Share

In the world of Node.js, application development, speed, flexibility, and scalability are critical for modern software development. However, the risk of vulnerabilities and security breaches looms with the increasing reliance on open-source Node packages. NCM (NodeSource Certified Modules) is the next-generation security solution that empowers Node.js developers to safeguard their applications easily and confidently.

This article will explore how NCM, a key N|Solid platform feature, revolutionizes how Node.js applications are secured, offering advanced security features, enhanced visibility, and peace of mind. Get ready to unleash the power of NCM and take your Node.js applications to new heights of security and reliability with N|Solid.

__Image 1 - Security Vulnerabilities in N|Solid View __

Don't miss out on this opportunity to try N|Solid for free and unlock the full potential of your Node.js applications.✍️ Sign up now and take your monitoring to the next level!

What is N|Solid?

__Image 2 - N|Solid Product View __

N|Solid provides enhanced security for Node.js applications in production environments. It is built on top of the Node.js runtime. It provides a secure environment for running Node.js applications and advanced features such as worker threads monitoring, memory leak detection, and CPU profiling. We have +15 features in our product, including OpenTelemetry support, SBOM integration, and Machine Learning capabilities. Discover More HERE ‘Top 10 N|Solid —APM for Node— features you needed to use’ - HERE: 🔗👉 nsrc.io/TopNSolidFeatures.

N|Solid offers many benefits over the standard Node.js runtime, including improved security through features like runtime vulnerability scanning, access control, and enhanced monitoring capabilities that allow developers to identify and address issues in real-time.

N|Solid is well-suited for enterprise applications requiring high performance, scalability, and security levels. It is widely used in finance, healthcare, and e-commerce. It is developed and maintained by NodeSource, a company specializing in enterprise-grade Node.js solutions.

In the previous section, we discussed N|Solid as a solution that provides enhanced security for Node.js applications in production environments. Let's discuss the difference between NSolid Console, N|Solid Runtime, and N|Solid SaaS. It's important to differentiate between these components for several reasons, including functionality, user experience, and flexibility.

What is the difference between NSolid Console, N|Solid Runtime, and N|Solid SaaS?

Differentiating between the Console, Runtime, and SaaS setup in N|Solid is essential for a few reasons: functionality, user experience, and flexibility.

Users can deploy N|Solid in multiple ways, including using the N|Solid Console, N|Solid Runtime, or N|Solid SaaS setup, depending on their requirements and infrastructure setup. It is essential to provide distinct functionalities to enhance user experience and offer flexibility in deployment options, allowing scalability, customization, and integration with existing workflows. Here's a brief description of each:

• N|Solid Runtime is the runtime environment for Node.js applications. It includes a modified version of the Node.js runtime, enhanced with additional security, monitoring, and debugging features. These features include advanced profiling and tracing capabilities, heap and CPU profiling, and runtime vulnerability scanning. 🔗👉 https://bit.ly/NSolidRuntime-npm

__Image 3 - N|Solid Runtime Installation __

• N|Solid Console, on the other hand, is a web-based dashboard that provides a graphical user interface for monitoring and managing Node.js applications running on N|Solid Runtime. It lets users view their applications' real-time metrics and performance data, monitor resource utilization, and set alerts for specific events or thresholds. N|Solid Console also provides features for managing user access and permissions, configuring application settings, and integrating with third-party tools and services. It can manage multiple N|Solid Runtimes across a distributed environment, making it ideal for large-scale enterprise deployments. 🔗👉 https://nsrc.io/NSolidConsole

__Image 4 - N|Solid Console Overview __

• N|Solid SaaS: N|Solid also offers a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) setup so users can leverage N|Solid's enhanced security and performance features without managing their own infrastructure. With N|Solid SaaS, users can simply sign up for a subscription and use N|Solid's features through a cloud-based service without needing on-premises installation or maintenance. 🔗👉 https://nsrc.io/NSolidSaaS

__Image 5 - N|Solid SaaS Overview __

N|Solid offers multiple deployment options; these components provide distinct functionalities, user experiences, and deployment flexibilities, catering to the diverse needs of enterprise Node.js applications.

