An audit of the software, as well as an accounting audit, should be carried out regularly. Thanks to such checks, you can find out all the weaknesses of the existing system, detect information leaks, and avoid multimillion-dollar lawsuits related to violations of licenses and contracts. The main task that is solved during such inspections is to minimize various business risks, as well as control and functionality of the system operating in the company. For such, IT audits the business owners usually invite an independent IT firm, like this one.
What does a software development audit include?
It includes checking the audit of all available software, as well as compliance of its use with respect to existing contacts and obligations. It usually occurs in several stages, namely:
- Collection of available information and planning of the audit,
- A direct check, during which the existing violations and weaknesses in the current system are established.
After carrying out all the necessary measures, a report is compiled, which contains all the necessary information, as well as ways to solve (eliminate) existing problems or inconsistencies in the system.
Tasks to be solved during the Software audit
Identification of vulnerabilities of the developed code
In this process, static and dynamic analysis methods are used to identify vulnerabilities in compiled and source code. Based on the results of the work, a list of identified vulnerabilities is compiled with a description and classification, scenarios of successful attacks that an attacker can implement are given, and what to do to eliminate these vulnerabilities.
Monitoring vulnerabilities of third-party software components
Attackers exploit well-known vulnerabilities of third-party services, services and libraries that are used in software development to carry out attacks. Vivid examples of such vulnerabilities are Heartbleed and Shellshock. To prevent this, it is necessary to continuously collect and process up-to-date information about the identified vulnerabilities.
Security analysis of the update system
In order to find out the attacker’s ability to replace software updates, the infrastructure involved in the delivery and installation of updates and technical measures to protect updates implemented in the software itself are being investigated. The result is recommendations for software adjustments and infrastructure protection measures aimed at reducing the risk of spoofing updates.
Analysis of the logging system
To monitor events and conduct incident investigations in the information system, it is necessary to register complete information in logs and configure monitoring systems to identify security-critical sequences of events. If the customer does not have monitoring and logging tools configured, recommendations are given on how to do it correctly.
Implementation of Secure Software Development (SDL) practices
In order to implement the desired application functionality without compromising security and reduce the cost of eliminating vulnerabilities, a number of security-related checks are carried out at all stages of the lifecycle: requirements development, architecture, code, testing, implementation, and operation.
Results
Of course, most audio is associated with anxiety, problems, additional costs, but this is not the case at all. If the check is carried out directly at the request of the company, it carries only advantages, since it will indicate all the existing problems, and will also contribute to improving the business, which in the future will lead to an increase in profits and improve the image of the company in the eyes of ordinary customers.