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AI vs. (secure) software developers

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I think the entire software development world saw NVIDIA’s CEO saying that the world will stop needing software developers, because they will be replaced by AI.

Well, considering that this comes from the guy who sells the core on which AI is built, is understandable.

But is there any truth to this? Let’s look at some Strengths and Weaknesses of AI in the field of software development, with focus on secure software development.

 

The Strengths of AI in Software Development

AI excels in automating repetitive tasks and processing vast amounts of data quickly. For example, AI-driven tools can:

  • Identify common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS) using pattern recognition.
  • Suggest code refactoring for improved efficiency or readability.
  • Provide automated testing and validation for specific use cases.
  • Generate code snippets that can speed up development, allowing developers to focus on complex, high-level tasks instead of repetitive tasks.
  • Perform static and dynamic code analysis faster than manual reviews, identifying potential issues across large codebases in a fraction of the time.
  • Offer predictive insights by analyzing historical data to anticipate possible security breaches or performance bottlenecks.
  • Facilitate compliance checks by mapping code against security standards and regulatory requirements.

These capabilities make AI invaluable for enhancing productivity and reducing the burden of mundane tasks. However, AI has limitations that highlight the irreplaceable role of skilled developers.

The Weaknesses of AI in Secure Software Development

  1. Lack of context understanding
    AI tools often struggle to grasp the context of a software system. Security vulnerabilities often stem from contextual issues, such as improper assumptions about user behavior or architectural flaws.
    Developers use their domain knowledge and intuition to identify these issues—something AI cannot replicate.
  2. Overreliance on patterns
    AI relies heavily on training data and pattern recognition. This approach can lead to false positives (flagging issues that aren’t real) and false negatives (missing actual vulnerabilities).
    Developers, on the other hand, use critical thinking to assess risks and prioritize fixes.
  3. Lack of creative problem-solving
    Secure software development often requires innovative solutions to unique problems.
    AI lacks the creativity and adaptability of humans, limiting its ability to design custom security measures.
  4. Ethical and legal implications
    AI cannot make ethical decisions or assess the broader implications of its suggestions.
    Developers with security expertise consider regulatory compliance, ethical concerns, and long-term impact when designing secure systems.
  5. Lack of continuous growth
    Unlike developers, whose experience grows continuously through exposure to new challenges, AI systems remain static unless explicitly retrained.
    Developers improve their skills, adapt to emerging threats, and learn from past experiences, ensuring they stay ahead of evolving security risks.
  6. Limited problem-solving scope
    AI knows only what it was trained with. This limitation means it struggles to address new or unconventional problems that fall outside its training data.
    Developers, by contrast, use their ingenuity and evolving expertise to find innovative solutions to emerging threats and challenges.

 

Examples of AI Mistakes

Here are some scenarios where AI is not mature enough, and developers with security skills excel:

  • Misidentifying Threats: An AI tool might flag a harmless API endpoint as a potential security risk due to pattern similarity, while missing a nuanced logic flaw that allows privilege escalation.
  • Overlooking Complex Dependencies: AI might fail to account for security risks in intricate dependency chains or third-party integrations, where a developer’s experience would highlight potential issues.
  • Generic Recommendations: AI might suggest generic fixes that do not align with the specific architecture or threat model of the application, whereas developers tailor solutions to the system’s needs.
  • Failing to Detect Zero-Day Vulnerabilities: AI cannot identify vulnerabilities that do not have a pre-existing pattern in its training data. Developers’ intuition and expertise are critical for detecting these novel threats.
  • Incorrectly Prioritizing Vulnerabilities: AI might prioritize fixing minor issues over addressing critical risks, leading to inefficient resource allocation. Developers can apply risk-based decision-making to prioritize effectively.
  • Overlooking Business Logic Flaws: AI often fails to detect flaws in the business logic that attackers can exploit. These vulnerabilities require a deep understanding of the application’s purpose and workflows, which developers possess.
  • Inappropriate Code Suggestions: AI-generated code snippets may inadvertently introduce vulnerabilities or fail to comply with specific security policies. Developers review and adapt these snippets to ensure secure integration.
  • Old or obsolete training data: AI recommends very often snippets of code based on old APIs, which might no longer exist by the time it is asked to generate some code. Developers will look always at the latest documentation of the API they need.

