Application security
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Application security, at a development level, refers to the measures taken to ensure apps have adequate security protocols coded into them and don’t contain any vulnerabilities that could later be exploited.
A zero-day vulnerability is a security flaw present in a software program or operating system that doesn’t have a working fix and which is usually unknown to developers.
Hackers are constantly on the hunt for such vulnerabilities to exploit. If they succeed in taking advantage of a security loophole before a patch is released, the resulting hack is known as a zero-day attack. In 2010, attackers famously used the Stuxnet computer worm to exploit zero-day vulnerabilities in Windows.
Thankfully, IT security experts have a number of tools in their arsenal to test an application’s security. These include manual penetration tests to actively find vulnerabilities, black box analysis to hunt for issues in a live application using the same techniques as hackers, and white box analysis scanning an application for flaws with full access to its codebase.
Endpoint security
In many ways, end users are the most difficult security threats to mitigate. Every individual user is capable of jeopardizing the security of a network, whether that’s through allowing malicious viruses in or letting sensitive information out.
Endpoint security measures cover every vulnerable point an end-user may come into contact with, including computers, mobiles, other IoT devices, email clients, or any user-dependent network gateway.
First and foremost, endpoint security concerns the process of securing individual devices and user-controlled entry or exit points.
There are several ways to prevent end-users from allowing malicious content to enter a network, including the use of a virtual private network (VPN), sophisticated anti-malware, training so users are aware of cyber threats like phishing, and the application of software to prevent the usage of breached credentials.
As technology evolves and criminals discover ever more ingenious ways to exploit vulnerabilities, the techniques IT security experts use to protect users will need to adapt to these changes. Ten years from now, the average IT security strategy is likely to look very different from what we see today.
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