What are the key elements of secure coding practices?

The key elements of secure coding practices focus on ensuring that software applications are developed with security in mind to prevent vulnerabilities. Input validation is critical as it helps to ensure that data entered into an application is safe and conforms to expected formats, reducing the risk of injection attacks and other forms of malicious data processing. Error handling is also vital because it ensures that the application does not expose sensitive information or system details in the event of a failure, which could be exploited by attackers. Authentication mechanisms are essential to verify the identity of users accessing the system, ensuring that only authorized individuals can interact with secure parts of an application.

Each of these elements contributes to a more robust and secure application development process, which is crucial in today's cybersecurity landscape, where threats are increasingly sophisticated. Secure coding practices aim to build applications that can withstand various types of attacks and prevent data breaches or unauthorized access. Other options, while important in broader security contexts, do not specifically pertain to coding practices in the same direct manner as input validation, error handling, and authentication.