60 Percent of Developers Don

60 Percent of Developers Don't Trust the Security of their Applications

New research suggests that attacks based on open source code vulnerabilities will increase by 20 percent this year.

  • By Joe McCann
  • Jan 11, 2018

60 percent of developers aren’t confident in the security of their applications, and only 31 percent feel confident that their code doesn’t contain vulnerabilities, according to a new joint developer survey from NodeSource and Sqreen.

Enterprises are increasingly turning to open source tools like Node.js to save time and money while creating higher quality applications. According to Forrester, more than 76 percent of developers are currently using open source technology “at some level.”[1]

Yet, this enthusiastic adoption is not without risks. New research suggests that attacks based on open source code vulnerabilities will increase by 20 percent this year.[2]

While the developer community fully understands the risks of operating in the open internet and the complexities of building reliable, secure code, these same developers are not taking advantage of tools that can identify and mitigate threats. 

Surprisingly, fewer than a third of developers combine manual and automatic code reviews to search for flaws, or use automated tools to discover vulnerable modules. And a full 40 percent don’t check if there are known vulnerabilities in their third-party dependencies.

“Our survey results clearly demonstrate that security is a concern for developers — but not a priority,” said Joe McCann, CEO of NodeSource.

Only 35 percent of companies with fewer than 1,000 employees combine both code reviews and automated tools to check for vulnerabilities. Larger organizations make this more of a priority, with 62 percent saying they do both.

Prevention is a key piece of the security puzzle, but identification and remediation of attacks are also critical. Shockingly, the vast majority of the developers (79 percent) have poor to no insight into when their applications are under attack. And fewer than a quarter of Node.js developers use any form of real-time protection against attacks.

“Node is revolutionizing development for enterprises, but there is a lot of work to do to ensure the ecosystem remains secure,” said Jean-Baptiste Aviat, Co-Founder and CTO of Sqreen. “Developers have a wide array of security tools at their disposal that they are simply not using. We have more work to do evangelizing the importance of security tools for the health of the Node ecosystem.”

About the Author

Joe McCann is the Founder and CEO of NodeSource.

Featured

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services

  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

  • Report: Nearly 1 in 5 Healthcare Leaders Say Cyberattacks Have Impacted Patient Care

    Omega Systems, a provider of managed IT and security services, today released new research that reveals the growing impact of cybersecurity challenges on leading healthcare organizations and patient safety. According to the 2025 Healthcare IT Landscape Report, 19% of healthcare leaders say a cyberattack has already disrupted patient care, and more than half (52%) believe a fatal cyber-related incident is inevitable within the next five years. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems V07

    Automatic Systems, an industry-leading manufacturer of pedestrian and vehicle secure entrance control access systems, is pleased to announce the release of its groundbreaking V07 software. The V07 software update is designed specifically to address cybersecurity concerns and will ensure the integrity and confidentiality of Automatic Systems applications. With the new V07 software, updates will be delivered by means of an encrypted file.