ISO 27001 Application Security and Secure Development Audit Checklist for Financial Services

A detailed audit checklist for assessing and improving application security and secure development practices in financial services organizations, ensuring alignment with ISO 27001 standards and addressing industry-specific requirements for securing digital financial services and applications.

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About This Checklist

In the rapidly evolving landscape of financial technology, ensuring the security of applications and implementing secure development practices are crucial for protecting sensitive financial data and maintaining customer trust. The ISO 27001 Application Security and Secure Development Audit Checklist for Financial Services is a vital tool for assessing and enhancing an organization's approach to building and maintaining secure financial applications. This comprehensive checklist addresses key aspects of application security, from secure coding practices and vulnerability management to secure API integration and mobile app security. By implementing robust application security measures and secure development lifecycle processes, financial institutions can mitigate risks associated with application vulnerabilities, prevent data breaches, and ensure the integrity of their digital financial services.

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Industry

Financial Services

Standard

ISO/IEC 27001 - Information Security Management

Workspaces

Financial Institutions
Software Development Offices
Office Buildings

Occupations

Application Security Specialist
Secure Software Developer
DevSecOps Engineer
Information Security Auditor
Quality Assurance Tester
1
Are secure coding practices being followed in the development processes?
2
How frequently are vulnerability assessments conducted on the applications?
Min: 1
Target: Monthly
Max: 12
3
Describe the incident response procedures in place for application security breaches.
4
Is the API security compliance with industry standards being maintained?
5
Is application-level encryption implemented for sensitive data?
6
Is the development framework being used compliant with security best practices?
7
What percentage of the code is reviewed for security flaws?
Min: 0
Target: 100
Max: 100
8
When was the last security training conducted for the development team?
9
Describe the threat modeling practices employed during the software development lifecycle.
10
Is post-deployment security testing performed on applications?
11
Is multi-factor authentication (MFA) implemented for all user accounts?
12
What is the average response time to security incidents (in hours)?
Min: 0
Target: 1
Max: 72
13
Describe the data protection strategies employed to safeguard sensitive financial information.
14
How often are penetration tests conducted on applications?
15
When was the last security audit conducted?
16
Is the application security policy being adhered to by the development teams?
17
What is the average time taken to remediate identified security vulnerabilities (in days)?
Min: 0
Target: 3
Max: 30
18
Describe the security training programs provided to the development team.
19
Is Static Application Security Testing (SAST) utilized during the development process?
20
When was the last code security review conducted?
21
Is data encryption implemented for data at rest?
22
How frequently are security patches applied to applications?
Min: 1
Target: Monthly
Max: 30
23
Describe the incident management process for handling security incidents.
24
Is there a security assessment process in place for third-party vendors?
25
When was the last application security assessment conducted?

FAQs

The checklist covers secure coding practices, application vulnerability assessment, secure software development lifecycle (SDLC), third-party component security, API security, mobile application security, secure configuration management, and application-level encryption implementation.

It includes specific items for evaluating the security of modern fintech applications, such as microservices architecture security, containerization security, serverless function security, and blockchain application security considerations.

The checklist emphasizes secure API design, implementation of strong authentication and authorization mechanisms for APIs, API rate limiting and throttling, input validation, and secure handling of sensitive financial data in API responses.

It includes items for assessing the integration of security into the DevOps pipeline, such as automated security testing in CI/CD processes, infrastructure-as-code security, and the use of security orchestration and automated response (SOAR) tools in application development and deployment.

Comprehensive audits should be conducted at least annually, with more frequent assessments for critical applications or those handling sensitive financial data. Additionally, security reviews should be performed at key stages of the application development lifecycle and after significant updates or changes to the application architecture.

Benefits of ISO 27001 Application Security and Secure Development Audit Checklist for Financial Services

Ensures compliance with ISO 27001 application security requirements and financial industry standards

Reduces the risk of security vulnerabilities in financial applications

Enhances protection of sensitive financial data processed by applications

Improves overall security posture of digital banking and fintech services

Facilitates faster and more secure deployment of new financial applications and features