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Application security continues to be a priority as more organizations in the banking sector find themselves targeted by cyber attacks. As new technologies are developed and business continues to be conducted in a multi-cloud environment, it’s becoming more difficult to manage the attack surface and underlying technologies. 2022 has seen a notable increasing trend in web application and API attacks. 2022 continues to prove that robust application security policies and practices are an important strategy in mitigating the risk of a data breach, or serious consequences from application security attacks. 

How Much Have Increased Application Security Attacks on Financial Institutions?

Akamai Technologies, inc. released a new report revealing a 257% growth in web application and API attacks on the financial sector year-over-year. They also saw an increase of 81% in bot activity which likely results in an increase in their efficiency. 
The same report also found that DDoS attacks on other financial institutions continue to increase by 22% year-over-year and found that threat actors are using techniques in their phishing campaigns to bypass two-factor authentication solutions.

While the findings pertain to the financial sector, the report has broader implications for enterprises and highlights that web applications and financial service APIs are a core target for cybercriminals as we move into 2023.

With a variety of sensitive data and customer information, the financial services industry consistently ranks in the top three targeted verticals for web applications, API, and DDoS attacks. The report details that FinServ has shown a 3.5x surge in web application attacks year over year showing that organizations in the banking industry continue to be the most targeted, and highest-growth industry for cyber threats. 
One exploit took less than 24 hours to be used for thousands of attacks per hour. This type of data breach and the intensity at which the attack took place left little time to react, or create live patches to protect sensitive customer data. 
While financial institutions are at the forefront of a multitude of attacks, no organization is safe. 

How Common Are Application Security Attacks?

AppSec attacks are common and will continue to affect a growing number of mobile apps as time goes on. The reality is that the attack surface continues to evolve and grow. The more technologies in place, the more opportunities for malicious attacks to occur. 

The study conducted by Akamai suggests that as much as one half of financial firms surveyed have experienced an AppSec attack of some sort, from phishing attacks to supply chain attacks to ransomware attacks. The study also suggests that as many as a third of these organizations don’t know whether they’ve been subjected to any of these cybersecurity threats or not.

While one in two financial institutions is subjected to data breaches and many other emerging threats, the truth is that these attacks aren’t limited to banking services alone. Other industries around technology, commerce, and video media are also top of the list for application security and API attacks, and are starting to be more aware of their security posture.

Mitigating Application Security Risks in 2023

There are a number of steps that enterprises in the banking industry can take to increase their resilience against API-driven threats. One of the most effective methods is to invest in technology that automates part of the process. Whether it’s discovering APIs or validating security policies, automation helps create an additional layer of protection and speeds up the process of uncovering potential threats. 

It would also help to catalog the usage extent of third-party and internal APIs. Maintaining a single source of truth for these implementations can reduce the risk of potential vulnerabilities. Commonalities may also arise between some of the APIs reducing the time necessary to develop a secure environment. 

As a baseline, it’s also helpful to review risk models and ensure that customer threats and fraud prevention is prioritized and planned for. 

API and Web Application Attacks in 2023 and Beyond

Attacks against applications are a growing threat, putting businesses at risk of malware, disruption, theft, and misconfiguration exploits. Organizations that prioritize their application security process and risk management will have an advantage in protecting sensitive customer data and keeping their mobile applications protected. Application security should continue to be a priority around digital transformation in 2023 and beyond, not only for security professionals, but for everyone involved in developing the banking apps that will host crucial customer information and other sensitive data. 

A large obstacle for many organizations in the financial services sector is a lack of these security professionals. It’s difficult to maintain enough staff to manage the growing attack surface. Fortunately, software can help mitigate the pressure on AppSec professionals in the current cybersecurity landscape. Whether it’s through automation or advanced threat modeling, AppSec software can help bridge the gap. 

Whether it’s cross-site scripting, SQL injection, potential defects, malicious code, or application layer attacks, the key to the prevention of a successful attack affecting customer accounts in today’s hybrid business technology stack is to equip modern security teams with the best possible tools.

