For any software designing, the importance of application security is increasing day by day. Application security is nothing but a general practice of minimizing the vulnerabilities to your software that helps to create an immune against the external cyber threats.
To better protect your application, first and foremost, you need to implement a secure SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) for software development. Secondly, you have to be aware of the current top 10 OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) vulnerabilities that are globally recognized. In addition, along with the implementation of secure application design and architecture, the secure coding practices for the validation, authentication, and authorization is something to take into account.
Next, do use App scan, Fortify WebInspect to conduct various tests like SAST (Static Application Security Testing), DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing). Last but not least, rate the severity of defects and publish comprehensive reports regarding the associated risks and mitigations of vulnerabilities. The most important step to achieve a secure application is the deployment of all the procedures and its maintenance.