 

Instead of conclusions

AI is a powerful tool that enhances the capabilities of developers but, as can be seen above, it does not replace them. At least for a long while … 🙂

The ideal approach is a collaborative one, where AI handles repetitive tasks and provides data-driven insights, allowing developers to focus on high-level problem-solving and decision-making.

Organizations should invest in both AI tools and the continuous development of their teams’ security skills.

This balanced approach ensures that the software remains secure, reliable, and resilient against threats.

 

The post AI vs. (secure) software developers first appeared on Sorin Mustaca on Cybersecurity.

How-To create Security User Stories

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In the previous article, we explored how Scrum enables teams to add security to the backlog and prioritize it based on risk.

Incorporating security into the SDLC ensures that security is not an afterthought but an integral part of the development process.

Security User Stories are specific, actionable items that articulate the security needs of the software in the same way functional requirements are handled.

Writing Security User Stories complements this process by providing clear, actionable security requirements that can be integrated into each sprint.

By treating security stories with the same importance as functional stories, developers can ensure that the software they build is not only feature-complete but also secure.

 

What are Security User Stories?

Security User Stories are descriptions of security requirements written from the perspective of the user or the system. They focus on specific security needs, ensuring that the software not only meets functional requirements but also protects against potential vulnerabilities. Just like traditional user stories that describe a feature or function, security stories express how the system should behave securely.

A typical Security User Story follows the same format as a regular user story:

  • As a [role], I want [goal], so that [benefit].

For example, a Security User Story for web development might look like this:

  • “As a user, I want my session to expire after 15 minutes of inactivity, so that my account is protected from unauthorized access.”

Why are Security User Stories Needed?

Security is often treated as an afterthought, addressed late in the development process or after an incident occurs. This reactive approach leads to vulnerabilities, increased technical debt, and costly security fixes post-release. Security User Stories shift this paradigm by making security an integral part of the development process from the outset. They are necessary for several reasons:

  1. Proactive Security Integration: By incorporating security needs into the backlog from the start, you ensure that security considerations are addressed in each sprint, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities later on.
  2. Clear Requirements for Developers: Security User Stories provide clear, actionable security requirements, helping developers understand exactly what is expected to make the software secure.
  3. Accountability: Writing security stories holds the development team accountable for implementing security features and allows for better tracking of security tasks within the development cycle.
  4. Risk Mitigation: When security is considered early in the SDLC, potential security issues are identified and addressed before they become significant risks. This aligns with the concept of “Shift Left” security, where security is integrated into earlier stages of the development process.

How to Use Security User Stories

Security User Stories should be written as part of the Product Backlog and prioritized based on the level of risk or impact. Here’s how to use them effectively:

  1. Collaboration with Security Experts: Work with security professionals to identify potential threats and risks specific to the application or platform. They can help create and refine security user stories based on threat modeling and vulnerability assessments.
  2. Define Acceptance Criteria: Each Security User Story should have clear, testable acceptance criteria. These criteria define when the story is considered complete and what tests should be performed to verify the security requirement has been met.
  3. Prioritize Based on Risk: Security User Stories should be prioritized just like functional features, based on their importance. Stories that address high-risk vulnerabilities, such as authentication or encryption, should be prioritized early in the development cycle.
  4. Regular Review and Updates: Security is an evolving field. As new threats emerge, Security User Stories should be reviewed and updated to address the latest vulnerabilities. Regular threat assessments help ensure the backlog remains current.

