7 Open-Source Security Methods For Web Development<\/h2>\n\n\n\n![\"7](\"https:\/\/webdesigndev.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Open-Source-Security-Methods-For-Web-Development-917x507.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1. Only use updated or the latest software or components<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Most common security advice, when it comes to general software security<\/a>, is also a top reminder when it comes to “open source security”<\/a>. This top reminder would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- To only use updated or the most recently released software<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This is important because old or unmaintained software is likely to contain vulnerabilities that make it easy for hackers to compromise security. With regard to software updates, this generally means patches or fixes have been introduced to address vulnerabilities and other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JavaScript<\/a> libraries, for instance, can be targeted by cybercriminals in their schemes. These libraries can become attack points for code injection, cross-site scripting, and malicious object references.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n2. Keep track of free or open-source components<\/h3>\n\n\n\nHaving clear visibility of all your free or open-source components is vital with regard to modern cybersecurity. Agencies and individual web developers need to be aware of all their IT assets and attack surfaces to be able to properly secure them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is extremely difficult to protect the unknown. That\u2019s why it is vital for you to have a system to account for all the open-source and free tools, software, and components used on a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IEEE Computer Society has a useful guide on securing open-source components,<\/a> which is also applicable to open-source security in web development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In summary, The IEEE Computer Society guide suggests the utilization of a security platform to account for all components and check for vulnerabilities. This would include establishing strict rules, standards, testing, and the scrapping of unsupported or poorly-maintained open source tools and components<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n3. Enforce secure coding practices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
OWASP\u2019s quick list for secure coding<\/a> is a good starting point in formulating and implementing secure coding practices. Essentially, the list calls for meticulous attention in the areas of input validation, output encoding, password management<\/a> and authentication, access control, session management, and encryption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n4. Use SSL\/TLS to secure data transmission<\/h3>\n\n\n\nYou probably already know that this is already part of secure coding practices, but it is worth highlighting the importance of data transmission security using SSL\/TLS. The failure to encrypt web data is one of the biggest mistakes a web developer can make, which is unfortunate since encryption can be complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Encryption is essential in open-source projects, given that the code is open to public scrutiny, including threatening actors. It is important to protect sensitive data from tampering, corruption, and interception at rest and also as it moves from the server to users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n5. Participate in penetration testing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Open-source software is open to public scrutiny. This means cybercriminals can do all the tests they want to find vulnerabilities or potential attack points. Organizations can one-up these threatening actors by scouring for these security weaknesses first through penetration testing or ethical hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is ethical hacking?<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\nIf you’re wondering what ethical hacking is in relation to web development security, it’s an honest hacking method done by “white hat” hackers (software or people) to reveal potential security vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of letting bad hackers<\/a> achieve their nefarious goals, it would be better to find and rectify the vulnerabilities first by bringing in a team of white hats. These ethical hackers can use automated cybersecurity tools, or by having a combination of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n6. Be involved in disaster recovery planning<\/h3>\n\n\n\nAs a web developer, you should build up the instinct and habit of creating backups often and formulating disaster recovery plans. It is impossible to be completely invulnerable to cyber attacks, so it is crucial to always have a way to quickly recover if an attack successfully penetrates your security defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Web developers are usually not the ones involved in the preparation of disaster recovery plans. However, they can provide useful insights into the problems to anticipate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n7. Encourage transparency and community collaboration<\/h3>\n\n\n\nOpen-source projects thrive because of community collaboration, and the involvement of many brilliant minds instinctively inspecting publicly accessible projects. This helps to discover issues and learn from the communities successes and failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When using open-source software and components<\/strong>, it makes sense to actively participate in open-source groups and promote responsible vulnerability disclosure. Going the open-source path almost always means the willingness to be scrutinized and to improve based on the issues cited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nFinal Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\nWith the current digital landscape dealing with aggressive and sophisticated cyber attacks more than ever before, cyber defense is no longer the sole responsibility of a single department or a few people. Others who may not be directly involved in security can do something to help keep threats at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Web developers have a role to play in cybersecurity and I hope you will consider these important open-source security practices. Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In today’s world, web developers must have a good understanding of current open-source security. It’s no longer enough to just be skilled in coding and UI\/UX design. In … Continue \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":85146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2517,30],"tags":[2673,2674,2553],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n7 Open Source Security Practices for Web Developers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a world of increased digital security risks, web developers must understand 6 open source security practices outlined here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/webdesigndev.com\/open-source-security\/\" 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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1. Only use updated or the latest software or components<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Most common security advice, when it comes to general software security<\/a>, is also a top reminder when it comes to “open source security”<\/a>. This top reminder would be:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- To only use updated or the most recently released software<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
