The virtual world can be a very dangerous place. News about attacks on websites and applications has become increasingly common. Portals displaying modified information and data that cannot be accessed are some of the examples of threats. But how can application security help your organization?
Cases of even larger attacks, such as the disclosure of passwords, contacts, and credit card numbers, can further expose users. Thus, the establishment of data protection laws also moves towards punishing organizations that do not comply with some security requirements.
Therefore, one of the main goals of information security teams is to prevent organizations from being exposed to cyber risks. In this way, application security becomes an essential factor for the protection of organizations.
How to enforce application security within your organization
The popularization of mobile devices has made people perform all kinds of tasks through applications and systems. In this way, many attacks began to focus on potential vulnerabilities that can be exploited in these applications. That's because they have a quick reach within systems, causing criminals to compromise operations and even access sensitive data.
There are many vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. Some technologies adopted in web pages and in the development of systems can generate breaches. These failures can cause many problems, such as exposure and theft of user data, service disruption, and even financial losses.
In this article we will introduce the theme of application security. We'll also learn how using secure development methods can contribute to more protected environments.
What is application security?
As we have already said, most attacks seek to exploit vulnerabilities that may be present in applications. This type of attack can trigger an even bigger crisis, not to mention the financial losses.
Thus, it has become the role of each organization to protect its data and that of its customers, partners and users. In addition, the new data protection laws make the matter even more serious, causing organizations to face sanctions for negligence.
Why can application security help protect your organization?
Application security can be considered a culture to implement within your organization. This is because it not only refers to the process of developing, launching and maintaining secure applications, but it is also necessary for people to be constantly empowered to apply best practices.
In this way, investing in information security involves not only protecting the organization, but also its reputation. For this reason it is essential that this becomes a culture.
However, applying application security concepts does not just mean performing security tests at all stages of development. They are part of a process where people need to understand security issues and are continually empowered to update themselves on the most widely used practices and technologies.
Therefore, implementing a security culture involves a series of elements. To disseminate and encourage this culture within your organization, security must become present in people's daily lives.
What is the purpose of application security?
Every day we use applications to perform many tasks, from banking transactions to online shopping. All of this was created through human hands, using computer codes.
Thus, the primary purpose of application security is to prevent data from being exposed through vulnerabilities, or that it allows access to functionality for malicious people.
However, there are no fully protected applications. All of them can be hacked. Some more easily than others. That's why it's so important to apply application security concepts.
Create a security culture within your organization
Probably, the developers in your organization already have a very well-structured work process. This process can range from planning an application to launching and monitoring it.
It can be a common practice to perform security tests only at the end of this type of process, when the application is already operating and being monitored.
And how can application security be implemented? This type of concept suggests that, instead of testing the security of the application only in the final stages of development, the tests should be implemented from the beginning to the end of the process.
Thus, vulnerabilities can be observed and fixed in the early stages of development, fixing potential security flaws.
Therefore, the concept of application security does not only involve tools that can be purchased. It is necessary to create a security culture, involving safety tests from the beginning to the end of the development process and empowering people constantly.
Our ecosystem can help you create a culture of security within your organization. Through the PhishX platform, it is possible to conduct constant training and simulations, making people in direct contact with information security.
This way, you can apply some of these concepts more efficiently within your organization, reducing vulnerabilities and directly addressing risks.
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