech predicts that hackers will continue to target large companies with malware in hopes of being able to secure a big payment.
With all the imminent malware dangers surrounding businesses and companies, it is important to know the different software vulnerabilities your software must protect your business from and what you need to do to prevent them from affecting your business.
Software Vulnerabilities
Software vulnerabilities are weaknesses in your software system that can be exploited or manipulated by an attacker to cause damage. If they are not immediately addressed, it can not only cause damage to your software but also cause financial losses, especially if hackers manipulate the data to extract cash from your business.
Hackers most often ruin the reputation of the companies that they hack. These software vulnerabilities are seen everywhere, but you can avoid them if your software is constantly inspected and developed.
Here is a list of the common software vulnerabilities that you should watch out for:
1. Software Bugs
Software bugs, which are very common and can be found in any software, are errors that can cause your system to behave unusually. If not discovered and fixed immediately, they might eventually, lead to serious issues like data breaches and inaccurate data results.
2. Buffer Overflow
First, you should understand what a buffer is. A buffer is a memory storage region that temporarily holds data while it is transported to another region. A buffer overflow occurs when you attempt to store data that is bigger than the memory space assigned.
Since the storage capacity is overwritten, attackers take advantage of this vulnerability to access the software system. Fortunately, many programming languages already have automatic protection against this vulnerability.
3. Insufficient Logging and Monitoring Processes
A lack of monitoring and logging processes in your software makes your data susceptible to tampering, extraction, or in worst cases, complete eradication.
4. Injection Flaws
Injection flaws are flaws that allow attackers or hackers to be able to access your software by injecting malicious code into your system through another application. When this happens, the attackers can have immediate access to your data and can manipulate your program. Injection flaws are a result of a lack of input validation in your system.
5. Sensitive Data Exposure
Data containing personal information like account and card numbers, addresses, contact information, etc., are considered sensitive data and must be properly and carefully protected.
If not protected properly, it may cause the application to expose personal data. However, one important thing to note is that sensitive data exposure is different from data extraction because data extraction is accessing information without authorization. Data exposure is the exposure of data by the application itself.
6. Components with Known Vulnerabilities
Components are composed of libraries and frameworks. This vulnerability occurs when the libraries and frameworks used within the application or system are executed with full privileges. When these components are exploited, the system is more prone to data extraction or system override.
7. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
Cross-site scripting flaws occur either when an application has been injected with suspicious data in a new web page without proper validation or when an existing webpage is provided with user-supplied data using a browser API that can create JavaScript or HTML. Suspicious agents can use this flaw to access the software system and maliciously manipulate or extract data from it.
8. Broken Authentication
Attackers are very meticulous in looking for any vulnerability or window. They will grasp the opportunity to enter and gain access to any sensitive information. When the system is poorly designed and there is a poor implementation of accessibility controls, sensitive data can be extracted and compromised. With this, correctly managing sessions and data authentication becomes crucial in ensuring the client’s safety using the software.
Continue reading the article on CodeRiders’ blog.
