How do you protect the source code?
Tags: security, code, blog
Published: 2022-12-27 11:49:22

Do you dread security breaches? Do you know how to protect your work from ever-growing risks?

More as thought provocation, let's briefly explore this.

<h3>Following the trends</h3>
The tech industry has recently embraced <a href="https://helloacm.com/cloud-ready-infrastructure-optimization/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cloud computing</a>, containerisation and microservices. Today, most modern applications are built with complex architectures using these technologies and are served from somewhere in the cloud.

Although applications and business tools were traditionally developed, built and tested on a "physical" computer and run on local servers, nowadays, software developers are finding it more and more efficient to do their work directly in the cloud. It's undoubtedly easier to build cloud-based <a href="https://helloacm.com/tools/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">tools</a> in the cloud environment where they will run. But how does this relate to security?

<h3>Why do you need to protect your source code?</h3>
Source code theft creates an opportunity for hackers to access trade secrets and intellectual property and discover previously unknown security vulnerabilities. This allows them to compromise a system or your users further.

Just a few months ago, LastPass confirmed it had been a data breach victim, and the incident resulted in the theft of its source code. Karim Toubba, CEO of LastPass, commented on the matter, concluding, “source code repositories are no less a target than your customer data, as it can reveal valuable information about your application’s underlying architecture.”

Open-source projects are not safe either. Although numerous security tools are built into repositories, the tools are primarily protecting the externally-facing software, while many private source code repositories are not carefully protected.

<h3>How to accomplish source code security?</h3>
Data <a href="https://codingforspeed.com/kpis-to-increase-your-website-uptime/" title="KPIs To Increase Your Website Uptime">security</a> protects digital information from unauthorised access, corruption or theft. It includes numerous aspects of information security, such as physical security of hardware and storage devices, access controls and logical security of software applications.

Identity and Access Management: Since different teams need access to different tools, the most straightforward way to get things done is to give access to everyone, which may and probably will lead to data breaches. Companies must have appropriate access controls to prevent or at least mitigate incidents.

When security is introduced too late in the <a href="https://codingforspeed.com/the-benefits-coders-can-expect-in-the-future/" title="The Benefits Coders Can Expect In The Future">software development</a> lifecycle, development teams are burdened with the additional task of patching security vulnerabilities. This has led to a new specialisation of DevSecOps as a rescue. 

DevSecOps is a trending practice introducing <a href="https://helloacm.com/posting-sql-code-on-bbforum-triggers-security-rules-by-cloudflare/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">security</a> earlier in the software development life cycle. It integrates security teams in the software delivery cycle and makes security a shared responsibility of everyone in the dev life cycle. It prevents substantial financial losses from security or data breaches, increases customer trust, and saves a company's reputation.

<h3>Cloud-based environment as a security measure</h3>
The risk of source code attacks is dramatically reduced if you're developing in the cloud. When a developer decides to use cloud-based environments, the codebase is never stored on their machine, preventing the common attack pathways for accessing the code. 

It also helps developers be more productive and offers a way to secure development as it adds the barrier between a company's source code and a developer's laptop.  

Reposted to [Blog](https://codingforspeed.com/how-do-you-protect-the-source-code/)