Application Security Fundamentals

Study Notes

Application security refers to the process of protecting software applications from malicious attacks and vulnerabilities.
It involves designing, implementing, and testing security measures to prevent unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of sensitive data.

Injection Attacks: injecting malicious code into an application to access sensitive data.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): injecting malicious scripts into a website to steal user data.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF): tricking users into performing unintended actions on a website.
SQL Injection: injecting malicious code into an application's database to access sensitive data.
Buffer Overflow: overloading an application's buffer with malicious code to execute unauthorized actions.

Secure Coding Practices: writing secure code, using secure protocols, and validating user input.
Input Validation: validating user input to prevent malicious data from entering the application.
Error Handling: handling errors and exceptions securely to prevent information disclosure.
Secure Communication: using secure protocols (HTTPS, TLS) to protect data in transit.
Regular Updates and Patching: regularly updating and patching applications to fix vulnerabilities.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST): analyzing source code for vulnerabilities.
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): analyzing an application's behavior during runtime for vulnerabilities.
Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST): combining SAST and DAST to provide comprehensive security testing.
Penetration Testing: simulating real-world attacks on an application to identify vulnerabilities.

Web Application Firewalls (WAFs): protecting web applications from common attacks.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems: monitoring and analyzing security-related data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS): detecting and preventing intrusion attempts.
Secure Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Tools: integrating security into the software development process.

Application security is the process of protecting software applications from malicious attacks and vulnerabilities.
It involves designing, implementing, and testing security measures to prevent unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification, or destruction of sensitive data.

Injection attacks involve injecting malicious code into an application to access sensitive data.
Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) involves injecting malicious scripts into a website to steal user data.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) involves tricking users into performing unintended actions on a website.
SQL Injection involves injecting malicious code into an application's database to access sensitive data.
Buffer Overflow involves overloading an application's buffer with malicious code to execute unauthorized actions.

Secure coding practices involve writing secure code, using secure protocols, and validating user input.
Input validation prevents malicious data from entering the application.
Error handling involves handling errors and exceptions securely to prevent information disclosure.
Secure communication involves using secure protocols (HTTPS, TLS) to protect data in transit.
Regular updates and patching involve regularly updating and patching applications to fix vulnerabilities.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) analyzes source code for vulnerabilities.
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) analyzes an application's behavior during runtime for vulnerabilities.
Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) combines SAST and DAST to provide comprehensive security testing.
Penetration testing simulates real-world attacks on an application to identify vulnerabilities.

Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) protect web applications from common attacks.
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Systems monitor and analyze security-related data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems (IDPS) detect and prevent intrusion attempts.
Secure Development Life Cycle (SDLC) Tools integrate security into the software development process.