Examples of Security User Stories Across Different Platforms

1. Web Application Development

Web applications face numerous security threats, from SQL injection to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Below are examples of Security User Stories that address common web application security issues:

  • “As a user, I want my password to be stored securely using a strong hashing algorithm like bcrypt, so that my account is protected from unauthorized access.”
  • “As a system, I want to validate all user inputs server-side to prevent injection attacks.”
  • “As a system, I must use HTTPS for all data transmitted between the client and the server, to ensure data confidentiality.”
  • “As a user, I want to be logged out after 15 minutes of inactivity, so that my session cannot be hijacked.”

2. Windows Software Development

Windows software may face risks such as privilege escalation or malicious code execution. Security User Stories for Windows development could include:

  • “As a user, I want my application to run with the minimum necessary privileges, so that the system is protected from privilege escalation attacks.”
  • “As a system administrator, I want all logs to be stored securely and be tamper-proof, so that I can audit user activities reliably.”
  • “As a developer, I want the application to verify all digital signatures before executing code, to ensure the code has not been tampered with.”
  • “As a system, I want to enforce Data Execution Prevention (DEP) to prevent malicious code from executing in the memory.”

3. Android App Development

Mobile applications, particularly Android apps, face unique security challenges, such as improper storage of sensitive information and unauthorized access to device features. Examples of Android-related Security User Stories include:

  • “As a user, I want my sensitive data (e.g., passwords, payment information) to be encrypted using the Android Keystore system, so that my data is safe even if the device is compromised.”
  • “As a developer, I want the app to request only the necessary permissions, so that the user’s privacy is respected.”
  • “As a user, I want to be required to authenticate using biometrics before making sensitive changes, such as resetting my password, to ensure the security of my account.”
  • “As a system, I want to securely store session tokens and prevent them from being accessible via insecure storage mechanisms (e.g., SharedPreferences).”

4. iOS App Development

iOS apps must adhere to strict privacy and security guidelines, and improper handling of user data can lead to severe breaches. Below are Security User Stories specific to iOS development:

  • “As a user, I want all sensitive information (e.g., authentication tokens) to be stored in the iOS Keychain, so that my data is protected from unauthorized access.”
  • “As a system, I want to ensure that network communication is secured using TLS 1.2 or above, to protect against man-in-the-middle attacks.”
  • “As a user, I want to enable Face ID for sensitive transactions (e.g., payments), to ensure that unauthorized users cannot perform critical actions.”
  • “As a developer, I want to implement App Transport Security (ATS) to ensure all connections are encrypted.”

Conclusion

Security User Stories are a powerful tool for developers to integrate security into their development process. By writing clear, actionable stories with defined acceptance criteria, development teams can proactively address security risks while ensuring that they meet functional requirements.

Whether you’re building a web app, Windows software, or mobile applications for Android or iOS, incorporating Security User Stories into the backlog ensures that security remains a priority throughout the SDLC.

With this approach, developers can create secure, reliable software that meets the needs of both the business and the users.

The post How-To create Security User Stories first appeared on Sorin Mustaca on Cybersecurity.

Delivering secure software in an agile way

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Agile Software Development: Why It’s Better

Traditional development methodologies, such as the Waterfall model, struggle to keep up with the need for quick iterations, frequent releases, and adaptability to changing requirements.

Agile software development addresses these challenges by emphasizing flexibility, collaboration, and continuous delivery. Agile methodologies break down the development process into smaller, manageable chunks, allowing teams to rapidly deliver working software while remaining responsive to feedback and changes.

Among the various Agile frameworks, Scrum stands out as one of the most widely adopted and effective methods for managing software development. It provides a simple, yet powerful framework, that helps teams continuously deliver high-quality products, adapt to dynamic customer needs.

Using Scrum for software development

Scrum is a lightweight agile framework designed to manage complex product development through iterative and incremental processes. It focuses on delivering working software in short cycles known as Sprints and emphasizes collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement. This structure makes Scrum particularly well-suited for dynamic environments like software development, where requirements often change throughout the project lifecycle.

