SDLC is short for software development life cycle. A secure SDLC is important to make sure that nothing goes wrong with the software during the development stage.
Secure Software Development Life Cycle
SDLC is a framework. It defines the process used for building an application. Starting from its inception to its decommission. However, multiple standard SDLC models have been proposed and used in various ways to fit individual circumstances over the years.
Phases of Secure Software Development Life Cycle
- Planning and requirements.
- Architecture and design.
- Test planning.
- Coding.
- Testing and results.
- Release and maintenance.
Advantages of Secure SDLC
- More secure software as security is a constant concern.
- It provides awareness of security considerations by stakeholders.
- It allows for the early detection of flaws in the system.
- Cost reduction is possible as a result of early detection and resolution of issues.
- It gives an overall reduction of intrinsic business risks for the organization.
Getting Started with Secure SDLC
- Perform a gap analysis to determine what activities/policies currently exist in the organization and its effectiveness.
- Set up a Software Security Initiative (SSI) by establishing realistic and achievable goals with defined metrics for success. Therefore formalizing the processes for security activities during the SSI setup.
- Invest in hiring and training of employees as well as appropriate tools.
- Use outside help as needed.
Common Issues Faced by Secure SDLC
Before, software development has become a crucial point of focus on security matters. Hence, this is an issue that arises for a lot of reasons. However, the most common issues that stand out are mistakes and problems during the SDLC. Mistakes are caused by human error. Developers ARE humans, after all, and are prone to errors. Problems, on the other hand, are unfavorable issues or a situation that needs to be overcome. However, problems do not always originate from errors.
Communication at the Early Stage
One of the most common problem areas appear during the requirements gathering stage. Likewise on the defining stage. It relates to communication problems between the involved parties.
Scheduling and Management
Work practices can often lead to unfavorable management situations. Sometimes inexperienced personnel assume the role of project manager. Hence, through leveraging relationships or a simple case of misunderstanding of a person’s skills. Likewise, even budget limits play a role from projects being mismanaged by inexperience, bringing to rise issues. For instance, the wrong estimation of the time required for each phase or forcing workloads into unrealistic time frames due to budgetary constraints.
Development and “Late Requests”
This is a problem caused by communication not kept in check. Another problem is the late requests of users. It might be a late decision to add new features due to changes in their preferences. However, it might already be late. This simple request of the end-users can have significant implications for the development team.
Crunch Time Testing
Testing is key to ensuring that the program works as per the initial vision, and also nowadays to ensure all security measures/bugs are tested. The problems that arise from the testing phase often come from the problem of bad management.
In Conclusion
Software Development Life Cycle is a vital part in the creation of software products. Therefore, it is advisable to make sure that SDLC is secure.