Startups have a minimal budget, which keeps them from investing in testing. Also, in their view, attackers only target the big players, so they don’t pay much attention to strengthening their security. Startups are short on experience, and help from experts can only be beneficial. Yet, they utilize their meager resources to the maximum to have any spare time for extensive testing. These arguments can be used to make a case for or against investment in software testing companies specializing in security services. Whichever road the cloud computing startup takes, of using their resources or employing a third party for testing, it should watch out to include fundamental security measures in testing processes.
Here are 5 steps startups can take to cloud security testing for a smooth and safe entry into the market:
Keep your code secure.
Verify your application’s code is in version control. The developer will save any changes to documents, allowing for convenient management. This will help in scaling. Use cross-site scripting (XSS) filters, so the user-generated content does not mix up with the application’s HTML.
Protect your network
Your web server’s operating system will come with FTP servers and proxy servers that you may not be using; ensure that they are turned off to block any attempt from an attacker to enter the system. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a protocol developed to send information over the internet safely. SSL is a mandatory requirement for any SaaS app. Therefore, you must ensure that your website is SSL certified. Uploading user-generated files like photo attachments from a different domain is an ideal practice. There is a two-fold advantage in doing this. First, the primary domain is protected from hackers. Second, it is clear that any malicious content is not from your company.
Communicate effectively
Effective communication is the foundation of any successful venture. Both manual and automated processes must work hand in hand for an ideal communication network. Measures that the hired security testing company implements must be relayed effectively to all team members, especially code reviews. A continuous integration and deployment pipeline (CI/ CD) creates a flexible pipeline to push code of any type through rapid deployment. These remove manual errors and provide feedback loops.
Set up automatic backups and reboot
Have an automatic backup system to prevent data loss. Encrypt the backup files. To restrict the accessibility for anyone outside the trusted network, run the backup database on a host other than your web server. The restoration method should be tested more than once a year. If the system crashes, an automatic reboot should be set up.
Secure sensitive information
Think twice before putting sensitive business information like database login passwords on the cloud. Do not store sensitive information as cleartext. Create configuration files that you can store outside of the application code. SSH connects your computer to another computer on the internet. Disable passwords for Secure Shell (SSH). Ask your users to choose secure passwords. A password management software makes this process simpler, as it can automatically generate long and strong passwords. Inspect cookies from your site that there is no sensitive information stored in them.
