Beyond hidden dependencies. Into software you can document
Modern software is not written from scratch but is assembled from thousands of ready-made components sourced from the internet. As AI-generated code plays an increasingly significant role in development, it becomes harder to maintain an overview of what the solutions actually consist of. This uncertainty typically surfarces at the worst possible moment: when a client requests documentation in the middle of contract negotiations, or when a critical vulnerability is disclosed and no one can say for certain whether you’re affected. At Secure Software Development, we build security checks directly into the development process – giving you the necessary overview, without slowing down the pace of development.
Secure Software Development
From security as an afterthought to security documentation as standard
Legislation such as NIS2 and DORA has tightened security requirements in software development and placed greater personal responsibility on management. You must be able to demonstrate to authorities, clients and business partners that a range of security standards are being met. At the same time, there are increasing demands from the market. Major buyers, for example, will want to see a bill of materials for the software before signing a contract.
Many organizations currently handle this documentation manually and only on a quarterly basis. That is not enough when you have to respond the same day a serious new vulnerability goes public.
When security checks run as part of the development process, the documentation is generated automatically. We integrate the checks into the setup you already use, such as GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps.
Our secure software services
Secure supply chain
When you have an overview of the supply chain, you reduce the risk of insecure components ending up in your solutions. It also enables you to respond to a customer’s or regulator’s inquiry immediately, rather than spending weeks dealing with it. We help you create that overview. Among other things, we retrieve software components from a single central artifact repository and by ensuring that the building blocks on which the software is built have been thoroughly checked. We also generate a bill of materials and sign the artifacts, so that you can document what your solutions consist of and confirm that the software components have not been altered along the way.
Checks in the pipeline
We automatically scan code, components and containers every time you build a new version. The requirements are gradually tightened until software with known vulnerabilities is stopped before it reaches production. We do this gradually because checks introduced all at once risk being rolled back as soon as a team is unable to deliver on time. We also continue security checks after you have deployed a solution. A software component may be secure when you build it but may later be found to contain a vulnerability that requires action.
Training and embedding
Secure software development requires developers to know how to manage security on a day-to-day basis. We train your teams, onboard them one at a time and translate your own security handbook into concrete workflows. Our role is not to act as IT auditors who report on faults and shortcomings. We establish the controls and teach your own teams to maintain them, so that compliance does not depend on us still being there.
The quickest route must be the safest route
It is a long-standing truth in software development that if security lies outside a developer’s normal workflow, it will sooner or later be overlooked. Not because developers are indifferent to security, but because security can be deprioritized when a deadline looms.
That is precisely why we build security checks into the very places where the work is happening anyway: while developers are working on the code and within the pipeline, rather than in a review shortly before release. That way, developers receive immediate feedback and can address vulnerabilities before they reach production.
When the secure route is the easiest route, you can maintain the pace of development while keeping security in place.
Selected technologies and tools
- Secure Software Development Lifecycle, SSDLC – The overarching framework for how security is integrated into all phases of development, from design to operation
- GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps – Tools for automating development, testing and security checks
- CodeQL and SonarQube – Tools for automatically analyzing code and identifying security issues
- Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security – Security monitoring of containers and the software running in production
- Cloudsmith, JFrog, Harbor and Quay – Artifact repositories for centralized and controlled storage of software components
- CycloneDX – A standard for bills of materials detailing the components included in software
- Cosign – A tool for signing and verifying software artifacts
Impact
Cases and Insights
74 results
