What is SDLC? Why Should You Opt for Secure SDLC Instead?

The Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) provides a systematic framework for developing and maintaining software from conception to modification, producing high-quality software that meets stakeholder and customer requirements within specified time and cost constraints. 

However, traditional SDLC practices fall short of ensuring thorough application security. Why?

Because it lacks the “shift-left approach,” which incorporates security into the first stage of app development rather than making it an afterthought.

Tending to vulnerabilities later in development comes with a heavy price. IBM research shows that the average US data breach cost is approximately $9.44 million!

So, what’s the solution?

Integrating security into DevOps is the key to fighting increased cyber threats throughout the software development lifecycle. This approach helps identify and address vulnerabilities before they become costly later in the development cycle. 

Before we discuss secure SDLC in detail, let's first understand why the SDLC approach is now history. 

What is SDLC?

SDLC, short for Software Development Life Cycle, helps software development teams divide the work required to build a system into predictable and structured stages. 

The SDLC methodology helps developers create secure and valuable software, devices, or systems and provides a robust foundation for various development tasks. Adhering to the SDLC methodology can enhance software integrity, project visibility, resource management, and execution tracking.

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Incorporating Mobile App Security Into the Development Lifecycle Without Friction

So, why is SDLC not enough?

Traditional SDLC practices do not help with quick vulnerability detection and remediation. 

Over the past decade, the number of vulnerabilities has increased, as has the cost of data breaches. IBM researchers have found that data breaches with a lifecycle exceeding 200 days had the highest average cost, at $5.46 million. 

Usually, when an app is being developed, after the coding stage, it is sent to security researchers for testing. In 2023, GitLab’s report stated that 50% of security professionals reported that developers fail to identify 75% of vulnerabilities in their code. 

So, it is crucial to act fast to identify a breach and contain it effectively. 

While SDLC provides a structured framework for managing software projects, it fails to meet modern requirements.

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Drawbacks of SDLC in application development

1. Lack of agility and responsiveness
   

   Traditional SDLC models, such as waterfall, are linear and sequential, making them less adaptable to changes in requirements.

2. Delayed feedback
   

   Feedback from stakeholders often comes late in the process, typically during the testing phase. This delay can result in significant rework if the software fails to meet user expectations or if critical issues are identified late in the cycle.

3. Siloed development
   

   This leads to communication gaps, misunderstandings, and inefficiencies, ultimately impacting the quality and timeliness of the software delivery.

4. Limited focus on security
   

   Security testing typically occurs only after the software is developed, which can lead to vulnerabilities being discovered late in the process, increasing the risk of security breaches.

5. Technical debt accumulation
   

   The structured nature of traditional SDLC can sometimes lead to technical debt accumulation, as you may prioritize meeting deadlines over writing clean, maintainable code. 

6. Integration of continuous delivery and continuous deployment

   Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) practices demand an iterative approach to software development.

What’s next? Secure SDLC

Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SSDLC) is a comprehensive framework that integrates security into every phase of the software development process. 

SSDLC ensures that security is considered and implemented from the initial planning and requirements stages through design, implementation, testing, deployment, and maintenance.

What are the key components of SSDLC?

Secure SSDLC involves 

• Threat modeling, 
• Secure coding standards, 
• Security testing, 
• Code reviews and 
• Regular security assessments. 

These practices create a proactive security posture where security concerns are continuously addressed. This improves the overall quality and security of the software and aligns with compliance requirements.

Secure SDLC vs. SDLC

By keeping security as the primary focus, SSDLC significantly reduces the likelihood of vulnerabilities, minimizing the cost and effort required for remediation. It also fosters a culture of shared security responsibility among all stakeholders involved in the project.

Secure SDLC enhances SDLC by embedding security into each development phase. 

This proactive approach includes 

• Conducting risk assessments and threat modeling during the requirements phase, 
• Implementing secure coding practices during development, and
• Performing rigorous security testing, such as penetration testing, before deployment.

Additionally, SDLC emphasizes continuous monitoring and updating of security measures even after deployment, ensuring swift remediation. This proactive approach to security aligns with compliance requirements such as OWASP, NIST, and more, leading to greater trust and satisfaction.

