Survey: Customer Facing Web and Mobile Apps as top security threat
- Fariha
- December 4, 2017
- 820
Synopsys, Inc. revealed the results of a survey of 244 IT people which showed that customer-facing web and mobile apps present the utmost security risk to businesses in Asia Pacific. 48 percent of those surveyed emphasized the deficiency of skilled security workers or training as one of the biggest challenges to employing an application security program.
The survey was conducted at GovernmentWare (GovWare) 2017 in Singapore (September 19 to 21, 2017) at the Singapore International Cyber Week 2017. The in-person survey is based on responses from participants that included C-level IT professionals, managers and other executives.
Synopsys, Inc. is the world's 15th largest software firm. It has a long history of being a global leader in electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP. Besides the company is growing its leadership in software security and quality solutions as well.
According to Geok Cheng Tan, managing director of Asia Pacific for the Synopsys Software Integrity Group said:
"It is not surprising that web and mobile applications represent such a high risk to businesses in Asia, as they often process highly sensitive information and cyberattacks targeting them are increasing in sophistication in the region. To effectively address cyber threats, software companies need to move beyond reactive measures by implementing software security initiatives that embrace the fundamentals of software integrity and proactively build security and quality into their software development lifecycle (SDLC)."
Other findings of the survey are:
• A total of 54 percent of the respondents viewed customer-facing web and mobile applications as the areas presenting the highest security risk to businesses, followed closely by embedded and IoT systems at 20 percent. Desktop applications and internal-facing web applications were represented at 16 percent and 10 percent respectively.
• Aside from the technical challenges in securing customer-facing web applications, 38 percent of professionals identified protection of customer data and intellectual property (IP) as paramount, while 12 percent suggested regulatory compliance.
• 66 percent of the respondents have a strategy in place in the event of a security incident. 16 percent said they did not, while 18 percent suggested that they are unsure. This suggests that nearly one-fourth of the respondents (24 percent) remains unprepared in the face of a cyberattack.
• 82 percent of those surveyed have received some form of cyber security training, which underlines the importance of cyber security and the need to better understand the threat landscape.
About the Synopsys Software Integrity Platform
Synopsys offers the most comprehensive solution for building integrity -- security and quality -- into the software development lifecycle and supply chain. The Software Integrity Platform unites leading testing technologies, automated analysis, and experts to create a robust portfolio of products and services. This portfolio enables companies to develop personalized programs for detecting and remediating defects and vulnerabilities early in the development process, minimizing risk and maximizing productivity. Synopsys, a recognized leader in Application Security Testing (AST), is uniquely positioned to adapt and apply best practices to new technologies and trends such as IoT, DevOps, CI/CD, and the Cloud. For more information, go to synopsys.com/software.