Source code is the most valuable asset for any company. Therefore, if it gets stolen or leaked, it can cause tremendous damage to your company. In the long term, source code theft can result in financial loss and negatively impact your company’s reputation, as it can decrease customers’ trust.

Source code theft is becoming an increasingly common issue in software development. In today’s digital era, securing source code is critical for protecting intellectual property and preserving the integrity of software applications. Hence, defending against source code theft is crucial to every business’s success.

This article will go through various ways to help you defend against source code theft.

Why is Securing Source Code Important?

Source code is essential in creating and building software, web services, applications, extensions, and much more. Hence it includes a lot of valuable information, making it vulnerable for hackers to target.

Hackers can access sensitive information such as passwords, technical specifications, users’ data, encryption keys, and so on by stealing your source code. They can easily copy, edit, or distribute this data without proper protection. In addition, hackers can use source code information to attack vulnerabilities and create data breaches. If stolen source code is sold to competitors, you can lose a lead in developing innovative products.

How to Secure Source Code?

There are various ways to safeguard and protect your source code from theft. Creating a dedicated policy, encrypting data, and protecting endpoint devices are just some precautions you should take.

There are various ways to safeguard and protect your source code from theft. Creating a dedicated policy, encrypting data, and protecting endpoint devices are just some precautions you should take. When implementing technology to prevent source code theft, it is also advisable to use a layered approach instead of point protection.

Manage Access Control:

Determining who has access to the source code is critical to protect it against theft. There is usually no need to provide a developer full access to the code. Global access to source code brings possible security risks. Therefore, avoid giving it unless essential. The “least privilege model” guideline should be followed when managing source code access control.

In addition, when giving access, you may define and separate source code sections and use the Zero Trust model. Multifactor authentication will prevent unauthorized people from accessing course codes. Implement two-factor authentication to ensure only authorized users can access business data and source code.

Implement Source Code Security Policy:

The policy should include rules and requirements for protecting source code throughout the development lifecycle. It should include the source code development process and all employees working on it.

Every regulation that you intend to implement must be outlined in the policy. This comprises encryption and security protocols, application shielding and hardening, repositories use, and access limitations. Documentation, training, and guidance on best secure coding practices should also be included.

Protect Source Code with Patent and Copyright:

You can use copyright laws and patents to confirm the ownership of the code. As source code includes new technological inventions and concepts, protecting it as the intellectual property becomes critical. That is why protecting the idea and written code with patents and copyright is crucial to state your ownership in the case of source code theft or a legal dispute.

Regular Code Reviews:

Regular code reviews can assist in identifying shortcomings in the code that hackers can exploit. Code reviews can also help with finding unauthorized changes to the code. Regular code reviews help you identify and fix vulnerabilities before hackers can exploit them.

Encryption:

Encryption can help in the prevention of source code theft. A password or a key can be used to encrypt the source code files. Unauthorized users cannot read or modify the code using this method. This method, however, can also make it difficult for authorized users to access the code.

Secure Your Endpoint Devices:

Securing your entry point is an important step in preventing source code theft. Endpoint devices like laptops and desktop computers are vulnerable to malware and other unwanted actions. Data Loss Prevention solutions should be utilized to avoid source code leaks and exfiltration. Furthermore, securing your devices with anti-malware, VPN, and antivirus solutions like Avast, Clario, and Norton adds an extra layer of security.

While endpoint security is critical, you should also protect all other devices. Any phone or tablet that is linked to the same network as the entry-point device can bring a threat to source code security.

Avoid Insecure Source Code Usage:

During the development process, it is easy to miss some security flaws. Analysis and testing tools are a great way to ensure source code security. Static Application, Security Testing software, can scan your code for security flaws, vulnerabilities, coding standards violations, and other concerns. The tool works in real-time, providing updated information early in the software development life cycle.

It would be best to use Dynamic Application Security Testing to find flaws and vulnerabilities outside the code. The tool can detect and prevent SQL injection, cross-site scripting, unprotected server setup, and other attacks via third-party interfaces.

Companies worldwide increasingly focus on cybersecurity, particularly the safety and privacy of sensitive consumer data such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII). However, an efficient data security strategy should also cover intellectual property (IP) and the protection of trade secrets. IP can signify different things in different sectors. For software and technology companies, intellectual property (IP) takes the form of proprietary source code. It might be hard to foresee how cybercriminals can get past all your measures, but investing in cyber insurance can definitely help you.

Conclusion:

In the era of AI and alternative data, cybersecurity has become a main part of any organization. Protecting source code is essential to safeguarding intellectual property and preserving the integrity of software applications. By following these practices, software developers can protect their source code and ensure the security of their software applications.