SEC06-03 Implementing White-Box Code Reviews

White-box code review is a software quality assurance method that checks the internal structure, logic, and implementation details of source code to ensure that the code complies with best practices, programming specifications, and security standards. In white-box code review, team members check the quality, security, and readability of the code to identify potential issues and improvement opportunities.

• Risk level

  Medium

• Key strategies
  1. Develop a review plan:
     1. Determine the review frequency and schedule to ensure that code review is a continuous activity.
     2. Determine the review scope, for example, new code snippets (reviewed each time they are submitted), new functions (reviewed when a function is completed), or large-scale code (reviewed periodically).
  2. Train team members:
     1. Provide training to ensure that team members understand how to perform effective code review.
     2. Ensure that the team understands the purpose and importance of code review, and how to identify common issues and potential security vulnerabilities. It is recommended that the top issues be sorted into a list for self-check by developers and reviews by others.
  3. Select proper tools:
     1. Use code review tools, such as static code analysis tools, to help identify potential issues.
     2. Ensure that the team is familiar with and can effectively use these tools.
  4. Set clear standards and guidelines:
     1. Develop clear code review standards and guidelines so that reviewers can consistently assess code quality.
     2. Focus on security.
  5. Assign roles and responsibilities:
     1. Determine code reviewers, such as developers, architects, and security experts.
     2. Ensure that each team member understands their roles and responsibilities for code reviews.
  6. Record review results:
     1. Record the findings, suggestions, and decisions after a review for future follow-up and improvement.
     2. Ensure that issues are properly tracked and resolved.
  7. Encourage cooperation and discussion:
     1. Encourage team members to cooperate and discuss with each other, and share their experience and opinions to improve the review quality.
     2. Create an open atmosphere, so that team members can raise questions and suggestions to promote joint learning and growth.
  8. Make continuous improvement:
     1. Regularly assess the code review process, collect feedback, and make necessary adjustments and improvements.
     2. Focus on improving review efficiency and quality to ensure that the team continuously improves code quality and security.