Code Highly Secure Java Applications That Follow OWASP Standards And Protect Your Business From Cyber Attack

This workshop will provide delegates with a solid understanding of the security implications of writing insecure code on applications exposed to malicious traffic (websites, web services, REST APIs and rich clients). The key objective of the course is to make a ‘paradigm shift’ on the delegates, where they learn what are the security properties the applications they are coding should contain. Some aspects covered are generic to all web developers – while others are Java specific, but since vast majority of flaws within applications are due to flawed design, implementation, or programmer errors, the most important outcome is to learn what questions to ask.

The workshop will simulate a real-world Threat Modeling session, with (ideally) the target being a application currently maintained by some (or all) of the attending delegates. A very common outcome is that new high-risk vulnerabilities are discovered during the course (the backup plan is to use vulnerable-by-design demo applications, but the learning impact is not the same as when the delegates see real-world vulnerabilities in their applications). Although secure coding is a large part of the course, there will be the opportunity to learn and write exploits around multiple OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities (like XSS, CSRF, SQL Injection or Indirect Object Reference)

Delegates should come in with an open mind to structure, as many of the topics below will be exposed and discussed in the context of sites and applications being analysed, rather than in the strict sequence below. As time available is short, it may not be possible to cover all topics. Therefore delegates are encouraged to dictate priorities to the instructor at the start of the workshop.

What you will learn

• Security Principles and SD3 (Secure by Design, by Default and in Deployment)
• Techniques to exploit vulnerabilities
• Secure coding practices
• Testing an application for security (leveraging existing testing infrastructure)
• Privacy considerations
• What matters for PCI DSS compliance
• Secure application deployment considerations
• OWASP Top 10 risk and vulnerabilities
• Threat modeling

WRITING SECURE, PCI COMPLIANT JAVA WEB APPLICATIONS

OWASP Top Ten
A1 Injection
A2 Broken Authentication and Session Management
A3 Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
A4 Insecure Direct Object Reference
A5 Security Misconfiguration
A6 Sensitive Data Exposure
A7 Missing Function Level Access Control
A8 Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
A9 Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities
A10 Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards

Secure Development Overview
Secure development Techniques
Writing Secure Java Code
Spring MVC Security and vulnerabilities
Security Testing
Secure Software Installation
Building Privacy into Your Application
Security Documentation and Error Messages
Security Usability
PCI DSS

OWASP Top Ten

A1 – Injection
Injection flaws, such as SQL, OS, and LDAP injection occur when untrusted data is sent to an interpreter as part of a command or query. The attacker’s hostile data can trick the interpreter into executing unintended commands or accessing data without proper authorization.
A2 – Broken Authentication and Session Management
Application functions related to authentication and session management are often not implemented correctly, allowing attackers to compromise passwords, keys, or session tokens, or to exploit other implementation flaws to assume other users’ identities.
A3 – Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)
XSS flaws occur whenever an application takes untrusted data and sends it to a web browser without proper validation or escaping. XSS allows attackers to execute scripts in the victim’s browser which can hijack user sessions, deface web sites, or redirect the user to malicious sites.
A4 – Insecure Direct Object Reference
A direct object reference occurs when a developer exposes a reference to an internal implementation object, such as a file, directory, or database key. Without an access control check or other protection, attackers can manipulate these references to access unauthorized data.
A5 – Security Misconfiguration
Good security requires having a secure configuration defined and deployed for the application, frameworks, application server, web server, database server, and platform. Secure settings should be defined, implemented, and maintained, as defaults are often insecure. Additionally, software should be kept up to date.
A6 – Sensitive Data Exposure
Many web applications do not properly protect sensitive data, such as credit cards, tax IDs, and authentication credentials. Attackers may steal or modify such weakly protected data to conduct credit card fraud, identity theft, or other crimes. Sensitive data deserves extra protection such as encryption at rest or in transit, as well as special precautions when exchanged with the browser.
A7 – Missing Function Level Access Control
Most web applications verify function level access rights before making that functionality visible in the UI. However, applications need to perform the same access control checks on the server when each function is accessed. If requests are not verified, attackers will be able to forge requests in order to access functionality without proper authorization.
A8 - Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
A CSRF attack forces a logged-on victim’s browser to send a forged HTTP request, including the victim’s session cookie and any other automatically included authentication information, to a vulnerable web application. This allows the attacker to force the victim’s browser to generate requests the vulnerable application thinks are legitimate requests from the victim.
A9 - Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities
Components, such as libraries, frameworks, and other software modules, almost always run with full privileges. If a vulnerable component is exploited, such an attack can facilitate serious data loss or server takeover. Applications using components with known vulnerabilities may undermine application defenses and enable a range of possible attacks and impacts.
A10 – Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards
Web applications frequently redirect and forward users to other pages and websites, and use untrusted data to determine the destination pages. Without proper validation, attackers can redirect victims to phishing or malware sites, or use forwards to access unauthorized pages.