Application security continues to be a priority as more organizations in the banking sector find themselves targeted by cyber attacks. As new technologies are developed and business continues to be conducted in a multi-cloud environment, it’s becoming more difficult to manage the attack surface and underlying technologies

BFSI Application Security Attacks up by More Than 250% in 2022

In this day and age, it is not an overstatement to say that data has developed into a resource that is both substantial and essential. In fact, this is one of the key reasons why some of the most well-known technology businesses are pleased to offer their services at no cost: doing so enables them to gather the customers’ personal information on an unprecedented scale.  

Because of a variety of variables, the vast majority of countries either have data protection laws on the books or are in the process of enacting legislation to create such laws. The purpose of these regulations is to regulate the manner in which businesses acquire, store, and use user data, as well as the manner in which they transmit data over international boundaries and sell or share this data. The Australian government, more specifically the Australian Information Commissioner has just made a courageous move in the direction of further protecting the customers’ personal information of its citizens. Following a slew of repeated data breaches in recent weeks, including the one that occurred at Optus telecom only a few weeks ago, Australia has announced that an upcoming legislative amendment will considerably reinforce the country’s internet privacy regulations. 

The Australian Federal Privacy Act, enabled by the Australian government in 1988, sometimes referred to as the Privacy Act 1988, is the current Australian privacy law which is the regulatory framework that deals with the protection of customers’ personal information. It is generally agreed that the Privacy Act of 1988 was one of the first laws passed that dealt with the privacy of users. It is reinforced by 13 Australian Privacy Principles (APPs), which guarantee that the Privacy Act has provisions dealing with the modern digital environment. These APPs ensure that the Privacy Act contains provisions dealing with the modern digital environment. 

The Privacy Act initially only applied to the regulation of government agencies for the first decade or so, but in the year 2000, it was amended to include a significant portion of the private sector as well. (Instead, public sector entities at the state, territory and municipal government levels are controlled by a patchwork of privacy regulations that vary from state to state and territory to territory.) Additional revisions were brought out in 2014 and 2018 with the goals of streamlining the act’s privacy principles and introducing a notification system for breaches. 

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC), which is responsible for implementing the Privacy Act, is without a doubt the primary factor that contributes to the statute’s reputation as one of the most stringent data privacy regulations in the world. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, in contrast to other regulatory bodies, is not required to wait for formal complaints or broader review before beginning an inquiry into a company or website that it suspects of being non-compliant with the law in any way. 

Unfortunately, serious, repeated breaches of privacy, which resulted in personal information being leaked in recent weeks, have proven that present controls are inadequate. These repeated data breaches result in identity theft and other related crimes which can have a significant impact and cause financial harm to the affected individuals. According to a statement released by the state’s Attorney General Mark Dreyfus, “it is not sufficient punishment for a serious data breach to be considered as the cost of doing business.”  Because of this mindset, organizations can consider breaches as an acceptable risk and factor in the cost of penalties versus sometimes the hire cost of implementing proper security measures. 

Australia’s Privacy Act of 1988 was one of the strictest privacy regulations when it was passed in 1988; however, due to a large number of repeated breaches which has resulted in customers’ personal information being leaked, it has become abundantly clear to the Australian government, that additional measures are still required. As a result, the Australian Information Commissioner is now considering enacting harsh new privacy rules, which, if passed, would create one of the strictest punishment regimes in the world for major or recurrent violations of privacy. 

The “Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022” was presented to the Australian parliament on October 26 by Attorney General Mark Dreyfus. This bill proposes major revisions to the 1988 Privacy Act that is currently in effect in the nation. On November 9th, the measure was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives and forwarded to the Senate for further consideration. The measure will be examined by the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, and the committee is planning to provide its findings on the next bill. 

The Privacy Legislation Amendment (Enforcement and Other Measures) Bill 2022, if passed, will increase the maximum penalties that can be applied under the Privacy Act 1988 for serious or repeated privacy breaches from the current AUS .22 million (.4 million) penalty to whichever is the greater of the following:  

3x the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information;  

Or 30% of a company’s adjusted turnover in the relevant period. The current maximum penalty for serious or repeated privacy breaches. 

These proposed changes are far higher than those that were proposed in an earlier version of the legislation a year ago (when the potential fines were estimated to be 0 million Australian dollars or 10% of revenue). 