This is important because old or unmaintained software is likely to contain vulnerabilities that make it easy for hackers to compromise security. With regard to software updates, this generally means patches or fixes have been introduced to address vulnerabilities and other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JavaScript<\/a> libraries, for instance, can be targeted by cybercriminals in their schemes. These libraries can become attack points for code injection, cross-site scripting, and malicious object references.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n2. Keep track of free or open-source components<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Having clear visibility of all your free or open-source components is vital with regard to modern cybersecurity. Agencies and individual web developers need to be aware of all their IT assets and attack surfaces to be able to properly secure them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is extremely difficult to protect the unknown. That\u2019s why it is vital for you to have a system to account for all the open-source and free tools, software, and components used on a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The IEEE Computer Society has a useful guide on securing open-source components,<\/a> which is also applicable to open-source security in web development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In summary, The IEEE Computer Society guide suggests the utilization of a security platform to account for all components and check for vulnerabilities. This would include establishing strict rules, standards, testing, and the scrapping of unsupported or poorly-maintained open source tools and components<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n3. Enforce secure coding practices<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
OWASP\u2019s quick list for secure coding<\/a> is a good starting point in formulating and implementing secure coding practices. Essentially, the list calls for meticulous attention in the areas of input validation, output encoding, password management<\/a> and authentication, access control, session management, and encryption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n4. Use SSL\/TLS to secure data transmission<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
You probably already know that this is already part of secure coding practices, but it is worth highlighting the importance of data transmission security using SSL\/TLS. The failure to encrypt web data is one of the biggest mistakes a web developer can make, which is unfortunate since encryption can be complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Encryption is essential in open-source projects, given that the code is open to public scrutiny, including threatening actors. It is important to protect sensitive data from tampering, corruption, and interception at rest and also as it moves from the server to users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n5. Participate in penetration testing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Open-source software is open to public scrutiny. This means cybercriminals can do all the tests they want to find vulnerabilities or potential attack points. Organizations can one-up these threatening actors by scouring for these security weaknesses first through penetration testing or ethical hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is ethical hacking?<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
If you’re wondering what ethical hacking is in relation to web development security, it’s an honest hacking method done by “white hat” hackers (software or people) to reveal potential security vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead of letting bad hackers<\/a> achieve their nefarious goals, it would be better to find and rectify the vulnerabilities first by bringing in a team of white hats. These ethical hackers can use automated cybersecurity tools, or by having a combination of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n6. Be involved in disaster recovery planning<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
As a web developer, you should build up the instinct and habit of creating backups often and formulating disaster recovery plans. It is impossible to be completely invulnerable to cyber attacks, so it is crucial to always have a way to quickly recover if an attack successfully penetrates your security defenses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Web developers are usually not the ones involved in the preparation of disaster recovery plans. However, they can provide useful insights into the problems to anticipate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n7. Encourage transparency and community collaboration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Open-source projects thrive because of community collaboration, and the involvement of many brilliant minds instinctively inspecting publicly accessible projects. This helps to discover issues and learn from the communities successes and failures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When using open-source software and components<\/strong>, it makes sense to actively participate in open-source groups and promote responsible vulnerability disclosure. Going the open-source path almost always means the willingness to be scrutinized and to improve based on the issues cited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\nFinal Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
With the current digital landscape dealing with aggressive and sophisticated cyber attacks more than ever before, cyber defense is no longer the sole responsibility of a single department or a few people. Others who may not be directly involved in security can do something to help keep threats at bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Web developers have a role to play in cybersecurity and I hope you will consider these important open-source security practices. Thanks for visiting and please leave a comment below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In today’s world, web developers must have a good understanding of current open-source security. It’s no longer enough to just be skilled in coding and UI\/UX design. In … Continue \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":85146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2517,30],"tags":[2673,2674,2553],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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