An Introduction to Security Awareness Training (SAT)

DevOps is a popular practice, especially among large organizations. However, while it comes with numerous benefits, it presents numerous risks as well. One notable challenge is the increased velocity of deployment, which often complicates how developers implement and ensure application security throughout the development and deployment process. DevOps is a popular practice, especially among large organizations. However, while it comes with numerous benefits, it presents numerous risks as well. One notable challenge is the increased velocity of deployment, which often complicates how developers implement and ensure application security throughout the development and deployment process. According to a recent survey, almost 80% of CIOs expressed concerns about the difficulty of discerning trusted elements from untrusted ones within DevOps environments. In particular, the pressure to deliver services at a faster pace sometimes prompts DevOps teams to take security shortcuts, resulting in potentially costly repercussions. These include data breaches, application downtime, and compliance violations.  So, how can you strike a balance between the demand for agile DevOps practices and the need to maintain robust security measures?

Testing applications for security flaws during production is a vital process of the development lifecycle, and this is where Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) comes in. DAST is a security testing approach in application security (AppSec), in which testers assess an application in real-time, while it’s actively running. This process can be conducted even without testers knowing the application’s internal interactions or system-level designs. Applications fuel the engine of the world’s economy, but enterprises can encounter substantial hurdles when striving to retain a competitive advantage in a rapidly changing digital landscape. Businesses must continuously pursue inventive solutions, even as they contend with sophisticated adversaries looking to exploit opportunities to disrupt operations, compromise vital information, and inflict harm. According to recent research, approximately 17% of cyberattacks aim to exploit vulnerable web applications. Yet, 98% of web applications are susceptible to attacks that can lead to malware infection or redirect users to malicious websites. All the while, 72% of these vulnerabilities result from coding errors. Testing applications for security flaws during production is a vital process of the development lifecycle, and this is where Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) comes in. DAST is a security testing approach in application security (AppSec), in which testers assess an application in real-time, while it’s actively running. This process can be conducted even without testers knowing the application’s internal interactions or system-level designs.  This is because DAST tools operate without access to the application’s source code. Instead, they emulate genuine attacks, akin to those carried out by real hackers, to identify security weaknesses. This “black box” testing method examines the application from an external perspective, scrutinises its runtime behaviour, and observes how it reacts to simulated attacks. These simulations help evaluate whether the application exhibits vulnerabilities and if it is potentially susceptible to malicious attacks.