What are software and data integrity failures?

Overview

Software and data integrity failures frequently occur when the code implementation and the underlying infrastructure lack the ability to protect the code against all integrity violations. This happens when the code is obtained from some untrusted source or repositories. The attackers take advantage of this code and sneak into the system through unauthorized access. As a result, the system becomes vulnerable to the following attacks:

• Denial-of-service
• Code injection
• Command execution
• Cache poisoning

Software and data integrity failure attack

In the case below, an attacker takes advantage of an insecure automated application development system. They attack the system by installing malicious code that is distributed by the build and deploy cycle.

• The attacker identifies the weakness of the CI/CD system. The CI/CD is a system that automates all the stages of application development and frequently delivers applications to customers.
• The attacker installs the corrupted or malicious code into the system.
• The customer unknowingly installs the malicious code.
• The malicious code is installed into the customer’s local environment. The attacker now has access to the user’s network and can perform any task using the user’s identity.

Prevention methods

The system vulnerabilities can cause unimaginable damage to the system. Here are some of the techniques that can prevent such vulnerabilities:

• Authentication: Authentication makes sure that the data is coming from and going to a valid and trusted source.
• User-level restrictions: It is essential to make sure that the libraries and dependencies used in the system are coming from trusted and verified sources and have restricted access.
• Testing: The system’s code should go through extensive testing before deploying it to real users. Testing should be conducted whenever an update is performed or if any configuration changes. This ensures that the vulnerabilities or bugs in the system are identified earlier. This prevents the system from failure.
• Encrypt and validate all data: It is essential to make sure that all data is encrypted before sharing. All data must go through an extensive integrity check and should be backed up by a digital signature. This method will help the user gain access to valid data and protect the system from attackers.
• Firewalls: Build strong firewalls to make sure that no malicious code sneaks into the system.
• Update security checks: Keep updating the system with new and strong security measures.

All these measures help make a better system with improved security and data integrity.