The BioTech industry is all about pushing boundaries: understanding diseases, developing new treatments, and generally making the world a better place. But while BioTech companies are busy pushing what’s possible in healthcare, cybercriminals are just as busy figuring out how to steal research, mess with clinical trials, or expose patient data for their benefit.
If you’re a developer, engineering manager, or security-conscious tech leader in BioTech, you already know security matters. What you might not know is how easy it is for one bad dependency, unsecure API, or overlooked vulnerability to unravel years of work. So, let’s cut through the noise and talk about why software security in BioTech isn’t optional, but it can be manageable.
What Makes BioTech Companies a Prime Target
You might not think of BioTech as a juicy target for cybercriminals, but consider this:
- Your intellectual property is worth a fortune. A leaked drug formula or clinical trial result could hand your competitors (or nation-state actors) an unearned advantage.
- You’re handling highly sensitive data like patient health records, genetic data, and clinical trial info. If it gets out, it’s not just a PR disaster, it’s a compliance nightmare.
- Regulations aren’t optional. BioTech companies must comply with HIPAA, GDPR, FDA software guidelines, and more, and they come with hefty fines if you mess up.
- Attacks are increasing. Ransomware, supply chain attacks, API exploits, and more are real threats, and poor security practices make it easier for them to succeed.
The Practical (Not Paranoid) Approach to BioTech Software Security
You can’t eliminate all risk, but you can make life a lot harder for attackers. Here’s where to start:
1. Build Security into Development (Not as an Afterthought)
Security isn’t a QA box to check at the last minute. Shift security left by embedding security testing into your Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC). That means:
- Threat modeling early to anticipate attack vectors before they become problems.
- Code reviews with security in mind, because no one wants an SQL injection surprise.
- Automated security testing to catch vulnerabilities before they hit production.
2. Encrypt Everything (Because Plaintext is for Amateurs)
Whether it’s patient records, research data, or API requests, use strong encryption (AES-256 for storage, TLS 1.2+ for transmission). Think if an attacker gets in, your job is to make their job miserable.
3. Control Access (Because Not Everyone Needs the Keys)
Follow the principle of least privilege. If someone doesn’t absolutely need access, they shouldn’t have it. This means using multi-factor authentication (MFA) and implementing role-based access control (RBAC). Your intern doesn’t need access to your entire database, and while MFA might seem annoying, getting hacked is worse.
4. Patch and Update (Because Ignoring Vulnerabilities is a Bad Strategy)
Automate dependency scanning. Open source components are great, until they introduce security holes. Use Software Composition Analysis (SCA) to stay ahead. In addition, regularly update third-party components. If you’re running ancient libraries, you’re an easy target. The good news is that once you’ve implemented an application security platform and are over the initial cliff of finding a bunch of issues and resolving them, software becomes much easier to secure and maintain over time.
5. Secure Your APIs (Because They’re a Hacker’s Playground)
APIs connect everything in BioTech, but they’re also a major attack surface. Use authentication and authorization properly, rate-limit requests to prevent abuse, and validate all inputs. If you don’t, attackers will inject garbage until something breaks.
6. Plan for the Worst (Because Hope Isn’t a Security Strategy)
Have an incident response plan. If or when something goes wrong, you need a playbook. Log everything because if you don’t have logs, you’re blind, and regular audits are essential to make sure the processes and systems in place are actually working.
Application Security: The Worst Part to Ignore
Your BioTech applications are high-value targets, whether they manage clinical trials, store research data, or facilitate diagnostics. Securing them means:
- Running Static and Dynamic Application Security Testing (SAST and DAST). Catch vulnerabilities before attackers do.
- Monitoring dependencies with SCA. Open source is great for efficiency and innovation, but outdated libraries introduce risk and new vulnerabilities are being discovered constantly. Setup automated, continuous scanning of live applications and real-time, pipeline-integrated scanning of software as it’s being developed, and include scanning in your automated tests before commits, to ensure every stage of software development has the proper application security checks in place, and to remove the need to rely on individuals to start scans, or decide when and what needs to be scanned.
- Securing your containers. Misconfigured containers are like an open invitation to hackers, and are becoming an increasingly important part of application security.
Take BioTech Software Security from Daunting to Doable
Software security doesn’t have to slow you down, but ignoring it will. By doing things like securing your code early, keeping dependencies updated, securing your APIs, and having a solid issue resolution and incident response plan, you can reduce software risk without stopping your business operations, including new product development and sales.
SOOS provides a developer-friendly, practical application security platform that integrates effortlessly with existing tools and provides unmatched coverage. Its patented deep-tree scanning technology detects vulnerabilities other tools can’t, while an intuitive interface, unlimited scanning, and dedicated customer support make security easy to adapt to your business and environment. With transparent pricing and ongoing platform improvements based on user feedback, SOOS delivers reliable, hassle-free application security tech companies love. Try it for free today.
