Web application security

Secure Development Practices

Overview

Secure development builds security into every stage of designing, building, testing, and maintaining software, reducing the chance vulnerabilities get introduced in the first place.

Key concepts

  • Threat modeling, code review
  • Patch management, dependencies
  • Secrets and hardcoded secrets

How it works

Secure development is the practice of designing, building, testing, and maintaining software with security built into every stage — reducing the chance that vulnerabilities get introduced in the first place.

TermMeaning
Threat modelingIdentifying possible threats, attack paths, and security controls during application design.
Code reviewExamining source code to find mistakes, quality issues, and security weaknesses.
Security testingChecking an application for vulnerabilities and insecure behavior.
Patch managementApplying and tracking security updates.
DependencyAn external library, framework, package, or component used by an application.
SecretSensitive information such as passwords, API keys, encryption keys, or access tokens.
Hardcoded secretSensitive information permanently written into source code or configuration files — a common and serious mistake.