Security is an important component of your application’s design. Unfortunately, in many systems it is a secondary consideration – if it is a consideration at all – and is often implemented as an afterthought. A poorly designed security scheme can have serious consequences ranging from unauthorized access of internal company information to loss or theft of customer data, all of which can cost your company money.
Verifying the identity of your users and controlling what they are allowed to do is essential in any business application. These are two distinct steps known as authentication and authorization. Authentication establishes that you are who you claim to be, usually by checking a piece of information that only you know, such as a PIN or password. Authorization determines what you are allowed to do once your identity has been confirmed. This can be accomplished by directly assigning permissions to each individual user, or by associating users with application roles.
Even if your application implements authentication and authorization, your data could still be vulnerable. There are many ways that an application can fail to enforce adequate access controls. Here are just a few examples:
- A single username and password that is shared by all users: In this scenario all users end up having the same level of access and it is impossible to know who performed which action.
- Password strength not enforced: Users are allowed to select weak or easily guessed passwords, which can lead to unauthorized access.
- Permissions that are too broad: Users may inadvertently be granted access to data they should not be allowed to see.
- Permissions that are too fine-grained: Maintaining these can become error-prone and also lead to unauthorized access.
Our Expert Software Audit can help you identify these and other security risks in your application.