This blog highlights the importance of software composition analysis, creating a software bill of materials, and identifying potential vulnerabilities to ensure that software is secure and reliable. Everable also provides practical training to help developers and DevOps professionals improve their security skills and stay ahead of evolving threats.

One way to ensure application security is through Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST). DAST is a process of black box testing in which a running application is actively investigated with penetration tests to detect potential security vulnerabilities. Think of it as having an ethical hacker on your site that does all of this process in an automated manner.

Watch the webinar Configuring DAST Capabilities in a CI/CD Pipeline

This blog is based on the webinar Configuring DAST Capabilities in a CI/CD Pipeline. You can rewatch the whole webinar here:

Table of Contents

In this blog, we will teach you the following:

• The Challenge of Open Source Components
• The Risks of Open Source Components
• Conclusion

The Challenge of Open Source Components

One of the biggest challenges facing organisations today is the growing demand for open-source components. According to statistics from Sonatype, upwards of 90% of an application comprises open-source components. This presents a significant logistical challenge for application development teams, who must manage these components and understand their associated risks.

Software composition analysis has evolved to address this challenge. It allows organisations to identify their open-source components and create a software bill of materials. This includes not just the known open-source dependencies but everything included when the application is run, including direct and transitive dependencies.

In addition, to open-source components, some components come from third parties, systems integrations, and closed sources. Organisations must track and document these components, verify their provenance, and identify associated risks.

The Risks of Open Source Components

The risks associated with open-source components can be categorised into legal and security risks. Legal risks arise when organisations fail to adhere to obligations set out by the license for the components they use. This can result in financial penalties, reputational damage, or even having to open source the entire application.

Security risks are the most common reason organisations look at their open-source components. The software bill of materials allows organisations to identify potential vulnerabilities and take steps to mitigate them. This is essential, as vulnerabilities in open-source components can be exploited by attackers to gain access to an organisation's systems and data.

Conclusion

Software composition analysis is essential for organisations that rely on open-source components. Organisations can ensure that their software is secure and reliable by creating a software bill of materials and identifying potential risks. At Everable, we are committed to providing practical, hands-on training to help developers and DevOps professionals improve their security skills and stay ahead of evolving threats.