But, What about NCM?

NodeSource Certified Modules (NCM) is another product developed by NodeSource that provides you and your teams with actionable insights into the risk levels of using third-party packages. Using a series of tests, we score packages on npm to look for several weighted criteria. With NCM CLI, you can scan your projects for existing security vulnerabilities, license concerns, code risk, and code quality. This helps you understand the level of risk exposure and how to mitigate it. NodeSource Certified Modules (NCM) also work in offline mode. Explore Further ‘Avoiding npm substitution attacks using NCM’ HERE 🔗👉https://nsrc.io/AvoidAttackswithNCM

__Image 6 - NCM CLI Report __

NodeSource Certified Modules (NCM) is a security, compliance, and curation tool around the 3rd-Party Node.js & JavaScript package ecosystem. It is designed to be used with npm to provide protection against known security vulnerabilities and potential license compliance issues and provide general quality or risk assessment information to improve your ability to work with the 3rd-Party ecosystem.

Since the release of N|Solid 4.1.0, we have consolidated NCM into a single product with NCM’s features being pulled into N|Solid Runtime, N|Solid SaaS, and the N|Solid Console for optimal user experience. It also provides alerts and notifications when new vulnerabilities are discovered in modules used by an organization's applications and helps users quickly identify and remediate any potential security risks.NCM is a valuable tool for organizations that rely on Node.js and open-source modules, helping to ensure that their applications are secure, reliable, and compliant with industry standards and regulations.

NCM now assesses packages based on multiple attributes: security, compliance, risk, and quality. These attributes are combined to generate an overall risk level for each package, providing valuable insights to manage third-party code in your Node.js applications effectively. With NCM's scoring system, you can:

• Manage acceptable risk levels: NCM helps you assess the risk associated with third-party packages by providing an overall risk level for each package. This allows you to make informed decisions about the level of risk you are willing to accept in your application.
• Understand security vulnerabilities: NCM identifies and highlights security vulnerabilities in third-party modules, allowing you to understand the severity of the vulnerabilities and take appropriate actions to address them in your code.
• Manage license and compliance risks: NCM helps you identify potential license and compliance risks introduced by third-party modules, ensuring that your application adheres to licensing requirements and compliance standards.
• Identify potential risk vectors: NCM goes beyond known security vulnerabilities and identifies potential risks that may not have surfaced in security vulnerabilities yet. This helps you proactively identify and address potential risks in your code.
• Improve code quality: NCM provides insights into quality attributes that align with best practices, helping you improve the quality of your code and make it more manageable and secure.

Together, these attributes in NCM's scoring system (security, compliance, risk, and quality.) provide a comprehensive assessment of third-party packages, enabling you to effectively manage and secure your Node.js applications by addressing security vulnerabilities, managing compliance risks, assessing package risk, and provides insights to improve code quality. Find Out More about ‘Vulnerability Scanning & 3rd-Party Modules Certification’- HERE 🔗👉 nsrc.io/VulnerabilityScanningNS

The Importance of Node.js Application Security

Selecting the right tools and applications for your developer pipeline requires careful consideration of your team's workflow and project needs. This might involve assessing your tech stack, deployment processes, and the number of steps in your pipeline and identifying areas where guardrails can be implemented to improve security and reliability.

__Image 7 - NCM Criteria __

Fortunately, numerous tools and applications are available to assist in managing your pipeline and ensuring the security and compliance of your applications. One powerful tool in this regard is NCM (NodeSource Certified Modules). NCM is a comprehensive security, compliance, and curation tool that offers advanced capabilities for managing dependencies in Node.js applications. By integrating NCM into your pipeline, you can effortlessly scan for vulnerabilities, track package dependencies, and ensure compliance with licensing requirements.

