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Category: Perforce

  • Guide for Software Development & Software Security

    Guide for Software Development & Software Security

    In order to ensure an efficient, secure and successful software development project, there are many factors that you and your team must consider when starting a new project. The most common and pertinent considerations for many include defining the requirements of the project, selecting the correct processes for each stage of the software development project, selecting the right software development tools and ensuring the proper practices are implemented for software security.

    As meeting each of those considerations for an effective software development project can be a daunting and time-consuming challenge, we recommend you follow this step-by-step guide that will help walk you through how to organize a secure and successful project.

    Understand Your Software Development Project Requirements

    As you begin your software development project, there are several details that you must complete to help you better understand your software development project requirements.

    • Outline the project
    • Define the project vision
    • Identify compliance requirements
    • Select a flexible programming language
    • Develop a code design
    • Establish code architecture

    By completing the above tasks, you are able to create a reliable and secure framework for your software development project.

    How to Define Your Software Development Process

    As your development process will be unique to the needs and requirements of your software development project, we recommend that you consider including the following details into your process:

    • Identify what software security best practices will need to be enforced
    • Align on a development methodology
    • Organize your environment setup
    • Use repository tools
    • Enforce software security with secure coding practices
    • Incorporate checks into your development pipeline
    • Have a definition of “done” for your software development project tasks and features
    • Encourage feedback and communication

    Including the above details into your software development process helps to ensure software security as well as increase the success of your software development project.

    How to Choose the Right Software Security Tools for your Software Development Project

    One of the most important parts of your software development project is to choose the right tools. With the right tools, you are able to standardize your project and enable your entire team to work together more efficiently and effectively. Regardless of what the specifics of your software development may be, we recommend that your toolset includes:

    • Version control system
    • Static code analyzer
    • Application lifecycle management tool

    These tools help to ensure that your project is well-organized; your software reliable, compliant and high quality; and that software security is enforced.

    How to Set Up DevSecOps for Your Software Development Project

    DevSecOps is essential for efficient and secure software development, as it can help your team:

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/blog/kw/software-development-and-software-security

  • 5 Ways to Improve Developer Output With Static Analysis

    5 Ways to Improve Developer Output With Static Analysis

    Developers often have to produce efficient, effective code under tight deadlines. Without the proper software development tools to support this work, coding errors and vulnerabilities could occur. For that reason, it is important to use a static code analysis tool, which verifies the security, quality and compliance of your code as it is being written.

    In this webinar, we will outline three best practices for effective use of a static code analysis tool to improve your output, including:
    1. How to effectively achieve thorough coverage with a static code analysis tool.
    2. How to best use a static code analysis tool with mission-critical systems.
    3. How to achieve gains through effective, automated code analysis.

     

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/webinars/kw/5-ways-improve-developer-output-static-analysis

  • How to Prevent Cybersecurity Threats With Secure Code

    How to Prevent Cybersecurity Threats With Secure Code

    Unfortunately, cybersecurity attacks are an ever-present threat for organizations of all sizes and industries. In fact, a cybersecurity threat is estimated to occur every 39 seconds. For that reason, it is important to understand the how, what and why of cybersecurity threats.

    The How, What and Why of Cybersecurity Threats

    Any malicious attack that threatens to damage software applications is considered to be a cybersecurity threat.

    In order to ensure that your software is safeguarded against any and all cybersecurity threats, you must take the appropriate steps, which includes:

    • Having an understanding of what the most common types of cybersecurity threats that you’ll most likely encounter.
    • Adopting effective secure coding practices.
    • Providing your team with software security training.
    • Using secure software tools — like static code analysis and SAST tools.

    By following these steps, you can more effectively safeguard your software.

    How to Prevent Cybersecurity Threats

    In order to prevent cybersecurity threats, you should use the following secure software development best practices:

    Establish Software Design Requirements

    You should establish software design requirements specifically to prevent and/or mitigate cybersecurity threats. By doing this, you can better address and eliminate potential threats.

    Enforce Secure Coding Standards for Cybersecurity Threats

    Software that is developed with secure coding standards—such as CERT and CWE—helps to prevent, detect and eliminate cybersecurity threats.

    Test Early for Cybersecurity Threats

    You should test your code early and often to identify potential vulnerabilities in your code that could lead to a cybersecurity attack.

    How SAST Tools Help to Prevent Cybersecurity Threats

    With the appropriate tools — such as static code analysis and SAST tools — you can better ensure the security and quality of your software. The reason for this is that both a static code analysis and SAST tool are able to automate vulnerability detection, test all of your code as it is being written, and easily integrates into your DevSecOps processes.

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/blog/kw/best-practices-to-prevent-cybersecurity-threats

  • What is Differential Analysis?

    What is Differential Analysis?

    Differential analysis is an emerging solution for static analysis tools. It is a relatively recent solution, but it’s important to understand what it is, how it works and why you should care.

    What’s Differential Analysis?