Scrum offers several key advantages that make it ideal for software development:

  1. Rapid Iteration and Feedback: Scrum’s short sprints allow teams to deliver working software frequently, which gives stakeholders the chance to review progress, provide feedback, and make necessary adjustments after each sprint.
  2. Adaptability to Change: In Scrum, the Product Backlog is continuously updated and reprioritized, enabling teams to adapt to changing business needs or customer demands without disrupting the overall workflow.
  3. Focus on Delivering Value: Scrum emphasizes delivering the highest business value early by prioritizing the most critical features. This ensures that the product development effort aligns with the business objectives.
  4. Cross-Functional Teams and Collaboration: Scrum fosters collaboration between cross-functional teams, which enables them to tackle complex problems and deliver complete product increments without relying on external resources.
  5. Simplicity and Structure: Scrum’s structured roles, artifacts, and ceremonies create a clear framework for managing work, making it easier for teams to stay organized, focused, and accountable.

With these features, Scrum empowers software development teams to build high-quality products faster and with greater alignment to customer needs. The framework’s flexibility and focus on delivering continuous value make it the ideal choice for modern software development.

Non-Functional features in Scrum

Non-functional features, or non-functional requirements (NFRs), refer to critical system attributes like security, usability, and resource consumption that ensure the software performs optimally and meets quality standards. Unlike functional features, which are visible to users, non-functional features define how the system behaves under specific conditions and are essential to the system’s overall success.

Examples of Non-Functional Features

  1. Security: Protecting the system from unauthorized access and vulnerabilities.
  2. Usability: Ensuring that the system is user-friendly and easy to navigate.
  3. Resource Consumption: Optimizing the system’s use of resources, such as memory, CPU, and bandwidth, to ensure efficient operation.

Though non-functional features are not always visible to users, they are crucial to the long-term stability and security of the product. Managing these features properly within the Scrum process is essential to ensure the product meets both user and business expectations.

Incorporating Non-Functional Features in the Scrum Backlog

Non-functional features can be added to the Product Backlog similarly to functional ones, ensuring that they are prioritized, addressed, and tested throughout the development cycle.

Here’s how:

  1. Create explicit user stories for non-functional features

Define clear user stories for non-functional aspects like security or performance. For instance:

    • “As a user, I want my personal data to be encrypted, ensuring my privacy and security.”
    • “As a system administrator, I want the application to scale seamlessly for up to 10,000 concurrent users.”
      For security in particular, these user stories are usually called “security user stories”.
  2. Prioritize based on business impact
    Work with stakeholders and the Product Owner to prioritize non-functional features that have the greatest impact on the system’s overall performance and security.
  3. Define Acceptance Criteria
    Ensure that non-functional user stories include measurable acceptance criteria, such as performance benchmarks or security requirements, so they can be properly tested.
  4. Integrate NFRs into the Definition of Done
    Non-functional features should be part of the team’s Definition of Done (DoD), ensuring that each sprint delivers not only functional but also secure, performant, and stable increments.
  5. Define a certain ratio between functional and non-functional requirements in the backlog
    Ensure that the non-functional user stories like security user stories have always a reserved space in the backlog. For example, you can have 60% functional u.s., 20% non-functional u.s., 20% bug fixes u.s.

Security in Software Development

Security is one of the most critical non-functional features in software development. It involves protecting systems, data, and users from potential cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

As software becomes more complex, the attack surface increases, making robust security measures essential.

Failing to integrate security into the development process can lead to severe consequences such as data breaches, loss of customer trust, and regulatory penalties.

The challenge of adding security user stories to the backlog

One of the main challenges of integrating security into the Scrum backlog is that security requirements are often non-functional and may not be directly tied to a specific feature.

Security is also a broad area, encompassing various elements (authentication, encryption, vulnerability management), which can make it difficult for the Product Owner to prioritize and create detailed security user stories.

Another challenge is balancing security tasks with feature development. Development teams (especially the product owner) may be tempted to focus on customer-facing features, leaving security tasks to the end, which increases the risk of vulnerabilities slipping through.

