What are Software and Data Integrity Failures? How to Prevent?

Software security is not a set-it-and-forget-it process, but regular monitoring is important. Now, the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) is a non-profit foundation that provides a wealth of information about web application security.

They have provided a list of the Top 10 Web Application Security Risks. Among them, the 8th risk is “Software and Data Integrity Failures.”

In this blog, we are going to explain everything about software and data integrity failures, along with some prevention strategies. 

Let’s begin!

What is software and data integrity failure?

It refers to the vulnerabilities in software that allow cybercriminals to modify or delete data in an unauthorized manner. In simple terms, software and data integrity failures happen due to the lack of security measures to ensure that applications and their associated data are free of unauthorized access.

In modern update-release cycles, the architectures are complex, due to which developers use modules, plugins, or libraries from public repositories and untrusted sources. This results in software and data integrity failures because critical data and software updates are integrated into the delivery pipeline without verifying their integrity.

Let’s understand software and data integrity failure with an example.

The administrator got an urgent alert for a security update required to address a security vulnerability in the organization’s software system. The admin looked it up quickly and found that it’s been around for a while. So, they installed it without double-checking and ignored the digital signature integrity check warning.

But the results were not expected!

The update contained malicious code hidden alongside the genuine files. As the digital signature process was also bypassed, the admin allowed the malicious code to infiltrate the organization’s infrastructure.

As a result, the organization fell victim to a ransomware attack days later due to only one update, which wasn’t verified. This situation entails that a small act of ignorance can result in a big, troublesome situation.

How Do Software And Data Integrity Failures Happen?

Data and integrity failures majorly happen due to the reasons below. 

• Transmission Errors: This happens due to the alteration of data and application code when in transit.

• Human Error: As the name suggests, these errors happen due to mistakes made by users, developers, or system administrators, and individuals download and execute code without checking for security misconfigurations.

• Malware and Viruses: These happen because of malicious code that exploits unwanted vulnerabilities in the system through malware infections, phishing attempts, ransomware attacks, and insider threats.

• Outdated Software and Inadequate Security Controls: Outdated software applications, operating systems, and security controls increase the risk of software and data integrity failures.

• Broken Access Control & Cryptographic Failures: Broken user restrictions and cryptographic failures create a software vulnerability that hackers take advantage of.

Now, let’s have a look at the typical process of how cybercriminals execute a software and data integrity failure attack.

The attacker exploits a vulnerability in an insecure application. Majorly, they target the Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) system, which automates the entire application development process and regularly deploys updates to end-users.

Recommended: OWASP Top 10 CI/CD Security Risks: How to Mitigate

After identifying the weakness, the attacker introduces corrupted or malicious code into the CI/CD system. Once the customers receive software updates containing the malicious code, they unknowingly install it on their systems. This grants hackers unauthorized access to the users’ networks, resulting in software and data integrity attacks.

Real-Life Examples of Software and Data Integrity Failures

Here are some of the real-world scenarios of software and data integrity failures.

Equifax Data Breach (2017)

This is one of the most significant data breaches in history, which happened in the year 2017. Equifax, a credit reporting agency, experienced a breach that exposed the sensitive information of approximately 147 million American consumers.

The worst part is that cybercriminals were active for 76 days inside Equifax’s systems to gain access to names, social security numbers, birth dates, and other personal information.

This breach was discovered because Equifax was facing security challenges before the attack, which they failed to address. Also, the company has given broad permissions to view or manage data above their “pay grade.”

Knight Capital Group Trading Loss (2012)

American global financial services firm Knight Capital Group experienced a trading loss of $440 million within 45 minutes due to a software glitch. It was one of the leading trading houses on Wall Street that ended in a matter of hours.

The reason behind this glitch was the execution of numerous erroneous trades which led to the company’s near-collapse.

WannaCry Ransomware Attack (2017)

In 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack impacted organizations worldwide. On May 12, it spread to more than 200,000 computers in over 150 countries.

