Original Post: Developing an Effective Application Security Program | by Prasanna S Karthikeyan | Jul, 2024
This blog offers a comprehensive guide to building an effective application security program that aligns with organizational development needs. Here are the key points:
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Foundation Steps:
- Determine the current application security posture.
- Identify gaps and immediate needs.
- Develop a roadmap addressing short and long-term goals.
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Preliminary Steps for Application Security Leaders:
- Understand the organization’s structure and existing tools.
- Assess vulnerabilities, policies, development roadmaps, and relevant committees.
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Understanding the Security Tool Landscape:
- Utilize tools like SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA, WAF, RASP, and threat modeling tools.
- Ensure proper coverage by maintaining a matrix of tools against the organization’s products.
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Case Study: Log4j:
- Highlights the importance of comprehensive security coverage and a proactive vulnerability response strategy.
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Effective Vulnerability Management:
- Categorize and prioritize issues.
- Assign ownership and ensure clear resolution instructions.
- Maintain a consolidated list of vulnerabilities and create vulnerability exposure charts.
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Aligning Business and Security Goals:
- Balance competitive advantages and speed to market with rigorous security standards and frameworks like ISO, NIST, SANS, OWASP.
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Conducting a Gap Analysis:
- Identify organizational goals and reasons for addressing security gaps.
- Use internal and external security standards to guide the gap analysis.
- Inputs for Gap Analysis:
- Focus on the current state of security functions.
- Example analysis: Evaluate security scanning capabilities for different product pipelines (SAST, DAST, SCA) and implement missing tools.
The blog concludes with a promise to discuss a sample application security roadmap and key metrics for measuring its effectiveness in a future article.
Go here to read the Original Post