<s>
Software	B-Application
security	I-Application
assurance	I-Application
is	O
a	O
process	O
that	O
helps	O
design	O
and	O
implement	O
software	O
that	O
protects	O
the	O
data	B-General_Concept
and	O
resources	B-General_Concept
contained	O
in	O
and	O
controlled	O
by	O
that	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
Security	I-Application
Assurance	I-Application
(	O
SSA	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
ensuring	O
that	O
software	O
is	O
designed	O
to	O
operate	O
at	O
a	O
level	O
of	O
security	O
that	O
is	O
consistent	O
with	O
the	O
potential	O
harm	O
that	O
could	O
result	O
from	O
the	O
loss	O
,	O
inaccuracy	O
,	O
alteration	O
,	O
unavailability	O
,	O
or	O
misuse	O
of	O
the	O
data	B-General_Concept
and	O
resources	B-General_Concept
that	O
it	O
uses	O
,	O
controls	O
,	O
and	O
protects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	B-Application
security	I-Application
assurance	I-Application
process	O
begins	O
by	O
identifying	O
and	O
categorizing	O
the	O
information	O
that	O
is	O
to	O
be	O
contained	O
in	O
,	O
or	O
used	O
by	O
,	O
the	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
a	O
top	O
category	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
the	O
impact	O
may	O
pose	O
a	O
threat	O
to	O
human	O
life	O
;	O
may	O
have	O
an	O
irreparable	O
impact	O
on	O
software	O
owner	O
's	O
missions	O
,	O
functions	O
,	O
image	O
,	O
or	O
reputation	O
;	O
or	O
may	O
result	O
in	O
the	O
loss	O
of	O
significant	O
assets	O
or	O
resources	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
security	O
requirements	O
should	O
address	O
access	O
control	O
,	O
including	O
network	B-Architecture
access	O
and	O
physical	O
access	O
;	O
data	B-General_Concept
management	O
and	O
data	B-General_Concept
access	O
;	O
environmental	O
controls	O
(	O
power	O
,	O
air	O
conditioning	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
important	O
point	O
about	O
non-conformance	O
is	O
that	O
verification	B-Application
and	I-Application
validation	I-Application
techniques	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
detect	O
them	O
and	O
security	O
assurance	O
techniques	O
are	O
designed	O
to	O
prevent	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Improvements	O
in	O
these	O
methods	O
,	O
through	O
a	O
software	B-Application
security	I-Application
assurance	I-Application
program	O
,	O
can	O
improve	O
the	O
security	O
of	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
two	O
basic	O
types	O
of	O
Software	B-Application
Security	I-Application
Assurance	I-Application
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Others	O
focus	O
on	O
ensuring	O
the	O
control	O
and	O
protection	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
support	O
tools	O
and	O
data	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
a	O
minimum	O
,	O
a	O
software	B-Application
security	I-Application
assurance	I-Application
program	O
should	O
ensure	O
that	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
configuration	B-General_Concept
management	I-General_Concept
and	O
corrective	O
action	O
process	O
is	O
in	O
place	O
to	O
provide	O
security	O
for	O
the	O
existing	O
software	O
and	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
any	O
proposed	O
changes	O
do	O
not	O
inadvertently	O
create	O
security	O
violations	O
or	O
vulnerabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Improving	O
the	O
software	O
development	O
process	O
and	O
building	O
better	O
software	O
are	O
ways	O
to	O
improve	O
software	B-Application
security	I-Application
,	O
by	O
producing	O
software	O
with	O
fewer	O
defects	O
and	O
vulnerabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
approach	O
helps	O
to	O
focus	O
scarce	O
security	O
resources	B-General_Concept
on	O
the	O
most	O
critical	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
many	O
commercial	O
off-the-shelf	O
(	O
COTS	O
)	O
software	O
packages	O
that	O
are	O
available	O
to	O
support	O
software	B-Application
security	I-Application
assurance	I-Application
activities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
way	O
to	O
improve	O
software	B-Application
security	I-Application
is	O
to	O
gain	O
a	O
better	O
understanding	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
common	O
weaknesses	O
that	O
can	O
affect	O
software	B-Application
security	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Logic	O
analysis	O
evaluates	O
the	O
equations	O
,	O
algorithms	O
,	O
and	O
control	B-General_Concept
logic	I-General_Concept
of	O
the	O
software	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Data	B-General_Concept
analysis	O
evaluates	O
the	O
description	O
and	O
intended	O
usage	O
of	O
each	O
data	B-General_Concept
item	O
used	O
in	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
software	O
component	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
interrupts	O
and	O
their	O
effect	O
on	O
data	B-General_Concept
should	O
receive	O
special	O
attention	O
to	O
ensure	O
interrupt	O
handling	O
routines	O
do	O
not	O
alter	O
critical	O
data	B-General_Concept
used	O
by	O
other	O
routines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Interface	B-Application
analysis	O
verifies	O
the	O
proper	O
design	O
of	O
a	O
software	O
component	O
's	O
interfaces	B-Application
with	O
other	O
components	O
of	O
the	O
system	O
,	O
including	O
computer	B-Architecture
hardware	I-Architecture
,	O
software	O
,	O
and	O
end-users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
restrictions	O
may	O
include	O
timing	O
,	O
sizing	O
,	O
and	O
throughput	O
constraints	O
,	O
input	O
and	O
output	O
data	B-General_Concept
limitations	O
,	O
equation	O
and	O
algorithm	O
limitations	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
design	O
limitations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
material	O
may	O
be	O
as	O
informal	O
as	O
pseudo-code	B-Language
or	O
hand-written	O
documentation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Software	B-Application
security	I-Application
testing	O
,	O
which	O
includes	O
penetration	O
testing	O
,	O
confirms	O
the	O
results	O
of	O
design	O
and	O
code	O
analysis	O
,	O
investigates	O
software	O
behaviour	O
,	O
and	O
verifies	O
that	O
the	O
software	O
complies	O
with	O
security	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
