Low-Code and No-Code Platforms: A Growing Application Security Risk for SMEs

Low-code and no-code platforms are increasingly used by UK businesses to build applications quickly without traditional development teams. From a security perspective, this raises a critical question:

Do low-code and no-code platforms reduce application security risk — or quietly increase it through shadow IT?

This article explains how low-code / no-code (LCNC) platforms affect application security, what they do well, where the risks sit, and what UK organisations should realistically do about it.

What are low-code and no-code platforms?

Low-code and no-code platforms allow users to build applications using visual workflows, drag-and-drop components, and pre-built connectors rather than writing code.

Common use cases include:

• Internal business tools

• Workflow automation

• Data dashboards and reporting apps

• Rapid prototypes that later become production systems

The appeal is speed and accessibility — but security is often an afterthought.

Why low-code / no-code looks secure on paper

From a purely technical standpoint, many LCNC platforms appear more secure than traditional bespoke development.

Most mainstream platforms provide:

• Vendor-managed patching of infrastructure, operating systems, and runtimes

• Secure-by-default components such as authentication, encryption, and role-based access control

• Centralised identity integration, often with Microsoft Entra ID or SSO providers

• Platform-level logging and audit trails

Because the vendor controls the underlying stack, critical vulnerabilities are usually patched centrally and quickly.

For organisations struggling with dependency management and unpatched frameworks, this can feel like a big win.

Do low-code / no-code platforms provide patch management?

Yes — but only at the platform level.

What is patched by the platform

Low-code and no-code vendors typically manage patching for:

• Operating systems and hosting infrastructure

• Application runtimes and frameworks

• Built-in components and visual modules

• Platform-wide security vulnerabilities

This patching is automatic and does not rely on the app creator raising changes or tickets.

What is not patched

What the platform cannot patch — and never will — includes:

• Broken or missing access controls

• Over-permissive roles and workflows

• Insecure business logic

• Data exposure through misconfigured connectors

• Hard-coded secrets and shared credentials

These are design and governance issues, not software bugs.

The real application security risk: shadow IT

The biggest security risk introduced by LCNC platforms is not missing patches — it is unmanaged application sprawl.

Low-code tools are often used by business teams who:

• Do not consider themselves developers

• Are unfamiliar with secure development lifecycles (SDLC)

• Do not involve IT or security by default

As a result, many LCNC applications bypass:

• Asset management

• Change control

• Vulnerability management

• Security reviews

• Incident response planning

From a security perspective, these apps still:

• Process sensitive business data

• Integrate with production systems

• Use API keys, OAuth tokens, and service accounts

• Make access control decisions

They are production applications — just invisible ones.

Why low-code breaks traditional application security models

Traditional application security assumes:

• Applications are known and inventoried

• Owners and responsibilities are clear

• Changes follow a defined process

• Risk can be assessed and reviewed

Low-code and no-code platforms challenge all of these assumptions.

Applications can be created quickly, modified live, and owned entirely outside IT. Security teams often only discover them after a data exposure or incident.

This is not a tooling failure — it is a governance gap.

Are low-code / no-code platforms bad for security?

No — but they are frequently misunderstood.

Handled well, LCNC platforms can:

• Reduce common technical vulnerabilities

• Improve baseline security controls

• Accelerate delivery safely

Handled poorly, they:

• Scale shadow IT

• Bypass security governance

• Increase business risk faster than traditional development

The difference is not the platform itself, but the controls around it.

Practical security controls for low-code environments

For SMEs, the goal should not be to ban low-code platforms, but to apply lightweight, realistic governance.

At a minimum:

• Approve a small number of LCNC platforms

• Require central identity and SSO

• Maintain an inventory of LCNC applications

• Assign a named business owner for each app

• Enable platform logging and auditing

• Apply basic data classification rules

This is a simplified SDLC — but it is still an SDLC.

Final thoughts

Low-code and no-code platforms are usually well patched.

But well patched does not mean well governed.

Without visibility, ownership, and basic security controls, LCNC platforms do not remove application risk — they move it out of sight.

And in cybersecurity, unseen risk is almost always the one that causes the most damage.

Prestige Cyber Guard helps UK SMEs gain visibility and control over application and cloud security without unnecessary complexity. If you are unsure what applications exist in your environment — low-code or otherwise — that is usually the first risk to address.