By now, most are familiar with the concept of DevSecOps. With DevSecOps, application security (AppSec) is moved to the beginning of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). By scanning earlier in the SDLC, you are able to find and fix flaws earlier. This can result in significant time and cost savings. Most organizations understand the importance of static analysis, which scans for flaws during development, but dynamic application security testing (DAST) is just as important.

The term “espionage” often brings images of double agents and covert undercover missions to mind. This is how espionage is depicted in the movies, but in real life, it can take on many other forms. Businesses may not need to worry about James Bond spying on their company, but they should be concerned about corporate espionage. Corporate espionage, often referred to as industrial espionage, is the practice of spying for financial or commercial gain.

In case 2020 wasn’t dystopian enough, here’s some more unbelievable news. On July 15, 2020, social media giant Twitter admitted it fell victim to a security breach. The attackers targetted 130 Twitter accounts, including several belonging to high-profile individuals such as elected officials; former president Barack Obama; and business leaders including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.

See their previous blog for more! Towards the end of the 19th century, large cities like New York were facing a vexing problem so devastating that many questioned whether such cities could be sustained at all. People could no longer cross the street without assistance, stumbling was a common problem, disease was spreading, and even those issues had nothing on the horrendous stench emanating from every corner. We are talking, of course, about horse manure.

Application security testing (AST), which are tools that automate the testing, analyzing, and reporting of security vulnerabilities, is an indispensable part of software development. In a modern DevOps framework where security is shifted left, AST should be thought of as compulsory. And this has never been more important when you consider that Forrester reports the most common external attack method continues to be application weaknesses and software vulnerabilities.

We recently partnered with Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) to survey software development and security professionals about modern application development and how applications are tested for security. The soon-to-be-announced survey found that 53% of organizations provide security training for developers less than once a year, which is woefully inadequate for the rapid pace of change in software development.