As a developer, when it comes to securing your code, it is not only the work of the cybersecurity specialist, but also your responsibility to ensure that your code stays safe and protected. There are many ways in which you can secure your code, such as securing dependencies and using their updated versions, researching software, integrating security tools like SonarQube, and using online coding labs. Here are some ways coding labs can protect your work.
Isolation And Sandboxing
Creating online coding labs means that sessions run in isolated environments, such as in containers or Virtual Machines, which means that a user’s workspace stays separated from the sessions of other users and from the main host system. It also means that the main code stays protected from any malicious code being injected and reduces the chances of vulnerabilities entering the main code. Also, other people’s workspaces stay safe, and this can also be achieved through a virtual sandbox that helps isolate sessions.
Strong authentication and Access Control
Secure platforms have a lot of security features in place, such as role-based access control, so that only those who have permissions can access the necessary code files, and others do not have access to it. There is also the principle of least privilege, so that users and systems only have permission to do their assigned tasks and nothing else. Such efforts are extremely important in maintaining the security of code, as they limit the exposure of code files, ensuring that only the necessary people have access to them. It reduces the risks of vulnerabilities and is also good practice to narrow down accounts if a leak or theft happens. Online coding labs ensure that user privileges are limited, and the audits can track exactly who did what.
Secure Dependencies
In software development these days, third-party libraries and frameworks are used to create dependencies and help speed up the work. While these external parties make the work efficient, these components can introduce vulnerabilities if they are outdated. Suppose you want to implement such external dependencies. In that case, you will have to ensure that you secure them and update the dependencies and libraries so that they can use the latest versions, which have the updated security features. Having secure coding labs can provide you with dependency scanning and alert you in the case of vulnerability. Make sure to use a very limited number of very necessary dependencies and only use trusted ones. OWASP Dependency-Check and Snyk are tools that can help you scan for vulnerabilities and implement the fixes as soon as they are identified.
Integration with CI/CD and code governance
Online code labs can integrate the source control code with the CI/CD pipelines that ensure that the code is tested as it is produced. Instead of having many surprise problems once the code has been sent to production and causing problems after deployment, CI/CD pipelines ensure that the code is continuously checked for vulnerabilities and bugs and tested during development, so that issues are fixed as they come along without having to reach the production stage, and this is very helpful in software development, as having to deal with bugs after deployment could mean increased costs.
Privacy, IP protection and compliance
An Online IDE can scan your code for vulnerabilities and ensure that your code meets any compliance requirements. Securing code is of great importance as code is the intellectual property of any company. There are many compliances that a company may have to follow, such as GDPR and ISO 27001, and online labs can ensure that your code files comply with them. They can also implement policies like not allowing file downloads or not allowing copying from external clipboards. Did you know that cybercrime costs are expected to reach almost 14 trillion dollars by 2028?
Conclusion
When it comes to securing your code, you should not only be reactive but also be proactive and take the necessary precautions to protect your code, which is your intellectual property. As a developer, you need to take individual responsibility for ensuring that your code stays protected so that you are also able to protect your users from any malicious actors.
