Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is an important type of software security vulnerability testing. Here, we provide a SAST tutorial to help you understand more about this type of testing and why it is important.
Consider this guide your SAST tutorial.
Read along or jump to the section that interests you the most:
SAST Overview
SAST is a type of software security vulnerability testing.
SAST tools include static code analyzers. They inspect and analyze an application’s code to discover security vulnerabilities.
SAST can be performed at all stages of your software development — on the desktop, within CI/CD Pipelines, and server nightly builds. This helps to ensure that software vulnerabilities are detected earlier in the process.
➡️ More on SAST
Why Automated Security Testing Tools Are Necessary
Cyberthreats are growing. Automated security testing tools are an essential part of application development. You can use them to safeguard your software from potential vulnerabilities.
➡️ Learn More About the Benefits of Application Security Tools
The Differences Between Static and Dynamic Secure Testing
Ensuring that your software is secure and safeguarded against vulnerabilities is easy with the right software security tools and techniques.
Learn more about the differences between SAST vs DAST.
NIST Cybersecurity Framework Overview
NIST provides a cybersecurity framework. Use NIST to better understand and improve how you manage cybersecurity risks.
The NIST cybersecurity framework is composed of three components:
- Framework Core
- Implementation Tiers
- Framework Profiles
➡️ Learn More About NIST Cybersecurity Framework
Secure Coding Overview
Code that is secure makes it more difficult for hackers to take direct control of a device or gain access to another device. You need to incorporate secure coding practices throughout software development to ensure secure code.
The best way to ensure secure coding is to use a static code analyzer. By using a static code analyzer, you are able to enforce coding standard rules and flag security violations.
➡️ Learn More About Secure Coding
AppSec Overview
Application Security (AppSec) provides guidance on how to ensure secure development throughout the whole lifecycle, including after the application has launched.
➡️ Learn More About AppSec
Secure Coding Standards Overview
Secure coding standards are rules and guidelines used to prevent security vulnerabilities. They prevent, detect, and eliminate errors that could compromise software security.
Secure coding guidelines are especially important for embedded development — which relies on C/C++ coding languages. They're also important for enterprise software — which relies on C# and Java coding languages.
Learn more about secure coding standards:
Secure Coding Best Practices
Following secure coding best practices helps to ensure that code is safe from threats and free of vulnerabilities.
The most effective way to implement secure coding standards is to use an automated security testing tool. Half of all security defects are introduced at the source code level. That's why it is essential to enforce coding standards to identify code security vulnerabilities early.
➡️ Learn More About How to Apply Secure Coding Best Practices
Guide for Secure Software Development
Beginning a new software project can be daunting, as there are many decisions that need to be made and considerations that must be thought through. To help, we've put together a step-by-step guide to walk you through the most time-consuming and difficult challenges of a new project to help ensure that yours is a success.
➡️ Follow This Step-By-Step Guide For Software Development Is Secure
SAST Tutorial to Prevent Cybersecurity Threats
Unfortunately, cybersecurity threats will continue to be a concern. You need to take steps to safeguard your software from potential vulnerabilities.
➡️ Learn How to Safeguard Your Code From Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
The Top Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities for Embedded Software
A single cybersecurity vulnerability can leave embedded systems defenseless to data breaches, cyberattacks, and other cyber incidents. Unfortunately, cybersecurity vulnerabilities are an ever-present threat. You need to know how to identify and fix these vulnerabilities to help ensure that your embedded systems are secure.
➡️ Learn How to Prevent Embedded Software Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities
Understanding the Difference Between Software Safety vs. Security
Safe software depends on the quality of the safety and security of the code to protect against malicious attacks. While code security and safety are often used interchangeably, there are differences between the two.
Code security is about preventing unwanted or illegal activity in software. It helps to ensure that our systems are secure during an attack. While code safety is a broader term used to indicate whether the software is safe and reliable to use.
➡️ Learn More About How to Achieve Code Safety and Security
The Most Common Software Vulnerabilities
Software vulnerabilities can impact the performance and security of your software, and could allow untrustworthy agents to exploit or gain access to your products and data.
➡️ Learn More About the Most Common Software Vulnerabilities
How to Apply This SAST Tutorial to Specific Industries
By following a SAST tutorial, it helps to ensure that the software is safe and secure from potential cyber vulnerabilities. Secure software is applicable to all industries and every team can benefit from its regular use.
To better explain how secure software testing can help, here is an example of how medical device development enforces secure software development best practices.
Medical Devices
Medical devices must be compliant with FDA cybersecurity guidance. Automated security testing tools are essential to enforcing coding rules and ensuring that code cannot be exploited by cyberthreats.
➡️ More on Secure Medical Device Development
Which Automated Security Testing Tool to Use
To develop secure and safe software, you need the right automated security testing tool.
Automated security testing tools should help you:
- Identify and analyze risk and help prioritize severity.
- Fulfill compliance standard requirements based on risk (and prove it).
- Apply a coding standard and ensure that coding rules are followed.
- Verify and validate through testing.
- Achieve compliance and get certified faster.
Klocwork is a C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, and Kotlin static analysis and SAST tool. Klocwork helps you apply a coding standard and eliminate software defects and vulnerabilities early on in development. This helps you to ensure that your software is secure and safe.
Ensure the Security of Your Software
See for yourself how Klocwork will help you to ensure that your code is secure and safe.