How To Integrate Security Testing Into Your Software Development Life Cycle

Using the software is something most consumers do on a daily basis. If your business develops new software programs for mass consumption, you know how important it is to ensure these programs are secure.

One of the biggest mistakes most newcomers to the world of software development make is treating security as an afterthought. Having this mentality can lead to lots of problems in the future, which is why you have to incorporate security testing into the software development process.

Using penetration testing and reviewing each line of new code produced can help you find security issues early on. Fixing these security problems before the new software program is put into the hands of consumers is crucial.

Are you trying to incorporate security testing into your software development cycle? If so, read the useful information below.

Put Your Security Testing Plan in Writing

Expecting your team to inherently know how you want them to test a new piece of software is extremely problematic. Your team will need guidelines to follow if you want to have success with software testing during your development life cycle.

This is why you need to sit down with members of your management team and devise a document that spells out how this testing needs to be handled. Generally, you will need to include information about how to handle threat modeling during the development phase of this process.

Threat modeling is a process that allows software developers to put their program into an environment and see how it holds up against common cyber-attacks. Knowing how well your software stacks up in this modeled environment is vital when trying to see what changes need to be made.

You also need to make sure your team is testing the new software program against third-party programs it may interface with. Having a comprehensive outline can help you ensure your software is tested thoroughly before it is put into the hands of a client.

Start Testing As Soon As Coding is Complete

Software security problems cost American consumers over $5 billion last year. Rather than adding to this problem by releasing an unsecured piece of software, you need to make sure your program is put through the paces.

Some software developers wait until a new program is completed before running penetration tests on it. Security testing should start as soon as programmers are done writing code for the software.

Luckily, there are tools like TestComplete and Ranorex on the market. These tools are designed to help you test your software code and help you find security vulnerabilities. While it will take some time to find and implement the right tools to use during the software development process, it is definitely worth the effort you and your team invest.

Choose a Security Testing Point Person

Trying to manage software security testing and running a business can become overwhelming. Rather than trying to handle every aspect of the software development process, you need to use trusted team members to help you out.

Delegating the tasks associated with scheduling and carrying out software testing is a wise move. By doing this, you can ensure that this work gets done properly. Checking in with your point person regularly is crucial when trying to find out about problems that may be prohibiting them from moving forward.

Ideally, you want to delegate this important task to a team member with extensive knowledge of security testing.

Don’t Wait to Implement These Changes

The longer you wait to incorporate security testing into your software development life cycle, the harder it will be to avoid problems. With the help of security testing professionals, implementing these changes will be easy.