6 major benefits of Secure Software Development Lifecycle (SSDLC)

According to a report by Standish Group, about 70% of projects fail to be completed on time and within budget due to unplanned project initiation, lack of resources, and technical challenges.

Secure SDLC methodologies help streamline software development as it can:

1. Enhance product quality

One key benefit of SSDLC approaches is their significant contribution to enhancing product quality. By implementing structured and iterative software development processes, SSDLC promotes early defect detection, creating high-quality software products.

This detection will help you identify problems at their source and mitigate the risk of failure early on. 

2. Improve project management

Secure Software Development Life Cycle (SSDLC) models encourage thorough planning that clearly defines goals and objectives before initiating a project, improving project management in software development.

This approach ensures a comprehensive understanding of the software development scope, objectives, and requirements from stakeholders and customers. 

It helps improve project management for developers by: 

1. Providing a clear roadmap of the project and reducing scope creep.
2. Helping developers understand the project requirements in detail. 
3. Providing developers with in-depth detail on specific tasks within phases.
4. Continuously monitoring and tracking the code for security issues and solving them promptly; and
5. Helping with risk assessment and mitigation strategies, which can reduce project setbacks. 

Moreover, it helps project management for stakeholders by:

1. Ensuring that the development project aligns with business goals and ensures return on investment. 
2. Accurately allocating resources to prevent any costly changes.
3. Improving risk management and change control. 
4. Minimizing cost overruns and schedule delays with proper time management and
5. Ensuring effective risk management and project success.
   
   

3. Manage risk effectively

Secure SDLC is designed and meticulously developed to mitigate any risk involved in the software development process. 

There are different types of testing in SSDLC:

1. Unit testing
   Your application's smallest testable components, units, are separately tested during the development process to separate written code for testing to see if it functions as intended.
2. Integration testing
   It is the process of collectively testing several software development components. It checks whether all components work together effortlessly as a unit or a system.
   
   Modules or parts of the development project are tested separately to ensure they operate as intended. Groups of these modules are also tested to ensure effortless interoperability and cooperation. 
3. System testing
   This testing method tests how the various software modules relate to each other in the entire system or application.
   
   Also known as system-level or systems integration testing, system testing is a form of black-box testing focusing on an application’s performance. It may test whether each type of user input leads to the desired output across the application. 
4. User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
   UAT is the last phase of the software testing process before pushing the product or software to the market. It helps validate whether all business criteria were met during the development stage.
   
   In this process, the business user tests the generated software to see whether it meets established user requirements. It is also known as beta, application, and end-user testing.

4. Enhance communication and collaboration

The secure SDLC process promotes collaboration and communication between stakeholders, which drives project development success and reduces the chance of failure. 

The communication methods involved in secure SDLC are

1. Meetings help clarify requirements, resolve conflicts and decision-making, and assign tasks and resources efficiently. 
2. Emails are convenient for communicating with your remote or async teams, and chats are also helpful for quick and casual communication. 
3. Reports will provide all stakeholders with a detailed summary of the project status and results attached to the project.

5. Provides flexibility and adaptability

Depending on the secure SDLC model, teams can respond appropriately to changing market conditions and evolving customer requirements.

This flexibility in secure SDLC models allows for quick adaptation and implementation of changes, making the project more responsive, efficient, and aligned with customer needs. It divides the project into multiple increments, such as ‘sprints.’ 

How does secure SDLC work?

Secure SDLC integrates security best practices and tools into SDLC and ensures security assurance through activities like architecture analysis, penetration testing, and code review as an integral part of internal architecture. As a result, it helps to discover security bugs as soon as possible.

Source

Secure SDLC best practices checklist

While understanding secure SDLC is essential, it is also important to understand the steps involved in implementing it in your organization.

We’ve detailed action points for each implementation stage that you can replicate.

1. Adopt DevSecOps:

• Define security requirements alongside functional requirements during the planning phase.
• Conduct threat modeling sessions early to identify potential threats and vulnerabilities.

2. Secure design practices:

• Perform security-focused design reviews to ensure adherence to secure architecture principles.
• Utilize established security design patterns to mitigate common vulnerabilities.
  