Additional reforms include expanded authority for the Australian Information Commissioner and a strengthened Notifiable Data Breaches scheme. These measures are intended to present the privacy watchdog with a fuller picture of the information that has been compromised as a result of a breach and to enable it to evaluate the likelihood that individuals will be harmed. The Information Commissioner and the Australian Communications and Media Authority will each be given expanded authority to share information, which will make it possible for the two regulatory bodies to collaborate more closely in the future. 

The amendment proposed by Australia may have severe implications for businesses that do not act in accordance with the revised privacy framework. It is essential for businesses to make investments in security technologies so that they can secure the surroundings in which they operate. 

In this day and age, it is not an overstatement to say that data has developed into a resource that is both substantial and essential. In fact, this is one of the key reasons why some of the most well-known technology businesses are pleased to offer their services at no cost: doing so enables them to gather the customers’ personal information on an unprecedented scale.

Australia to Toughen Privacy Laws for Companies That Fail to Protect Customers Data

TSMC confirmed that one of its hardware suppliers was hacked, resulting in stolen data. Russian-speaking cybercriminals claimed TSMC as a victim and demanded a $70 million ransom. This incident allowed attackers to access configurations and settings for certain servers used in TSMC's corporate network.

Kinmax Technology, one of TSMC’s hardware suppliers, confirmed that its test environment was targeted by an external group, which managed to retrieve configuration files and other parameter information. Kinmax promptly shut down the compromised systems and notified the affected customer. According to Kinmax, the compromised data was only related to basic settings at the time of shipment and had no impact on the customer's actual application.

LockBit is the name of the group claiming responsibility for the hack of the TSMC supplier and the type of ransomware they use. LockBit ransomware was the most deployed ransomware around the world in 2022, according to US cybersecurity officials. 

The semiconductor giant assured that this incident had no impact on business operations. TSMC did not respond to the hackers' ransom demand, and instead, terminated its data exchange with the supplier according to security protocols. The company took immediate action to protect its customers and apologized for any leaked data that may have included customer information.

There were no indications that TSMC or the supplier, Kinmax, intended to pay the hackers. Ransomware groups often exaggerate the value of stolen data and make unrealistic demands. 

Taiwan’s chip industry plays a crucial role in the global hardware supply chain, making any cyberattacks with potential impact a concern for government officials and business executives worldwide.

Similar to our coverage of the Prudential Malaysia breach, businesses must ensure their security measures are comprehensive by conducting risk assessments, managing vendors, and continuously monitoring supply chains.

As cyber threats continue to evolve, organizations face significant reputational and financial risks. It is vital for businesses to acknowledge potential security risks, formulate a robust Cybersecurity plan, and implement appropriate measures to protect their data and assets. Failure to do so can result in operational disruptions and irreparable damage to a company's reputation.

Discover valuable insights on what business owners can learn from the recent TSMC breach.

TSMC: Lessons Learned

TSMC Breach: a potential $70 million attack.

Singaporean real estate firm OrangeTee & Tie was imposed a penalty of S7,000 (~ US7777.49) by the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) following a data breach that transpired in the year 2021, leading to the exposure of personal details of over 250,000 customers, employees, and agents.

In August 2021, hacking group Altdos successfully infiltrated the outdated database servers of OrangeTee & Tie. The illicit activity resulted in the extraction of sensitive personal data such as account numbers, NRIC, and passport numbers, along with property transaction and commission amounts. 

The group then proceeded to demand a ransom of 10 bitcoins from the company in exchange for the non-disclosure and protection of the compromised databases. 

Furthermore, Altdos asserted that it had been able to gain unauthorized access to OrangeTee & Tie’s network since June of the same year, and had illegitimately procured “hundreds of databases” as a result of its activities.

In total, 256,583 people were affected by the data breach, mostly OrangeTee & Tie’s customers.

OrangeTee & Tie utilized “live” production data containing personal information during development and testing without implementing sufficiently robust processes to safeguard the data. 

Furthermore, the property firm failed to undertake periodic security reviews of their servers, which is standard practice for identifying vulnerabilities resulting from outdated software. This led to the exposure of personal data to security risks, as two database servers were connected to Internet-facing Web servers. 

