An increasing number of organizations are using DevOps to improve enterprise applications’ development, deployment, and maintenance. DevOps is a positive step, but it can introduce security risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new approach, called DevSecOps, helps identify and mitigate these issues early in the development lifecycle by incorporating security into the DevOps process. However, several impediments remain between the security and development teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See Also: Cloud Application Security Guide with Best Practices<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of the competitive nature of software development, organizations require lightning-fast delivery speeds to remain competitive. Fast delivery times can cause DevOps and SecOps teams to split up. Some developers are solely concerned with application development and do not consider security one of their primary responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It mostly leaves the SecOps teams to scan for vulnerabilities in the production environment later. But it is everyone’s responsibility to shift the mindset to security to move security to the forefront of the building process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One way to protect applications from attacks is to protect themselves by detecting and blocking attacks in real-time. Real-time blocking is precisely what technology called Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See Also: Cloud Security Checklist<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime implementation self-protection (RASP) is a relatively new approach. However, it can help close the gap, providing runtime-level protection, peace of mind, and information to developers about vulnerable lines of code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article provides an overview of Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) and what it is all about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) is a technology that runs on a server and kicks in when an application is running. RASP is designed to detect attacks against an application in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once an application is running, RASP can protect it from malicious input or behavior by analyzing the application’s behavior and the context of that behavior. By using the application to monitor its behavior constantly, attacks can be instantly identified and mitigated without human intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) incorporates security into a running application wherever it resides on a server. It intercepts all calls from the application to a system, ensuring they are secure and verifying data requests directly within the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both web and non-web applications can be protected by RASP. Because the detection and protection features of RASP run on the server where the application is running, the technology does not affect the application’s design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a security event occurs in an application, RASP takes control of the application and fixes the problem. RASP will only generate an alarm that something is wrong in diagnostic mode. In protection mode, it will attempt to resolve the issue. For example, it can prevent the execution of instructions to the database, which looks like a SQL injection attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other actions that RASP can take include ending a user’s session, stopping the execution of an application, or alerting the user or security personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Software developers can access RASP technology through function calls in an application’s source code or take a completed application and put RASP in a wrapper that enables the application to be secured with the push of a button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See Also: Best Practices for Cloud Security<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The first approach is more accurate because developers can specify which parts of the application they want to protect, such as logins, database queries, and administrative functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever method is used with RASP, the result is like equipping a web application firewall with the application’s runtime context. This close connection to the application means that RASP can be more fine-tuned to the application’s security needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The primary capabilities of Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) analyzes the behavior and context of a web or non-web application when it is integrated, protecting the software from malicious input. RASP assists in identifying and mitigating attacks in real-time without the need for human intervention by constantly monitoring its behavior through the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) software integrates with the runtime environment of the application and works with it wherever it is located or created, such as a server, virtual machine, container, or serverless function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, the detection and protection features of RASP do not affect the architecture, design, and implementation of the application. RASP ensures that vulnerabilities are not exploited by examining all requests at a specific, strategic stack location in the application. It also validates data requests directly within the application. As a result, it is easy to provide runtime protection inside the application that protects it from threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Traditional security tools, such as virtual private networks (VPNs), web application firewalls, and network access controls (NACs), can be time-consuming to configure, and developers are frequently excluded from these configurations. RASP is a straightforward way for developers to participate in the security process and protect the applications they create at runtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This means that authenticated users have extensive network access, increasing the scope of the compromised area and enabling wide-ranging breaches. RASP can help protect the application even when malicious people infiltrate firewalls and other perimeter software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RASP blocks attacks as they happen, but you can configure it to flag attacks. Flagging and generating alarms rather than preventing attacks is especially important when usability is a significant concern. It works by defining rules or policies that determine what to block or allow. That’s why you need to define these policies to avoid blocking legitimate traffic properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) is unique because it runs from within the software, not as a network device. This enables RASP to take advantage of all contextual information available within the running application or API, such as the code, framework configuration, application server configuration, libraries and frameworks, runtime data flow, backend connections, and more. More context means more protection and better accuracy. More context indicates more excellent security and better accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) distinguishes itself from other cybersecurity solutions by focusing on a single application. Because of this focus, it can provide several security benefits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) and Web Application Firewall (WAF) are complementary application security solutions. WAF provides the first line of defense by filtering many threats to web applications before they reach the target application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n See Also: An In-Depth Look at Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n RASP uses the context of profound visibility into these applications to identify and block swarming attacks by the Web Application Firewall. This combination protects against more sophisticated threats while minimizing the impact of easily detectable attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) has some similarities to traditional firewalls. For example, it examines traffic and content and can terminate sessions. However, firewalls are a perimeter technology, and they cannot see what is going on inside the perimeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat is Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) Works<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What Are the Benefits of Runtime Application Self Protection (RASP)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Reasons to Use Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) Solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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How RASP and WAF Complement Each Other to Increase Security?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n