Top 10-2017 What's Next for Developers

Establish & Use Repeatable Security Processes and Standard Security Controls

Whether you are new to web application security or already very familiar with these risks, the task of producing a secure web application or fixing an existing one can be difficult. If you have to manage a large application portfolio, this task can be daunting. To help organizations and developers reduce their application security risks in a cost-effective manner, OWASP has produced numerous free and open resources that you can use to address application security in your organization. The following are some of the many resources OWASP has produced to help organizations produce secure web applications and APIs. On the next page, we present additional OWASP resources that can assist organizations in verifying the security of their applications and APIs.

Application Security Requirements

To produce a secure web application, you must define what secure means for that application. OWASP recommends you use the OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS) as a guide for setting the security requirements for your application(s). If you’re outsourcing, consider the OWASP Secure Software Contract Annex.
Note: The annex is for US contract law, so please consult qualified legal advice before using the sample annex.

Application Security Architecture

Rather than retrofitting security into your applications and APIs, it is far more cost effective to design the security in from the start. OWASP recommends the OWASP Prevention Cheat Sheets as a good starting point for guidance on how to design security in from the beginning.

Security Standard Controls

Building strong and usable security controls is difficult. Using a set of standard security controls radically simplifies the development of secure applications and APIs. The OWASP Prevention Cheat Sheets is a good starting point for developers, and many modern frameworks now come with standard and effective security controls for authorization, validation, CSRF prevention, etc.

Secure Development Lifecycle

To improve the process your organization follows when building applications and APIs, OWASP recommends the OWASP Software Assurance Maturity Model (SAMM). This model helps organizations formulate and implement a strategy for software security that is tailored to the specific risks facing their organization.

Application Security Education

The OWASP Education Project provides training materials to help educate developers on web application security. For hands-on learning about vulnerabilities, try OWASP WebGoat, WebGoat.NET, OWASP NodeJS Goat, OWASP Juice Shop Project or the OWASP Broken Web Applications Project. To stay current, come to an OWASP AppSec Conference, OWASP Conference Training, or local OWASP Chapter meetings.

There are numerous additional OWASP resources available for your use. Please visit the OWASP Projects page, which lists all the Flagship, Labs, and Incubator projects in the OWASP project inventory. Most OWASP resources are available on our wiki, and many OWASP documents can be ordered in hardcopy or as eBooks.

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