 

How to add security to the Scrum backlog

1. Create security user stories

Translate security requirements into actionable user stories that fit into the Scrum process. These stories should describe the security needs from a user’s perspective. Examples include:

  • “As a user, I want my password to be hashed and stored securely, ensuring the safety of my account.”
  • “As a system administrator, I want the application to implement multi-factor authentication for increased security.”

By creating security user stories, the development team can directly address specific security needs in each sprint.

2. Prioritize security based on risk

Work with security experts and stakeholders to prioritize security tasks based on the potential risk they mitigate. Security stories that address high-risk areas, such as vulnerabilities in authentication or data handling, should be prioritized over less critical tasks.

3. Define clear acceptance criteria for security stories

Ensure that each security user story has measurable acceptance criteria. These criteria should be specific and testable, such as:

  • “Passwords must be hashed using a minimum of SHA-256 encryption.”
  • “The system must reject any user input that contains SQL injection attempts.”

Clear acceptance criteria help the development team understand what is required to achieve “done” for a security story.

4. Integrate security into the Definition of Done

Security tasks should be part of the Definition of Done for every sprint. This ensures that security checks, such as code reviews and penetration testing, are performed before a feature is considered complete. By making security a core part of the development process, teams can prevent security from being treated as an afterthought.

5. Conduct Security Spikes

If security requirements are complex, consider using spikes to explore potential solutions or gather more information. For example, a spike could involve researching encryption libraries or conducting a security audit to identify vulnerabilities. Spikes help teams plan and implement security features more effectively in future sprints.

6. Regularly Review and Update Security Stories

As security threats evolve, new vulnerabilities may emerge that need to be addressed. Regularly review and update the backlog to ensure that the most current security threats are covered. This could involve adding new security stories or reprioritizing existing ones based on changing risk assessments.

7. Define a fixed ratio for security user stories

As mentioned above for non-functional requirements, it is usually a very good practice to have fixed percentages of non-functional user stories. Since security user stories are non-functional user stories, you can enforce this way that security topics don’t get forgotten.

 

Conclusions

Agile development provides the flexibility and adaptability needed to keep up with today’s dynamic software environments, and Scrum stands out as probably the best framework for delivering software quickly while ensuring continuous feedback and improvement.

By incorporating both functional and non-functional features into the Scrum backlog, teams can ensure that they are delivering a product that is not only feature-rich but also secure, performant, and user-friendly.

Security, in particular, is an essential non-functional requirement that must be treated as a priority throughout the development lifecycle. By integrating security user stories into the backlog, prioritizing based on risk, and ensuring security is part of the Definition of Done, software development teams can create resilient, secure systems without sacrificing agility or speed.

The post Delivering secure software in an agile way first appeared on Sorin Mustaca on Cybersecurity.

Securing the Secure: The Importance of Secure Software Practices in Security Software Development

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In an increasingly interconnected digital world, the importance of secure software cannot be overstated.

Many people think that by using security software all their digital assets become automatically secured.

However, it is crucial to recognize that security software itself is not inherently secure by default.

To ensure the highest level of protection, security software must be designed, developed, and maintained using secure software practices.

This blog post emphasizes how important it is to incorporate secure software development practices within the broader context of the secure software lifecycle for security software.

 

Understanding the Secure Software Lifecycle

The secure software lifecycle encompasses the entire journey of a security software product, from its inception to its retirement.

It consists of multiple stages, such as :

  • Requirements gathering/Analysis
  • Design,
  • Implementation
  • Testing,
  • Deployment
  • Maintenance
  • Retirement

Incorporating secure software practices at each step is essential to fortify the software’s defense against potential vulnerabilities and attacks.

 

Implement Secure Software Development Practices

Implementing secure software practices involves adopting a proactive approach to identify and address security concerns from the outset.

