What is security by design: the best approach to cybersecurity

While implementing advanced software technologies, organizations exposed themselves to the potential risks of cyber-attacks. According to the Clusit 2022 report on cybersecurity, 2,049 serious cyber-attacks were recorded in 2021, an increase of 10% compared to the previous year. Every month, cyber-attacks grow both in quantity and in "quality": 79% of the attacks had a high impact, with 32% classified as “critical” and 47% with “high” severity.

As software development is reaching new heights every day, hackers are also exploring advanced techniques to penetrate cybersecurity systems. 41% of attacks occur using malware and ransomware, while 21% of registered Data Breaches occur using techniques classified as “Unknown”.

Therefore, to enhance the security of the cyber system, the classic Vulnerability Assessment and the traditional Penetration Test are not enough. It is necessary to use a completely new approach: Security by Design, which should offer teams of developers who are also experts in operations and security, as well as a community of trustworthy ethical hackers available 24/7 to track down any possible vulnerabilities.

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Security by Design: the principles

Security by Design is a methodology to strengthen the cybersecurity of the organization by automating its data security controls and developing a robust IT infrastructure. This approach focuses on implementing the security protocols from the basic building blocks of the entire IT infrastructure design. 

This is more of a proactive approach rather than a reactive thought process where the concentration is more on managing the damage, which is already done. It emphasizes on spending efforts to build a robust cybersecurity infrastructure, right from its design phase, to ensure that every component is secured enough to restrict any breach. There are some sets of principles that can provide stringent security to the product:

• Principle of Attack Surface Reduction: Attack surfaces can be defined as the entry points like applications, software, devices, or products, which are vulnerable to cyber breaches. The Security by Design concept focuses on limiting the attack surfaces by reducing the access of users to the core functions and features of the product to make it more secure. 

• Principle of Least Privilege: This principle refers to providing limited authority to the users to complete their required tasks. This restricts the users to visit the core areas, which should be performed by the skilled person only.

• Principle of Secure Defaults: This principle says that there should be default security processes and it is over the preferences of the users. Some examples are characters required for passwords, information during the registration process, and using captcha verification.

• Principle of Defense in Depth: This principle operates on the thought process of creating as many obstacles as possible in the way of hackers. It aims to restrict or delay cybercriminals to reach the sensitive points of the system.

Security by Design: how it works

The Security by Design approach focuses on capturing and analyzing the security aspects and incorporating the security measures throughout the development and implementation process. Some key elements and processes make this approach more reliable as well as flexible.

This approach is extremely beneficial for organizations, which should choose a service capable of ensuring the following characteristics:

• A strong community base of trustworthy ethical hackers, who are highly reliable and available 24/7 to provide the finest solution

• Customized dashboard to measure real-time results, specially designed considering the client’s ease, to share the progress of every vulnerability management

• A complete, unique, and accurate reporting system with real-time alerts on the vulnerabilities

• The ability to quickly and easily activate and deactivate vulnerability search campaigns.

Security by Design: the importance of a highly reliable crowd

In order to use a Security by Design approach, it is essential to rely on a crowd of competent and reliable ethical hackers, who join the community after careful checks on both their skills and their identity.

In addition to availability 24/7, the advantage of a crowd of Ethical Hackers is about the diversification of their skills, which create a collective knowledge and competence. The crowd is made up of complementary individuals, capable of identifying any type of vulnerability and collaborating to discover new ones, offering the highest security.

Takeaway

It is vital to understand that the Security by Design approach is not going to fully safeguard the data and information from the organization. However, the approach aims to enhance the security measures that can reduce the risks and weak points as it asks to look into the safety aspects from the beginning of the infrastructure development.

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