The cybercriminals targeted computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. After encrypting the device, they asked for a ransom payment of up to $600 for the decryption key. The damages caused by this attack were estimated at from $80 million to $1 billion.

Recommended: What is Software Security? Importance, Techniques, Challenges and Best Practices

Software and Data Integrity Attack Techniques

Cybercriminals use several techniques to exploit vulnerabilities in software or applications. Here, we are going to explain the most commonly used ones. 

Network or Software Vulnerabilities

Cybercriminals may try to exploit vulnerabilities or find weaknesses in network infrastructure or software to gain unauthorized access to the system. They might find a vulnerable version of the server-hosting software of a company to execute the attack.

Undermining Code Signing

Software that is not verified or signed using code signing certificates is more vulnerable to software and data integrity failures. They use the software to self-sign certificates or break signing systems and impersonate a trusted vendor to insert malicious code. 

Recommended: Self-Signed vs. Publicly Trusted CA Code Signing Certificates: What to Choose?

Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attacks

Attackers intercept and manipulate communication between two parties to tamper with data exchanges or inject malicious payloads.

Insider Threats

Employees with authorized access to a system or data may intentionally or unintentionally become a reason behind software and data integrity failure. This involves unauthorized data modifications, data exfiltration, or sabotage of software systems.

User Credentials

Hackers often get hold of user credentials, like passwords or other sensitive information, to sneak into a system. They get this information through the company’s database login details in a big online dump of stolen credentials.

Compromising Open-Source Code

Compromising open-source code involves the insertion of malicious code into publicly accessible code libraries. When the developers use these compromised code blocks, the hacker is given full access to the system.

Such attacks often employ a technique called “typosquatting.” Here, hackers create code blocks with names similar to popular, safe options. This tricks developers into using the malicious code, thinking it’s legitimate.

How To Protect Against Software and Integrity Failures?

Here are some of the prevention strategies to combat software and data integrity failures.

Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication, or MFA, refers to the use of multiple authentication parameters to verify a user‘s identity. It makes it difficult for hackers to bypass the security measures of software that is protected using MFA because they have one or more barriers to breach.

Now, MFA typically falls into the below three categories:

1. Knowledge Factor: Some knowledge-based factors are personal identification numbers, OTPs, passwords, etc. It requires the authorized entity to answer a personal security question.

• Possession Factor: It requires the authorized person to have something to complete the authentication procedure, like key fobs, badges, tokens, etc.
• Inherence Factor: It checks the user‘s biological features, like fingerprint scans, facial recognition, retina scans, etc, before granting them access to a system.

Make Sure You Are Using Code Signing Certificates

Code signing certificates protect against software and integrity failures as they show software authenticity. In simple terms, these are like stamps of approval, which ensure that the software comes from a trusted source and hasn’t been tampered with.

Recommended: Role of Code Signing Certificate for Application and Software Developers

These certs allow software developers to digitally sign the code and provide a unique signature that verifies the authenticity of the software’s creator.

Monitor for Updates and Security Patches

When companies find out about weaknesses or “bugs” in their software, they release updates to fix them.

Regularly monitoring these updates and security patches is vital to address potential vulnerabilities. These often include improvements to security, bug fixes, and sometimes new features.

The ones who ignore these updates are prone to becoming cyberattack victims because hackers often use these weaknesses to sneak into the software.

Recommended: What is Patch and What is Windows Patch Management?

So, how do you keep your software up to date? It’s simple. Most software programs have an option to check for updates automatically. Turn this option on; your software will let you know when a new update is available. Then, all you have to do is click a button to install it.

Enforce Secure Code Reviews

Code reviews involve a thorough examination of each software component to identify the cyber threats that could compromise the application’s availability, integrity, and confidentiality. 

The best part is that these reviews help limit the potential attack surface by addressing security issues before they are deployed into the production environment.

Implement a Software Supply Chain Security Program

Modern software delivery pipelines include loosely-coupled components containing open-source software that must be protected from potential security risks. Here comes the role of supply chain security management tool. It helps find and mitigate vulnerabilities associated with open-source libraries, frameworks, or third-party software.

