Security Engineering

You can't beat a skilled security tester when it comes to discovering vulnerabilities in an application's business logic or chaining multiple weaknesses together. Sometimes you also need proof from an independent third party about the security posture of your product. Our experienced security testers will test your web application, mobile application, embedded software in IoT devices, or hardware. We assess the application security against specified criteria, such as OWASP top 10, Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS), Mobile Application Security Verification Standard (MASVS), or other industry best practices and hardening guidelines. The assessment can also include a source code security review.

Our security assessment approach combines state-of-the-art testing tools, examining source code, and the security testing know-how of our professionals. You will get:

• Expert analysis of the discovered and verified vulnerabilities, together with a criticality estimate. All our security reports are delivered and explained to you by real people –not robots.
• Mitigation instructions.
• Improvement recommendations to prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future.

We scale the testing based on the size of your system and the risk level: it suits any application, from a simple website to a critical banking system.

Our security assessment approach also keeps up with your agile development. We can test in multiple stages and continue supporting you to develop and verify mitigations with repeated tests. Contact us so we can help you scope the right kind of security assessment for your needs.

Threat modeling is one of the earliest things you can do to improve the security of software. Before a single line of code is written, our skilled professionals can help you discover serious security and privacy problems using threat modeling techniques. This will help you avoid costly alterations to the features or architecture in later phases of software development, and help you avoid making insecure integrations with third-party services.

Our threat modeling approach combines several threat modeling techniques, such as discovering architecture threats with STRIDE, privacy threats with LINDDUN, and feature-related weaknesses with evil user stories. We always consider both the technology as well as the processes, such as maintenance and account management, behind the system. Depending on the size of the application or system, we will arrange one or several threat modeling workshops, where our threat modeling experts facilitate the initial discovery of threats together with software developers, testers, product owners, and other required stakeholders.

Threat modeling will help you find weaknesses early and discover threats from processes that cannot be assessed with security assessments or penetration tests. Threat modeling also helps you scope the most critical things to test with security assessments or penetrations tests. With our threat modeling service, you will get:

• A threat analysis report with discovered threats, possible consequences, and recommended mitigations.
• Risk estimates for the discovered threats. The risk estimation is done together with your organization's relevant business stakeholders.
• Insight into the security status of the system in a relatively short time.

Threat modeling can be applied to both the software and services you are developing or which you are planning to purchase. We can also analyze threats from processes, such as a software development pipeline, or from larger systems or business functions. Contact us for more information.

Building security into software begins with design and coding. We help you improve software development methods by introducing new security-enhancing elements in existing development methods, such as Scrum. These elements can be tailored to your needs. Some of the security practices we have introduced in the past include:

• threat modeling workshops
• exploratory code security reviews
• developer coaching in secure coding and design practices.

A dedicated software developer can also work on your project. We provide internal support and guidance for the whole development team, sparring with the team to ensure a secure delivery. Secure software development is provided as a continuous service. It steers the developers through a single project's information security issues and improves their architectural solutions and software development processes. Individual projects can be supported by assessing the maturity of the developer team's security solutions and practices. These assessments provide observations that are also relevant to your organisation's other development projects.

Do you want to embed security into your software development lifecycle, but you aren’t sure where to begin? Our Road to DevSecOps service is the perfect fit for you.

We will start with a current state review from two perspectives: processes and technology. Based on your strengths and existing tool stack, we will create a DevSecOps roadmap for you, with prioritized next steps. We will help you transform your DevOps into DevSecOps with actionable steps. With our DevSecOps experts' structured evaluation approach, you will get:

• A maturity review of your current processes in development, testing, and DevSecOps practices. You will learn how your organization is doing compared to others within the industry.
• Evaluation of your existing tools for security automation and orchestration.
• Code scanning proof-of-value to explore the effectiveness of static application security testing (SAST) for your applications.
• Recommendations for an optimized tool stack.
• A development roadmap with prioritized next steps.

Our professionals have experience in software development, test automation, and information security. We will help you secure your development lifecycle. Contact us for more information.

When applications are developed fast, sometimes speed is the enemy of quality and security. What about the server software you just purchased? Is it free from plaguing security vulnerabilities that can cause you expensive downtime? And does your IT service provider install security fixes swiftly after they have been released?

We measure your environments' threat exposure from an information security point of view. We translate technical vulnerability data to executive decisions on information security.

Our vulnerability scans are continuous and automated. You will get:

• Expert analysis of current vulnerabilities and mitigation recommendations. 
• Information on how resilient your information systems and networks are against common threats.
• Information on the effectiveness of the vulnerability management process as a whole: How quickly are your vulnerabilities getting fixed?

By applying continuous scans for applications and computing platforms accessible via the internet (or internal network), your organization can rest assured that most obvious software vulnerabilities are discovered and reported. Continuous scanning significantly reduces the probability of production failures and other disturbances. Timely reporting ensures that responsible parties can execute prioritized remedial actions over your most critical computing assets.

Our service covers the scanning technology and its maintenance, including required licenses, regular vulnerability scans of the selected applications’ IT infrastructure platforms, reports on the results, and 24/7 support and a support center contact point. Contact us for more information.
 

Organizations invest in defensive security measures to protect their business. But are those effective? And how well can an organization protect its most valuable assets?

Nixu's red team tests how well the combination of people, tools, and processes work together in practice when facing a targeted attack. Think of it as a fire drill for your organization's security team to measure detection capabilities and response times. 

Nixu's red team utilizes the MITRE ATT&CK and TIBER-EU frameworks when conducting red teaming exercises. The frameworks characterize and describe adversary behavior, tools, techniques, and tactics used during targeted attacks. It also provides transparency during the red team exercise, revealing the utilized attack techniques and identifying gaps in the organization's security defenses. 

As an outcome of a red teaming exercise, your organization gets:

• Invaluable insight into your detection and response capabilities when facing a targeted attack.
• An overview of the weak points in your security controls and processes.
• Detailed recommendations on how to improve your security. 
• A full insight into the performed attacks to maximize your learning opportunity.

Nixu tailors the red teaming exercise to your organization's specific needs and the threats you are facing. Please contact us to further discuss how we can help improve your security.

To support your various application and product development models, we offer security verification from traditional web applications assessments to automated vulnerability scanning services and bug bounty programs. Our Security Engineering experts can also help you to assess the required level security and support your developers improving application and product security. This enables you to ensure that security improvement costs are directed where they are most needed. We also conduct audits in accordance with a multitude of information security standards, recommendations and requirements.

Most organizations have an increasing number of applications and servers to serve customers, partners, and employees, creating a complex environment to manage. A private bug bounty program will assess your security with a black-box view, like a cybercriminal looking for the weakest points.  A bug bounty program does not entirely replace the need for more traditional assessments or security engineering work. However, it cost-effectively complements them and helps you improve security in an agile manner.

We will set up the bug bounty program for you. We work together with the leading bug bounty platforms, and our expert team helps define the digital boundaries where external hackers are allowed to operate. Our professional bug hunters, with proven skills and track records, will search your systems for anything that a malicious actor could use. Once a weakness is found and confirmed, we report it and help you fix the flaw.

Contact us for more information about our bug-hunting services.