NCM enables you to elevate your pipeline to the next level, enhancing your application's performance, reliability, and security while safeguarding against SUPPLY CHAIN ATTACKS. With the consolidation of NCM into N|Solid, you can now seamlessly access these powerful capabilities through the N|Solid Console for a streamlined user experience.

• Note: Supply chain attacks are a type of cyber attack that targets the weakest link in a software supply chain. Instead of directly attacking a target, hackers infiltrate a trusted third-party vendor, supplier, or service provider to gain access to their customer's systems and data. This allows the attackers to distribute malicious code or compromise software updates, which can then infect the entire supply chain and cause widespread damage. Supply chain attacks can be difficult to detect and prevent, making them a growing threat to organizations of all sizes and industries.

The importance of NCM

The consolidation of NCM 2 into N|Solid represents a significant milestone in providing a comprehensive solution for ensuring the security, reliability, and performance of Node.js applications. With features such as:

• Projects & Applications Monitoring - https://nsrc.io/ProjectApplicationsMonitoringNS
• Process Monitoring - https://nsrc.io/ProcessMonitoringNS
• CPU Profiling - https://nsrc.io/CPUProfilingNS
• Worker Threads Monitoring - https://nsrc.io/WorkerThreadsNS
• Capture Heap Snapshots - https://nsrc.io/HeapSnapshotsNS
• Memory Anomaly Detection - https://nsrc.io/MemoryAnomalyNS
• Vulnerability Scanning & 3rd party Modules Certification - https://nsrc.io/VulnerabilityScanningNS
• HTTP Tracing Support - https://nsrc.io/HTTPTracingNS
• Global Alerts & Integrations - https://nsrc.io/GlobalAlertsIntegrationsNS
• Distributed Tracing - https://nsrc.io/DistributedTracingNS
• Open Telemetry Support - nsrc.io/AIOpsNSolid
• SBOM Support - nsrc.io/SBOM-NSolid
• Machine Learning Support - nsrc.io/ML-NSolid

N|Solid offers a robust and all-encompassing solution for managing the entire lifecycle of Node.js applications. By incorporating NCM's powerful capabilities for security, compliance, and curation, N|Solid empowers developers and organizations to proactively identify and address vulnerabilities, track dependencies, and ensure licensing compliance, ultimately elevating the overall performance, reliability, and security of their applications. With N|Solid, organizations can confidently build and deploy Node.js applications with peace of mind, knowing their software is protected against potential risks and supply chain attacks.

Conclusion:

Securing Node.js applications is paramount in today's software development landscape. With the powerful features of NSolid, including the N|Solid Console and N|Solid Runtime, combined with the cutting-edge security capabilities of NCM, developers can safeguard their Node.js applications with next-generation security measures or simply leaving the maintenance and infrastructure to us by selecting our N|Solid SaaS option. By leveraging the power of NCM in the N|Solid platform, developers can proactively mitigate vulnerabilities and ensure the reliability and stability of their Node.js applications. Embrace the power of NCM in N|Solid today and unleash the full potential of your Node.js applications with advanced security measures.

NodeSource’s Products:

• N|Solid Runtime is the Node.js runtime environment with enhanced security, monitoring, and debugging features.
• N|Solid Console is a web-based dashboard for managing and monitoring Node.js applications running on N|Solid Runtime.
• N|Solid SaaS: Benefit from N|Solid's advanced security and performance features through a cloud-based subscription service, eliminating the need for on-premises installation or maintenance.
• NCM is a cutting-edge security feature integrated into the N|Solid platform that provides continuous monitoring, vulnerability scanning, and risk assessment of open-source Node.js packages used in Node.js applications.

To get the best out of Node.js and experience the benefits of its integrated features, including OpenTelemetry support, SBOM integration, and Machine Learning capabilities. ✍️ Sign up for a free trial and see how N|Solid can help you achieve your development and operations goals. #KnowyourNode