Some of the popular supply chain security programs include,

1. OWASP CycloneDX
2. OWASP Dependency-Check Project
3. OpenVAS
4. OpenIAM
5. OWASP ZAP, and so on.

Use Digital Signatures for Software Component Verification

Digital signatures for software component verification act as a seal of approval to ensure it’s authentic and hasn’t been tampered with. These often use public key infrastructure to keep information private and secure when it’s shared between different parties. Some tools can be used to automate the verification process.

Recommended: How to Verify Windows Authenticode Signature

In a nutshell, the legitimacy of their software can be ensured by using digital signatures.

Secure Design Patterns

Many times, data and integrity failures happen due to insecure design practices or patterns.

The solution to this is to use secure design patterns, as they play a vital role in mitigating integrity failures.

Here’s how it works!

These patterns are blueprints for developers to build software with fewer mistakes and stronger security during development. Furthermore, a critical principle within secure design patterns is the principle of least privilege. It limits users’ access to specific software to minimize the risk of unauthorized usage and misuse of privileges.

Also, secure design patterns include robust security protocols and provisions for incident response plans to enhance software security posture.

Enforce CI/CD Pipeline Segregation & Access Control Cookies

The next strategy to prevent data and integrity failures is by implementing robust CI/CD pipeline segregation and access control measures.

A well-structured CI/CD pipeline ensures the code undergoes thorough testing and validation before being deployed into production. It involves breaking down the development and deployment process into smaller, manageable steps, each with its own checks.

Furthermore, access control measures should be enforced to restrict who can change the pipeline configuration and who has permission to trigger builds or deploy code.

Use a Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

SCA or Software Composition Analysis helps in early identification of vulnerabilities. It catalogs all the components in the software to ensure that every component is accounted for.

Also, SCA detects security risks when integrated for automated scanning on updates before the respective program or software is deployed. In addition to vulnerability detection, SCA tools also help organizations adhere to legal requirements by checking the licenses of all the components.

Overall, by incorporating the Software Composition Analysis tool in the development workflow, businesses can improve the security and integrity of their software systems and mitigate the risk of software and data integrity failures.

Impact of Software And Data Integrity Failures

The impact of software and data integrity failure can be aggravating. According to an IBM study, bad data costs the U.S. $3.1 trillion annually.

It results in several consequences, as explained below.

Loss of Trust and Reputation:

The organization that faces software and data makes people question their products and services. This lack of trust can hurt the companies’ reputations and make customers look for other service providers, causing them to lose business. Fixing this trust and reputation again takes a lot of effort and time.

Regulatory Compliance Violations:

These failures violate regulatory requirements and industry data protection, privacy, and security standards. Businesses that fail to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive data and become victims of these attacks have to face legal penalties, fines, and regulatory sanctions.

Disruption of Services: 

When things go wrong with software or data, it’s obvious that the services will be disrupted, which, unfortunately, results in a loss of productivity and revenue.

For instance, if a website crashes or an app stops working, it can cause a lot of frustration for users. This downtime can lead to companies losing revenue because they’re not making sales or providing services.

Data Corruption:

There are chances that companies might lose data or that it gets corrupted due to software and data integrity failures. Majorly, in industries like healthcare or finance, where accurate data is crucial, integrity failures can have serious consequences.

For instance, it could affect patient care in healthcare, while in finance, it might impact financial transactions and rules set by regulators.

Security Breaches:

Last but not the least, the most horrifying impact of these failures is security attacks. Hackers get the opportunity to compromise software systems or manipulate data, which leads to unauthorized access, data breaches, and privacy violations.

Further, they steal sensitive information, compromise accounts, or launch attacks on systems and networks. 

The Bottom Line

As explained above, data and integrity failure can have severe consequences for organizations, like financial loss, data loss, and damage to a brand’s reputation. That’s why taking the correct precautionary measures and following the best practices explained in this blog to avoid software and data integrity failures is suggested.

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