The firm neglected to recognize the consequences of using outdated software and failed to take the necessary measures to secure its Internet-facing servers. The company has since acknowledged that its information-technology security policy did not account for the need for such security reviews.

The company received commendation for demonstrating swift remedial measures and exhibiting a high degree of cooperation throughout the investigation. Additionally, the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) recognized the company’s voluntary admission of breaching the Protection Obligation, relating to the failure to safeguard personal data in its custody. 

It is noteworthy that the data in question was deemed “publicly available” according to the Personal Data Protection Act 2012 (Singapore), as it could be accessed by any member of the public.

Post-breach, an OrangeTee & Tie spokesman said the company had ramped up its network and data security and heightened its defense against future attacks.

“We are confident of our reinforced security measures, and will work hard to maintain our clients’ trust in our IT network.”

The recent breach at the firm highlights the importance of implementing effective security protocols and policies to safeguard sensitive data. A robust security strategy involves a combination of technical solutions, employee training, and regular security reviews to ensure that vulnerabilities are identified and addressed promptly.

use fake or anonymized data in development and testing environments instead of real, live production data.

conduct periodic security reviews to identify any security flaws or potential vulnerabilities

keeping software up-to-date with the latest patches and updates

integrate security into the development lifecycle has become essential to detect and fix vulnerabilities at the source

implement a DevSecOps pipeline that fosters collaboration between development and security teams

By following these best practices, businesses can take proactive steps to protect their valuable data and prevent costly data breaches.

Discover the valuable insights that business owners can gain from the OrangeTee & Tie breach. Learn about the lessons learned from this incident and how you can protect your business from similar security breaches.

What Business Owners Can Learn From the OrangeTee & Tie Breach

Every organization uses different applications to run operations, manage projects and teams, automate workflows, serve customers, and track finances and revenue. Applications for spreadsheets, communications, and document storage and sharing have become particularly popular due to the mass shift to remote work and mobile devices post-2020.

Enterprise applications are valuable assets for modern organizations. But more applications also mean an expanding enterprise risk surface and an increased risk of serious cyber attacks. In this landscape, organization leaders must pay more attention to enterprise application security (AppSec). But the question that needs answering is: are leaders prioritizing security enough?

App Sprawl and the Need for Enterprise Application Security

Enterprise apps – many of the cloud-based “SaaS” variety – are essential for modern businesses. However, they also bring several cybersecurity challenges into enterprise ecosystems. For one, too many apps create fragmentation and confusion, hindering employee productivity instead of enhancing it.

Then there’s the problem of app sprawl, which usually happens when business units purchase apps without the knowledge or input of the IT team. In addition to expanding the enterprise IT estate, such purchases create “Shadow IT” – a severe security problem for the entire organization and one they must address.

To address it, security teams must take a long, hard look at the existing enterprise application security program, specifically the strategies and controls to secure software applications and their underlying data.

The Costs of Inadequate Enterprise Application Security

A failure to secure enterprise applications can expose the organization to critical cybersecurity risks. Such risks include malware and ransomware, code injections, misconfiguration errors, broken access control, and cryptographic failures. These risks may result in unauthorized or malicious hacks that could easily compromise sensitive information, disrupt business operations, and damage the company’s reputation.

Naturally, such breaches can be devastating for any organization. In monetary terms, according to IBM, the average cost of a data breach has reached a record high of US.35 million. However, in 2022, organizations that adopted a remote working model felt the heat even more, paying damages of .99 million – almost million more than organizations that did not adopt any remote working models.

In addition to the rising cost, the increasing frequency of hacks due to ransomware and other threats is another problem for enterprises. These attacks and the resultant extortion attempts can have far-reaching consequences over and above financial impacts, including damage to reputation, customer relationships, and competitiveness. Moreover, many businesses also have to deal with damaging lawsuits accusing them of poor cybersecurity practices and, in some cases, even outright negligence. Business leaders’ automated and almost default response to such accusations is to state that they areprioritizing enterprise AppSec. Yet, first, the horse has already bolted; second, given the circumstances, what else can you say; and third, that statement’s not necessarily true.

