Do you know what the world’s third-largest economy is? It’s neither Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, nor France. It’s cybercrime. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, it is projected to reach $10.5 trillion by 2025, with an annual growth rate of 148% for its ransomware.
Moreover, more than half of companies have already experienced an attack. Under these circumstances, it seems more than necessary to take measures to strengthen data security and limit these attacks. This is precisely the purpose of the Security-by-Design approach.
At Oodrive, we do not compromise on security. Our solutions are built on ultra-secure foundations to ensure that your sensitive data and processes are protected at all times.
Security-by-Design: Security from the Start
By developing the Security-by-Design model (or SbD), companies consider cyber risk from the very conception of software, infrastructure, or other web products (particularly IoT devices).
This new approach to web development places security at the core of software design. Cyber issues are no longer just considered in the middle or at the end of the process but from the outset of coding.
It represents a paradigm shift, focusing on preventing cyber attacks and consolidating secure data rather than reacting to attacks, such as resolving issues or restoring systems.
At the development process level, the Security-by-Design approach aligns with the DevSecOps movement:
- During the design phase: Various security options are integrated from the outset of continuous integration and testing. In other words, they are implemented and then tested to select only the best security solutions for the architecture. These solutions become guiding principles for developers.
- During deployment: Continuous deployment involves conducting intrusion tests to further enhance the software’s security level.
- During delivery: Preventive tests and audits continue to be conducted to refine the security solution.
Good to know: Within the framework of GDPR, the Security-by-Design approach transforms into Privacy-by-Design. The idea remains the same: to provide optimal protection for personal data from the very conception.
The 3 principles of secure design
The concept of Security-by-Design is based on three foundational principles.
The Minimal Attack Surface
The attack surface refers to all points of communication between an information system and the external environment. These can include:
- Software, particularly if stored in cloud computing spaces.
- Networks with open ports, active IPs, used protocols, etc.
- Human resources, especially susceptible to phishing strategies.
- Physical intrusion into premises.
The larger the attack surface, the more vulnerable the information system is to attacks. Managing a vast array of entry points becomes increasingly difficult.
Therefore, it is essential to minimize the attack surface. To achieve this, one must first identify the communication points between the information system and the external environment. From there, surveillance tools and protection solutions can be implemented.
These measures enable DevSecOps engineers to conduct regular security analyses, especially for the most sensitive entry points.
For communication points rarely or not used by the information system, they should be closed off. This hardening process reduces the attack surface, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of the Security-by-Design approach.
The principal of Least Privilege
According to the principle of least privilege, an administrator only has access to the resources they actually need. For all other resources, they should not have access.
To implement this principle of Security-by-Design, it is essential to define the tasks, roles, and rights assigned to each user. By reducing user rights, it also minimizes the attack surface.
If an intruder infiltrates the network through a phishing strategy, they will only have access to a limited number of resources, significantly reducing their impact.
Defense in Depth
It’s a tactic inspired by military strategies aimed at delaying the enemy. For this, DevSecOps engineers must leverage and combine several security techniques.
Defense against potential threats is therefore more effective since it no longer relies solely on a single barrier but multiple ones.
Here are the steps to implement an effective defense in depth:
- Determine security objectives.
- Define the organization and architecture of the information system.
- Identify and evaluate control points.
- Develop a defense policy (including data encryption, permissions, regular backups, etc.).
- Continuously assess defense through controls and audits.
How to Choose Your Security-by-Design Solution?
A Security-by-Design solution must adhere to essential pillars, namely:
- Confidentiality: This includes the principle of least privilege, where only authorized users have access to the data they need.
- Integrity: Secured data, not manipulable by unauthorized users, must remain reliable and of high quality (no falsification should be possible).
- Availability: If access is restricted, authorized users must be able to easily access the data they need when they need it.
- Traceability: This involves analyzing all data-related actions through audit and monitoring logs.
Beyond these pillars, it’s important to choose a solution certified ISO 27001. This ISO standard for information security aligns with the Security-by-Design approach through several provisions, notably the risk-driven approach that involves a systematic assessment of cyber risks.
The Oodrive solutions are precisely certified ISO27001/701, SecNumCloud, and HDS. The objective is to meet the highest levels of security, trust, and compliance requirements. Data security and protection are at the heart of Oodrive’s concerns. The various steps in using our solutions, as well as their design, guide the end user towards best security practices. We build the necessary trust to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of what is of paramount importance to our clients and partners: ideas, projects, innovations, talents.
