Almost all software is under attack today, yet many organisations remain unprepared in their defence. Every day, news emerges of computer systems being breached, frequently through vulnerabilities within the software itself.
Most security breaches do not use sophisticated new technology. The vast majority of security incidents are caused by:
1. Human Error: Mistakes by users, administrators, or developers that inadvertently expose data or systems.
Examples: misconfigure cloud storage, sending sensitive data to the wrong recipient, clicking phishing links, weak password use.
2. Lack of Proper Security Controls: Insufficient technical safeguards or process enforcement.
Examples: missing multi-factor authentication, unpatched software, inadequate network segmentation, poorly configured firewalls, not using a good FOSS scanning tool for Python applications.
3. Inadequate Awareness or Training: Staff failing to recognise threats or understand security procedures.
Examples: Developers not educated for applying security by design, employees unaware of phishing techniques, IT staff misconfigure services.
The Complexity of Malware Detection
Detecting advanced malware is complex and difficult. Most “good” malware is:
- Unknown: It will not be found by only checking against known vulnerability databases.
- Targeted: It often targets expensive, closed-source commercial software and SaaS solutions. There is a common misconception that high-cost software is inherently secure; however, this has proven to be false.
- Opportunistic: It succeeds only when other solid, proven methods—such as creating regular backups and storing data offline—are absent.
The Pareto Principle is key to preventing security incidents: the majority of events are still caused by simple, preventable issues. These include failing to follow “Defence in Depth” principles or neglecting to perform SAST scanning on third-party Python code. Applying the Pareto principle means focus on simplifying cyber security. Do things that have proven to work. Using AI for security testing and especially Python security testing is just far from good enough. In the best case scenario, you’ll only be disappointed. But the risk of a false sense of security is enormous.
Doing a SAST scan is simple with Python Code Audit and highly effective:
codeaudit filescanscan <package-name|directory|file> [reportname.html]Before running the codeaudit command a prerequisite is that you have Python Code Audit installed. This can be done with a single command:
pip install -U codeaudit