Some fundamental practices include:

a. Threat Modeling:

Conducting a comprehensive analysis of potential threats and vulnerabilities helps developers design robust security measures. By understanding potential risks, developers can prioritize security features and allocate resources accordingly.

b. Secure Coding:

Writing code with a security-first mindset minimizes the likelihood of exploitable vulnerabilities. Adhering to coding standards, utilizing secure coding libraries, and performing regular code reviews and audits contribute to building a solid foundation for secure software.

c. Secure Configuration Management

Properly configuring the security software environment, such as secure network settings, encryption protocols, and access controls, is vital for safeguarding against unauthorized access and data breaches.

d. Regular Security Testing

Rigorous testing, including vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and code analysis, helps identify and rectify security flaws. It ensures that security software operates as intended and remains resilient against evolving threats.

 

The Bigger Picture: Security in a Connected World

Secure software development practices extend beyond the development of security software alone. They have a broader impact on the overall security ecosystem. The adoption of secure software practices sets a precedent for other software developers, promoting a culture of security awareness and accountability.

Moreover, incorporating secure practices in security software helps foster trust among users and organizations. It instills confidence that the software is diligently designed to protect sensitive information and critical systems. Secure software practices also contribute to regulatory compliance, enabling organizations to meet stringent security standards and safeguard user data.

 

The Vital Importance of Secure Software: Consequences of Security Vulnerabilities for Security Companies

The implications of security vulnerabilities go beyond the immediate risks they pose to users and organizations. For security companies, the consequences of having products with security vulnerabilities can be severe, impacting their reputation, customer trust, and overall business viability.

Here are just a few negative consequences that security companies may face if their products fall prey to security vulnerabilities:

  1. Reputation Damage: Security companies are built on trust and reliability. When a security product is discovered to have vulnerabilities, it erodes customer confidence and tarnishes the company’s reputation. The perception that a security company cannot protect its own software casts doubt on its ability to safeguard sensitive information and defend against external threats. This loss of trust can be challenging to regain, resulting in a significant blow to the company’s credibility and market standing.
  2. Customer Loss and Dissatisfaction: Security vulnerabilities in software can lead to compromised systems, data breaches, and financial losses for users. In such instances, customers are likely to seek alternative security solutions, abandoning the vulnerable product and the company behind it. This loss of customers not only affects the company’s revenue but also demonstrates a lack of customer satisfaction and loyalty. Negative word-of-mouth can spread rapidly, deterring potential customers from considering the security company’s offerings in the future.
  3. Legal and Regulatory Consequences: Security vulnerabilities can have legal and regulatory implications for security companies. Depending on the nature and severity of the vulnerabilities, companies may face legal action from affected parties, resulting in costly litigation and potential financial penalties. Furthermore, security companies operating in regulated industries, such as finance or healthcare, may face compliance violations, leading to fines and reputational damage. Compliance with security standards and industry regulations is critical for security companies to maintain credibility and avoid legal consequences.
  4. Increased Operational Costs: Addressing security vulnerabilities requires significant resources, both in terms of time and finances. Security companies must invest in dedicated teams to investigate, fix, and release patches or updates to address vulnerabilities promptly. Additionally, engaging in incident response, customer support, and post-incident communication efforts adds to the operational costs. Failure to address vulnerabilities in a timely and efficient manner can exacerbate the negative consequences, making the recovery process more challenging and expensive.

 

In an era where security breaches and cyber threats are prevalent, relying solely on the notion that security software is inherently secure is a grave misconception. Secure software practices are indispensable for developing robust and resilient security software. By implementing these practices throughout the software lifecycle, developers can significantly mitigate the risks associated with vulnerabilities and ensure the highest level of protection for users and organizations alike. Embracing secure software practices sets the stage for a safer digital landscape, bolstering trust, and reinforcing security across the entire software development ecosystem. By prioritizing security, security companies can protect their customers, preserve their reputation, and maintain a competitive edge in the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity.

 

If you want to know more about SSDLC, contact Endpoint Cybersecurity for a free consultation.

Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC)

The post Securing the Secure: The Importance of Secure Software Practices in Security Software Development first appeared on Sorin Mustaca on Cybersecurity.

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