The concept of sSDLC (Security Software Development Life Cycle) is an approach to software development that integrates security practices and considerations throughout the entire software development life cycle, from design and development to implementation and maintenance. A secure sSDLC requires adding security testing at each stage of the software development process, from design to deployment and beyond.

Importance of sSDLC

Security is a crucial part of any application that includes critical functionality. This can be as simple as securing your database from attacks or as complex as applying fraud processing to a qualified lead before importing it into your platform. Security applies at every phase of the software development life cycle (SDLC) and must always be at the forefront of developers’ minds as they implement the software requirements.

In today’s digital landscape, where software is used to store and process large amounts of sensitive information, software security is more important than ever. If software is not developed with security in mind, it can be vulnerable to attacks that compromise sensitive data and cause harm to individuals and organizations.

Benefits of sSDLC

  • Reduction of Vulnerabilities: Integrating security from the start reduces vulnerabilities and improves software quality.
  • Regulatory Compliance: Ensures compliance with regulations and security standards, enhancing customer trust.
  • Cost Savings: Detecting and fixing security issues early is more economical than addressing them in later stages.

Phases of sSDLC

1. Requirements

Identify security considerations for functional requirements from the project’s initial phase. This stage includes gathering security requirements along with functional requirements.

  • Example: Users must be able to verify their contact information before renewing their membership.
  • Security Consideration: Users should only see their own contact information and not others'.

2. Design

Translate requirements into a security-focused application plan. Conduct a risk analysis to identify specific vulnerabilities.

  • Example: The page should retrieve the user’s name, email, phone, and address from the CUSTOMER_INFO table in the database and display it on the screen.
  • Security Concern: Verify that the user has a valid session token before retrieving information from the database.

3. Development

Implement the design ensuring the code is well-written from a security perspective. Follow secure coding guidelines and conduct code reviews, both manual and automated.

  • Secure Coding Guidelines: Use parameterized SQL queries, validate user inputs, sanitize data, check open-source libraries for vulnerabilities.

4. Verification

Conduct an exhaustive testing cycle to ensure the application meets original and security requirements. Security tests should be automated and continuous throughout the development process.

  • Includes automated security tests and tools like CI/CD to control verification and deployment.

5. Implementation

Securely deploy the software. Ensure the production environment is secure and best security practices are followed during product launch.

6. Maintenance

Continuous monitoring and management of vulnerabilities post-deployment. Plan for fixing vulnerabilities discovered in production and be prepared to respond to new threats.

Cultural and Process Improvements

Implementing sSDLC involves changing the team culture to focus on security from the start, automating security verifications, and closely collaborating between DevOps and engineering teams.

This significantly reduces the cost of fixing security issues discovered late in the development life cycle.

  1. Prepare Your Organization: Establish clear secure software development policies, provide training and resources to development teams, and maintain a secure development environment.
  2. Add Security Practices to Organizational Processes: Threat modeling, use of secure design patterns, implementation of appropriate controls, and regular code reviews.
  3. Proactively Assess and Verify Security: Conduct security assessments of the deployment environment, regularly patch software, continuous monitoring, and periodic security reviews.
  4. Respond to Vulnerabilities: Establish processes to identify, evaluate, and prioritize vulnerability responses, develop plans to address them, and communicate with stakeholders.

Tools and Models of sSDLC

There are several models and tools that help implement an effective sSDLC:

  • NIST 800-64: Provides security considerations and parameters within the SDLC.
  • MS Security Development Lifecycle (MS SDL): Offers security considerations that work for most modern development pipelines.
  • OWASP CLASP: Integrates security activities into the existing software architecture plan.

Integration with DevSecOps

The sSDLC is closely related to DevSecOps, which seeks to shift the ownership of the production environment to developers, enabling them to focus on automating build, test, and deployment processes. DevSecOps fosters collaboration and trust between security and development teams, extending the reach of security by educating developers on how to reduce vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

The sSDLC allows addressing security risks from the beginning, in the requirements phase, instead of having to backtrack from the maintenance phase. By integrating security into each phase of development, a much more secure application is ensured.

This approach not only improves software security but also enables development teams to meet delivery deadlines and minimize additional costs resulting from security issues discovered late in the software development life cycle.