  

3. Secure coding practices

• Establis3h and enforce secure coding standards based on industry best practices (e.g., OWASP top 10).
• Implement peer code reviews with a focus on security vulnerabilities.
  

  Use this template to implement secure code best practices to push secure code in every deployment.

4. Automated security testing

• Integrate static application security testing to analyze source code for vulnerabilities during development.
• Use dynamic application security testing toolsto test running applications for security issues.

5. Dependency management

• Regularly scan and update third-party libraries and dependencies to avoid known vulnerabilities.
• Implement software composition analysis (SCA) tools to identify risks in open-source components.

6. Continuous security monitoring

• Set up automated alerts for vulnerabilities detected in the production environment.
• Develop and maintain an incident response plan that includes procedures for addressing security breaches.

7. Security training and awareness

• Provide regular training sessions on secure coding practices and emerging threats.
• Designate security champions within development teams to advocate for security practices.

8. Collaboration between teams

• Foster collaboration between development, security, and operations teams to integrate security into CI/CD pipelines.
• Establish regular meetings between security and development teams to discuss security issues and updates.

9. Compliance and governance

• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) by integrating compliance checks into the development process.
• Maintain thorough documentation of security practices, decisions, and compliance efforts.

10. Post-deployment security

• Conduct regular penetration testing on deployed applications to identify and remediate vulnerabilities.
  

Level up your DevSecOps game with our expert-curated checklist

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How does Appknox integrate with the mobile app development lifecycle?

Appknox, a leading enterprise-grade mobile app security platform, integrates seamlessly with the application development lifecycle to ensure security at every stage.

1. In the planning phase, Appknox encourages teams to define security requirements early, ensuring security is a core consideration.
2. In the development phase, Appknox automates SAST to analyze the source code for vulnerabilities as developers write code, allowing for immediate feedback and remediation of security issues.
3. Once the application is built, Appknox conducts DAST on real devices to evaluate the running application for vulnerabilities. The mobile application testing platform also includes automated API scanning to ensure all endpoints are secure and analyzes interactions between the mobile application and backend services.
4. Appknox supports integration with CI/CD tools, allowing security tests to be automatically triggered with every change in your code. This shift-left approach ensures vulnerabilities are identified and addressed early in development.
5. To provide a thorough assessment of security measures before the app goes live, Appknox offers penetration testing services that simulate attacks on the application. After testing, you get detailed reports and remediation guidance, helping your developers understand vulnerabilities and how to fix them.
6. Appknox facilitates regular security assessments and scans even after deployment to ensure your application remains secure against new threats and vulnerabilities.

By integrating Appknox into the mobile app development lifecycle, developers can ensure robust security and compliance throughout the development process, from discovery to maintenance. This integration helps identify and mitigate vulnerabilities early on, reducing the risk of breaches and heightening the overall security posture of the mobile application.

So, with Appknox, you can accelerate your time-to-market by 50%.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1.Which SSDLC is best and why?

Most software developers believe that the Agile module is the best SSDLC model. It focuses on adapting to changing market conditions and requirements by combining an incremental and iterative approach.

2. How to choose secure SDLC?

Choosing the right one from multiple secure SDLC methodologies depends on the following: 

1. Project requirements,
2. Size,
3. Client collaboration,
4. Development team,
5. Risk tolerance,
6. Time,
7. Budget,
8. Regulatory constraints and
9. Stakeholders expectations.

3. How to make secure SDLC models more flexible?

You can make your SSDLC model more flexible by:

1. Choosing agile methodology

Agile methodologies such as Scrum, kanban, or XP are based on collaboration, communication, feedback, and continuous improvement principles. They allow you to respond to changes quickly and deliver value to users.

2. Using a hybrid approach

A hybrid approach combines elements from different models.

For example, a waterfall model can define the software development project's scope, objectives, and requirements for the initial planning and analysis phases. After this, you can switch to an agile model for the design, implementation, and testing phases to iterate and refine the software based on user feedback.

3. Apply DevOps practices

• Automation, 
• Continuous integration, 
• Continuous delivery, 
• Continuous testing and 
• Continuous monitoring.

These practices will help you streamline the software development and deployment processes, reduce errors and bugs, and increase collaboration and feedback.