    Put simply, differential analysis is a form of “fast feedback” static code analysis. By using system context data from previous analysis builds, the static analyzer examines only the files that are new or that have changed. This enables the static code analyzer to provide you with analysis results as if your entire system had been analyzed — meaning differential analysis provides you with the shortest possible analysis times while maintaining the accuracy and detail of your analysis data.

    Differential vs. Incremental Analysis

    Differential analysis is an improvement upon the more traditional incremental analysis, as it requires no prior analysis build of the software on your workstation. This is also what makes differential analysis ideal for DevOps processes — like CI/CD pipelines.

    The Importance of Differential Analysis

    Differential analysis shortens analysis times and provides you with faster feedback, which is incredibly beneficial. Especially if you need to comply with some kind of coding standard, which often involves running a local or pre-commit analysis of your code. In general, this involves running an analysis on the entire codebase to identify any new issues. While this works well for smaller projects with smaller codebases, problems – such as extended analysis times –  can arise when working with a larger codebases. However, with differential analysis, you analyze only the changed files, significantly reducing the amount of time the analysis takes.

    How Differential Analysis Works

    Without getting overly technical, here is how differential analysis works.

    1. The static code analysis tool connects to a server project.
    2. You run an integration analysis.
    3. You run an analysis of the changed code.

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/blog/kw/what-is-differential-analysis

  • DevSecOps for Security and Safety-Critical Software Development

    DevSecOps for Security and Safety-Critical Software Development

    One of the most effective software development practices for safety-critical software is DevSecOps. Put simply, DevSecOps automates development and security processes to ensure the security and reliability of software. Here, we explain what you need to know about DevSecOps.

    What You Need to Know About DevSecOps Automation

    DevSecOps is a software development practice that automates and shortens feedback times to ensure secure software development. In general, safety-critical software development requires compliance with industry-specific, functional safety standards — each of which has its own set of core requirements to help you develop software that is safe and secure. While each standard’s guidance is unique, they all require a controlled, reliable, repeatable and automated set of delivery processes to demonstrate compliance. DevSecOps provides just that.

    How DevSecOps Automation Works With CI/CD Pipelines

    An important part of DevSecOps automation are CI/CD pipelines. In general, CI improves the quality of your codebase by breaking up tasks into smaller, more manageable chunks as well as by performing frequent code integrations. By using CI, you are able to identify problems sooner, easily encourage more modular changes to your code, automate tasks and detect issues quickly.

    The Benefits of DevSecOps Automation

    While you and your team may experience different benefits of DevSecOps, in general, the most common benefits of DevSecOps include the following:

    • Lowered development and operation costs. · Shortened development cycles.
    • Increased release pace.
    • Improved detection of software vulnerabilities and errors.
    • Reduced amount of failures and rollbacks associated with deployment.
    • Reduced amount of time to recover from a software development failure.

    What DevSecOps Automation Tools Should You Use?

    By using a DevSecOps tool to automate your processes, you ensure your software development process is free from software vulnerabilities and errors. The most common DevSecOps tool is a static application security testing (SAST) tool. A SAST tool automates your vulnerability detection processes, eliminates identified vulnerabilities, increases the pace of development and reduces the amount of disruption to your software development process.

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/blog/kw/devsecops-automation-safety-critical-software

  • Klocwork Is the Ideal Static Analysis Tool for DevOps

    Klocwork Is the Ideal Static Analysis Tool for DevOps

    Klocwork identifies software security, quality and reliability issues for C, C++, C# and Java helps to enforce compliance with standards. Its in-depth, accurate and precise analysis results have earned Klocwork the trust of industry leaders across a variety of industries. However, Klocwork is more than just a static code analysis tool; it’s also a static application security testing (SAST) tool.

    Find Security Vulnerabilities with SAST

    Klocwork SAST for DevOps and DevSecOps helps you to identify security vulnerabilities, which enables you to find and fix security issues earlier on in development. In addition, Klocwork helps you to ensure compliance with internationally recognized security standards.

    Differential Analysis

    Klocwork is one of the few static code analysis tools that uses differential analysis. This type of analysis enables Klocwork to provide you with shortest possible analysis times for the new and changed code—while maintaining the accuracy and detail of the analysis data.

    CI/CD Pipeline Support

    Built for enterprise DevOps, Klocwork scales to projects of any size, integrates with large complex environments and a wide range of developer tools, and provides control, collaboration and reporting. In addition, it integrates seamlessly with CI/CD pipelines to automate continuous compliance. This lowers cloud computing costs, as there are no idle instances waiting for the next analysis.

    Containerized Build Support

    Klocwork provides Containerized Build support for machine provisioning and cloud computing systems, including AWS, Azure and OpenStack. This provides the maximum flexibility and opportunity to use internal or external cloud services for code analysis.

    Control, Collaborate and Report

    The Klocwork Portal dashboard is a centralized store of analysis data, trends, metrics and configurations for codebases across the organization—accessed through a web browser. The dashboard is highly customizable, enabling your developers, managers and other stakeholders.

    Provide Your Team with Every Advantage — Provide Them with Klocwork

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/sites/default/files/pdfs/datasheet-klocwork-static-analysis-tool-for-devops-web.pdf

  • Software Safety vs. Security: What’s the Difference?

