In the rush of the end of the year, while trying to complete cycles and handle extra demands, many companies sometimes neglect the security of their applications – without even realizing it. Because we know the challenges arising from the rush of the last quarter, we now list 4 AppSec services that should not be neglected at the end of the year.
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It is especially worrying if we consider that it is during this period that occurs many events that lead to an increase in traffic, such as Black Friday and Christmas.
At Conviso, we always defend that secure development should be an ongoing activity. However, security also requires a well-defined strategy, and preparing for seasonal actions is essential to avoid potential mishaps.
Web Penetration Test
What is it?
A web pentest is a manually performed security analysis, where pentesters will emulate the behavior of an attacker in search of vulnerabilities to exploit, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive data. We have a complete article on the different types of pentests, be sure to check it out.
It is worth remembering that Penetration Testing is a tailored approach and needs to be performed by specialized professionals. At Conviso, all practices are supported by our own technology – Conviso Platform – which ensures coverage of tests, online monitoring, and protection of customer data acquired before and during tests.
Why is it important?
According to a recent survey by CouponValido, Brazil leads the ranking of online sales growth, with an increase of 22.2% in the year 2022. In addition, it is estimated that online sales will increase by 20.73% per year between 2022 and 2025.
In addition, what our analysts at Conviso report are that the end of the year is a period in which companies are rushing to deliver systems or features – and it is common for them not to tackle security.
After all, as much as many companies know that the ideal is to address security as early as possible on the treadmill, we still see development teams prioritizing only their own deadlines. Therefore, hire a pentest to verify that your application does not have any more critical flaws before the busiest days and less monitoring by your company’s operations team – this is Conviso’s advice.
Mobile Penetration Testing
What is it?
A mobile penetration testing is also an application security service that simulates an intrusion. In this case, the intrusions are simulated in applications for devices such as smartphones and tablets that are native to iOS and Android platforms. We have a very interesting article that addresses the differences between web and mobile security, be sure to check it out!
Why it’s especially important at the end of the year
For the same reason as pentest web – in the rush of the end of the year, it is common for Pentest Mobile to be neglected by security teams, which is a mistake. However, it is important to add that with the exponential growth of the mobile application development market, attacks on mobile applications have also increased.
According to an annual survey carried out by FGV, currently, in 2022, there are 242 million smartphones in Brazil – that is, there are more cell phones than inhabitants in the country! Globally, a Strategy Analytics survey of smartphone use revealed an estimated 3.85 billion people owned a cell phone in 2021.
So, neglecting the pentests is not an option.
AppSec Training
What it’s all about
AppSec training is training in Secure Development Techniques and Best Practices. They are taught by professionals and aimed at all those involved in the software development process. This includes, but is not limited to, Project Managers, POs, Architects, QA, and especially developers (backend and frontend).
At Conviso, trainings are integrated into your process – with secure code challenges contextualized and based on your team’s main gaps, so that vulnerability correction is no longer a challenge and becomes part of your company’s culture
Why it’s important
Appsec training must be a part of your routine not only to comply with laws or audits – security should be seen as a value in the culture of each company, as a way to offer products and services with maximum security for the final consumer.
After all, its benefits are much better exploited when security is seen as an ongoing activity.
Therefore, as much as the end of the year can bring an overload of activities to all sectors of a company, security training should never be paused, postponed, or removed from the list of priorities.
In a recent survey conducted by Conviso on the Brazilian AppSec Market, when asked if the company they worked for had sufficient knowledge about AppSec, only 18.2% of respondents answered yes. 54.5% reported seeing improvement efforts in this regard in recent years. In other words: for these numbers to improve and for the market to reach a better knowledge about AppSec – it is necessary to invest in training!
A Security Champions program
But hey, what exactly is it?
Having a Conviso Security Champion on a development team helps your team work on the application security mindset. After all, they act as influencers of the security culture.
It is a program that involves security practices in the development process and the awareness of all those involved about the risks. These are, after all, the essential factors in building secure applications. At Conviso, the Security Champions program is operated and implemented based on the allocation of experienced professionals, as well as using the Conviso Platform.
Why invest in a Security Champions program?
If one of your company’s goals for the last quarter is to invest in AppSec, you can be sure: few investments are as valuable in the long term as those that impact the security mindset of your teams. It is the case with the previously mentioned training, but with a good Security Champions program as well – both will help to promote awareness in your team.
