Choose SDL to make sure your software is standing out

Information security and security, in general, is a booming topic these days. Organisations producing software must ensure that their products and software are compatible with the security requirements of their customers, lawmakers, and other stakeholders. We at Huld state that secure software is achieved when organisation creates culture of secure development! 

Implementing a culture of secure development might seem a complex, time-consuming, and demanding processes to achieve. This is where Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL) comes into the picture. SDL is a process that ensures that security is considered at all stages of software development.  

How to approach SDL? 

Implementing SDL is not just about technology; it’s a mindset that every organisation needs to adopt. 

SDL is all about getting different teams within the organisation to understand the risks and take proactive measures to protect the organisation’s valuable assets, such as customer data, intellectual property, and brand reputation. SDL should be seen as a way of implementing security at all levels of the organisation. Therefore, there are three main ingredients for successfully creating culture of security within organisation: 

• Communication between teams 
• Increasing security awareness of all personnel 
• Importance of security and security management is recognised at all levels 

When correctly implemented, SDL will create a culture of security and work like a safety net that protects an organisation and its valuable assets from cyber threats. Just like you would not build a house without a solid foundation or a car without a seatbelt, you should not develop software without implementing security measures. 

SDL can be broken down in to five main categories:

• Governance and requirements phase highlights the importance of security-related requirements for development, security competence needs to be obtained through training, and how organisations of different sizes should organise security-related activities.  
• Preparation and design phase focuses strongly on threat modelling and CI/CD pipeline.  

• Implementation involves writing secure and vulnerability-free code, which organisations can achieve with proper usage of tools & components, identity-based authentication & the principle of least privileges and following best practices of secure coding. 
• Testing and verification phase is all about actions to ensure that security controls are working as intended and the wanted security level is achieved. This is commonly achieved by comprehensive testing, including penetration testing, reviewing compliance, and establishing a quality assurance process. 
• Monitoring and response. Even the best and most secure applications have security incidents happening. To counter unexpected situations, organisations need to have a well-thought incident response plan and monitoring system.
  

Huld wants to act as a trendsetter 

Huld has created SDL framework that consists of a set of SDL services to support organisations of all sizes to take a step towards a more secure world. Huld’s SDL services provide:

• insight into the organisation’s current security practices and security posture 
• understatement of best practices on how to implement security into the software development
• a detailed view of what kind of measures, controls and tools the organisation should implement 
• Huld’s experts and expertise in implementing selected SDL activities 

Implementing SDL is vital if your organisation aims to protect its assets from potential security threats. With Huld SDL, organisations of all sizes and different forms of development can reduce the risk of vulnerabilities and minimise the impact of potential cyber-attacks. So, don’t wait until it’s too late, and contact us today to implement SDL and secure your software development process.