    Software Safety vs. Security: What’s the Difference?

    When developing software, you must ensure that that it is both safe and secure. But what is the difference between your code being safe, and your code being secure? Here, we discuss the differences between the two, and explain why you need to ensure that your software is both safe and secure.

    The Difference Between Safety and Security

    The most significant difference between safety and security is this: Safety means no harm is caused — deliberate or otherwise — while security means no deliberate harm is caused — at all. However, there are other important differences.

    Code Security Prevents Cyberattacks: Code security is about preventing unwanted or illegal activity in your software.

    Code Safety Ensures Reliability: Code safety is a broad term that indicates whether software is reliable and safe to use.

    Security Helps Achieve Safety: Security is a means to achieve safety.

    How Coding Standards — Like MISRA — Drive Software Safety

    Safety is essential to industries, such as automotive, rail, medical device, and aerospace and defense. For years, MISR coding guidelines have helped developers in those industries keep high-reliability systems safe. In addition, the MISRA C:2012 Amendment 1 outlines security measures to help you identify and avoid common security vulnerabilities in your software systems. While coding standards don’t provide you with foolproof security, they do help you to ensure that your code is reliable and maintains high quality.

    How to Enforce Software Safety and Security

    The most effective way to enforce software safety and security is to use a static code analysis tool. In fact, MISRA recommends that you use a static code analysis tool to ensure the highest degree of compliance. By using a static code analysis tool, you’re able to identify software safety and security vulnerabilities, errors and bugs. This enables you to fix these potential weaknesses before they become dangerous and damaging. What’s more, a static code analyzer leads to more secure, safer software.

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/blog/kw/software-safety-vs-security-whats-different

  • What Is DISA STIG?

    What Is DISA STIG?

    You need to ensure that your software is secure and safeguarded from security vulnerabilities. DISA STIGs help you ensure the security of your software. Read on to learn how.

    What You Need to Know About DISA STIG

    Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) provides technical guides referred to as Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs). DISA is a part of the Department of Defense and it was created to provide guidance for the IT and technological aspects of organizing, delivering and managing defense-related information. The most prominent of these are the STIG guidelines which outline how an organization should handle and manage security software and systems.

    What’s Included in the Complete STIG Security List

    Each STIG provides you with technical guidance to secure information systems and software that might otherwise be vulnerable to security issues.

    The DoD regularly updates STIGs to ensure that you are able to complete the following three actions:

    1. Configure hardware and software properly.
    2. Implement security protocols.
    3. Organize training processes.

    By using a STIG, you are able to identify potential security vulnerabilities in your code. DISA STIG Compliance Levels While each STIG is unique, every DISA STIG has three compliance levels, which are referred to as “categories.” The categories indicate the severity of the risk of failing to address a particular security vulnerability and weakness. From the most to least severe, the categories are:

    Category I: Category I refers to any vulnerability that will directly and immediately result in loss of confidentiality, availability, or integrity. In addition, these vulnerabilities can enable cybercriminals unauthorized access to classified data or facilities, which can lead to DoS attack. Category I risks are the most severe as they can result in loss of life, damage to facilities or mission familiar.

    Category II: Category II vulnerabilities are any vulnerabilities that can result in the loss of confidentiality, availability or integrity.

    Category III: Category III vulnerabilities are any vulnerabilities that degrades measures to protect against the loss of confidentiality, availability, or integrity.

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/blog/kw/what-is-DISA-STIG

  • How to Improve Code Quality, Efficiently, with Static Analysis

    How to Improve Code Quality, Efficiently, with Static Analysis

    As hard as they try, no programmer is perfect. Testing and manual code reviews cannot find every problem in their code, so software vulnerabilities and bugs persist.

    Unfortunately, the amount of software errors will only continue to grow as your systems get larger and more complex. Which begs the question: How can you find all of the critical problems present in your code while still releasing a quality product on time? Simple: Use a static code analysis tool.

    In this webinar, we will discuss the following topics:
    1. Why bug-free software is difficult to achieve.
    2. Why automated software tools are the most effective solution.
    3. How safe, secure and reliable software can be achieved at lower costs.
    4. How static code analysis and manual code reviews can work together.

    In addition, we will also provide examples of software vulnerabilities that are easily missed by manual code reviews.

     

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/webinars/qac/how-improve-quality-static-code-analysis

  • Add Static Code Analysis to Your CI/CD Pipelines

    Add Static Code Analysis to Your CI/CD Pipelines

    An efficient CI/CD pipeline is necessary for accelerating software delivery without sacrificing quality, and a static code analysis tool is an essential part of that pipeline. A static code analysis tool inspects your code as it is being written to identify defects, vulnerabilities and compliance issues — without having to run the program. What’s more, a static code analysis tool helps to ensure that your embedded code is secure, reliable and compliant. In this webinar, we will discuss how you can effectively add a static code analysis tool to your DevOps process.

     

    To read more, please visit: https://www.perforce.com/webinars/kw/add-static-code-analysis-to-ci-cd-pipelines