You need to test your software’s security. How can you be sure it’s bulletproof?

Protection begins with identifying what you're protecting. However if you look at the industry, even today, security is mostly a checklist. We need to really take "Shift Left" seriously. - Integrate Threat modeling before you write a single line of code - Build security not just into the software but also into the development lifecycle - Periodically assess (internally/externally) your risks and changing threat landscape I cannot stress enough on the last point. Sometimes doing risk assessment once is worse than doing it never. At least you don't have the false sense of security. Threats change on a regular basis, to ensure robust security, you need to up your plan continuously.

Antes de comenzar las pruebas se debe tener en cuenta todo el tema de vulnerabilidades y seguridad y probar al máximo como cliente y como tester para que no pasen utilizar la mayor cantidad de escenarios posibles así como de casos de pruebas ayudarán a evitar ciertos sesgos, asi como utilizar herramientas mas avanzadas para mayor profundidad de las pruebas.

To ensure software security: Conduct threat modeling. Follow secure coding practices. Perform regular penetration testing. Conduct code reviews. Provide security training. Stay updated with patches and updates. Implement secure configuration and access control. Use security testing tools. Develop an incident response plan. Implement continuous monitoring.

Begin with a threat modeling exercise to determine the possible security threats and vulnerabilities inherent in your software. This means examining the system architecture, data flow and attack surfaces. Specify firm security requirements for your software. Clarify what should be done with data, establish access control rules and encryption requirements. An explicit set of security requirements represents a basis for testing.

I am not a very big fan of particular tools, as it depends heavily on the kind of software you're dealing with. However it is more important to look at the coverage. From ideas to shipping the finished product to your customers, do your tools provide complete coverage for testing security? These can be frameworks that protect your code development, SAST/DAST/IAST tools to test application security, penetration testing or vulnerability scanners to provide you coverage across newer threats, container/image scanners or a custom made automation that validates integrity of systems that builds these software. Important thing is to ensure you have maximal coverage, very similar to how you test effectiveness of your unit testing.

Consider layering of tools. Routes, or paths of execution through your application, are the elements of your business logic. Review code coverage as captured by your use cases. Driving for line of code completeness should come after completeness in coverage of application logic. Hard to consider, easier if tools are used at the same time.

Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) analyzes your code as it runs, providing the advantages of both SAST and DAST. IAST is generally recognized as being fast, accurate, and more scalable than traditional appsec testing approaches. IAST is often offered with Runtime Application Security Protection (RASP) which prevents vulnerabilities from being exploited in production, so that you have protection before they’re fixed.

Performing regular penetration tests (annually or once every two quarters) can help determine an organization's security policies and controls. Apart from supporting compliance with data privacy and security regulations (e.g., PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR), pentests can provide qualitative and quantitative examples of what the current security posture looks like for management.

Reach out to and embrace the 'other' testing which is going on in your SDLC. 'Everyone' does testing. ...they may not want to be come the actor responsible to maintain that test set. Enable ad hoc testing by all agents in your SDLC to gain from every execution of your application!

For industry standards and resources on how to optimally secure your software, look no further than - OWASP (Top10, ASVS) for common vulnerabilities and a framework on how to verify security of your (mobile or web) applications - NIST (SSDF, 800-37, 800-53) for resources on building a culture of proactive security, and a robust Secure SDLC - SANS (SWAT Checklist, Top 25) for common threats and software vulnerabilities For Threat modeling, refer the MITRE ATT&CK framework, as well as refer CAPEC threat and risk nomenclature to understand common threat taxonomy.

Leverage the work of others. Stand on the toes of Giants. You may not be building an automobile or an embedded system, but the rules and guidance of MISRA and CMU SEI Cert capture best practices in an actionable manner.

In my experience, even if you have a very strong internal team assessing security continuously, periodic external testing can provide many advantages - Fact check your assumptions - Bring fresh ideas of what can go wrong - Provide a metric to measure effectiveness of your internal programs

Security testing is an iterative and ongoing process. In addition to security testing being risk-based (threat model), integrated throughout the lifecycle & informed by industry best practices and compliance requirements, it must be continuous and evolve to incorporate the context of changing threat landscape and operating environment. Another element to consider is to use data from previous test cycles to adjust and sharpen the focus of future test cycles and use security testing results as a feedback loop to improve the upstream development processes.

It’s true, the perfect security is impossible. However, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to keep creating the same mistakes over and over and over again.

There is no such thing as perfect or bulletproof security. Once you've made your peace with that, you'll realize that the endgame is about making an adversary's job significantly harder by implementing multiple layers of defense (aka defense in depth). For software security, this means starting early and iterating often, so that the requisite security is baked into the design of the software (through threat modeling, security requirements), rather than bolted on as an afterthought (pentest before production). This also requires alignment from executive leadership, product managers, all the way down to scrum master so that there is a shared vision to not just develop features, but to have security be built into those features.

...get rid of vulnerable log4j... There are SO many ways to learn of threats and vulnerabilities. There is a huge amount of inertia in the activities of people and companies. Be the agent of change. Press for swift and complete application of guidance as you discover these things!