How can you secure your web application with open source software?

Yes there should be code reviews dome while building a web applications. Then it has to be internet safe and does not expose it to public but should have IP whitelisting and API's. Vulnerability management tools which are open source could be used to find out any vulnerabilities in the web applications before deployment. Continuous monitoring is required as final security goals.

Use trusted open source frameworks and libraries, like OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) offerings, to build your application securely. OWASP provides guidance and tools to help developers create more secure applications.

using a secure framework is very important, but so is the architecture in which this application will be constructed in. deciding on an architecture that is compatible with your current environment will help with building secure by design applications. use a well known and maintained framework that has security features such as parametrized constructed queries, input sanitation/validation on both client and server side. although frameworks like django and ruby on rails are fairly secure, programmatic logic and coding practices are still incredibly important. using SCA tools such as fortify or snyk code can help catch problematic code from staying in the application and/or being reused in others.

Utilize open source WAFs like ModSecurity to filter and monitor HTTP/HTTPS traffic, protecting against various attacks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and more.

SSL/TLS secures web apps by encrypting data, ensuring integrity, authenticating servers, building trust, complying with standards, and boosting search rankings. Please notice that there are multiple types of certificates. I am summing up for you: OV SSL: Highest security for businesses and e-commerce, rigorous verification for trust. DV SSL: Popular, verifies domain ownership, ideal for personal sites and small businesses. Wildcard SSL: Efficiently secures all subdomains, cost-effective for multiple subdomains. MDC: Versatile, secures up to 100 domains, designed for eCommerce and enterprises. UCC: Secures communication, multiple subject alternative names, ideal for businesses with multiple domains and servers.

Implement robust authentication mechanisms using open source solutions like OAuth or OpenID. Use strong password policies and multi-factor authentication to enhance security.

Input validation can help prevent web applications isolate executable code or commands from the expected user data input and filter them. This in-turn saves the web applications from several existing category of security exploits but also novel vulnerabilities in web applications and their dependencies. Most of the times using whitelisting of expected characters is better than using a blacklisting approach. Input validation is also required both at the frontend (UI) and backend (business logic at the server).

Perform regular code reviews and utilize open source vulnerability scanners (such as OWASP ZAP or Nikto) to identify and fix security issues in the application's code.

sanitizing user input is very important as no input should be trusted. this is important because raw user input could have unexpected things such as injection payloads which could open you up to exploitation. be cognizant of what kind of file types are allowed to be uploaded, white list the only file types a user should be able to upload (pdf, docx, xlsx,…) escaping and sanitizing user input can be achieved by using open source libraries, or most frameworks have functions for this as well. IMPORTANT to ALWAYS USE PARAMETERIZED QUERIES. never copy user input into a query as this is a huge flaw no matter how much sanitization you use. github has many options for open source projects for handling user input.

Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing using open source tools to identify weaknesses and simulate real-world attacks, allowing you to address any vulnerabilities before they are exploited.

vulnerability scans should be run at minimum quarterly on applications. the best way to keep up with this is to include scanning in the SDLC and in CI/CD pipeline; i suggest quality assurance phase. personally, i think static and dynamic code analysis should be performed before rolling out any new alterations to an application. OWASP has many open source tools for code analysis. i think that its best to spin up a kali linux box and search metasploit (db of known exploits) for any known exploits that could be used on your application based on versions of libraries/frameworks/OS’s. for cloud based applications, maybe check out cloudsploit and OpenVAS to check out exposed endpoints.

Employ open source tools for logging and monitoring to detect any suspicious activities or potential security breaches. Tools like ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) can help in centralized logging and analysis.

it’s hard to keep up with scanning and vulnerability management, so i suggest integrating security into the software development lifecycle and in the continuous integration/ continuous development pipeline. monitoring applications can be tedious work, but keeping up with it will not only keep your assets secure, but also make you a better developer. if your code is solid and logically secure, it’s less work in the future since it will be reusable. developing secure by design templates for applications provides such a quality of life boost to developers as a lot of the workload is decreased from the jump.

Implementar Logs e Auditoria de Segurança, uma pratica essencial é registrar e monitorar logs detalhados de todas as atividades na aplicação. Isso inclui acessos, transações e alterações no sistema. Esses logs devem ser regularmente revisados e auditados para identificar padrões suspeitos ou atividades anormais, facilitando a detecção precoce de possíveis violações de segurança. Utilize ferramentas de código aberto para automação dessa monitorização e alertas em tempo real para responder rapidamente a qualquer ameaça.