A CISO's Guide to Application Security

Fortify • July 7, 2010

Focusing on security features at both the infrastructure and application level isn't enough. Organizations must also consider flaws in their design and implementation. Hackers looking for security flaws within applications often find them, thereby accessing hardware, operating systems and data. These applications are often packed with Social Security numbers, addresses, personal health information, or other sensitive data.

In fact, according to Gartner, 75% of security breaches are now facilitated by applications. The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, raises that estimate to 92%. And from 2005 to 2007 alone, the U.S. Air Force says application hacks increased from 2% to 33% of the total number of attempts to break into its systems.

To secure your agency's data, your approach must include an examination of the application's inner workings, and the ability to find the exact lines of code that create security vulnerabilities. It then needs to correct those vulnerabilities at the code level. As a CISO, you understand that application security is important. What steps can you take to avoid a security breach?

Read the CISO's Guide to Application Security to learn:

The significant benefits behind application security
Implement a comprehensive prevention strategy against current & future cyberattacks
6 quick steps to securing critical applications