Enterprise Application Security: What Leaders Say vs. What Leaders Do

AppSec programs aim to find and fix critical vulnerabilities in apps to protect them from cyber-attacks. As you may have seen, recent high-profile security incidents have increased security awareness among the top brass, resulting in more robust networks and more effective security policies.

However, though it pains us to say it, such leaders and companies are an exception. For most, AppSec is not, and never has been, an organization-wide priority. Furthermore, experience shows that security measures are typically implemented piecemeal rather than as a critical component of a holistic strategy. The result is that these measures are often reactive rather than proactive, and though the business can try to mitigate the impact of attacks that have already happened, they are powerless to prevent such attacks in the first place. So, though security leaders often state that their focus is on attack prevention, their actions dictate otherwise.

For example, leaders may say they want to invest in security experts. Still, a vast gap exists between the demand and supply of security specialists and the amount companies are willing to pay. Combined with an industry-wide cyber-skills shortage, this unwillingness exposes businesses to heightened and continuous security risk. These risks are further exacerbated by the organization’s stance, impacting a mass exodus of security experts due to stress and burnout.

Another problem is that many top managers don’t view cybersecurity and AppSec as long-term issues. After COVID, for example, many were busy implementing remote work models to maintain business continuity. Unfortunately, because most didn’t understand or consider the security risks of working remotely, fewer took any mitigating action. Indeed, according to one 2021 survey, though 83% of global board members identified cybersecurity as a top priority in their firms, less than 50% took dedicated cybersecurity action.

Once again, this mismatch between words and deeds is creating security problems for companies, which explains why cybercrime has assumed epidemic proportions and projections are the cost will reach a massive 0.5 trillion annually by 2025.

Despite this, CISOs that prioritize security in both words and actions are often powerless when making enterprise security-related strategic decisions. Those who try and be proactive, for example, by requesting regular updates from the security team, or auditing the firm’s cyber-readiness, or getting personally involved in threat response simulations, lack the budget and resources to make any meaningful difference (for reasons already stated).

DevSecOps to Strengthen Enterprise Application Security

However, given projections, if organizations don’t want to become another in the long line of breach statistics, they must strengthen security (and AppSec in particular) as a  priority. This involves putting their money where their mouth is by hiring the skilled security staff they say they are going to and looking at implementing DevSecOps. DevSecOps helps organizations by promoting the org-wide “secure by design” and “security is everyone’s responsibility”  mindsets.

“Secure by design” means shifting from a reactive to a proactive mindset. (And being equipped with the tools to do so). This approach involves identifying vulnerabilities and threats early in the software development lifecycle (SDLC) and quickly mitigating them before a threat actor can exploit them. “Security is everyone’s responsibility” means that everyone in the organization has their part to play in the context of their roles and duties. (No more clicking on ‘Dancing Pigs’ in emails.) These ideas are inherent to the DevSecOps approach.

Important to note is that shifting to DevSecOps is not just hiring security experts or implementing security tools. Instead, it is a holistic approach wherein security practices are embedded into the entire SDLC and prioritized from the beginning.

The Role of Leaders in Strengthening Enterprise Application Security

Naturally, these changes cannot and will not happen overnight or as a result of one person’s efforts. Successful DevSecOps requires a concerted effort from all teams involved in the SDLC: development, operations, and security. However, though change can happen ‘bottom-up’, this rarely occurs without the backing from Top Management. Accordingly, leadership, ‘top-down’, must drive cultural change by embedding the above mindset into everything that you do. (Our ‘How to Build a DevSecOps Pipeline’ white paper covers this in some detail. The link is at the bottom of this article.) 

As we show in the white paper, DevSecOps does not happen overnight, but it’s a journey that is both worthwhile and needs to start soon. Hackers aren’t going away anytime soon, and the longer your decision is delayed, the riskier it gets.

As you’ll see in the paper, there are several steps to consider for your DevSecOps implementation. Some will naturally take longer than others. The critical question at this point is about your AppSec…

…if you don’t have end-to-end AppSec, you know you’re already vulnerable. Once you’ve read our white paper, you’ll also know that effective DevSecOps will take time to implement. 

Do nothing, maintain your current course and trajectory, and remain exposed, vulnerable, and at risk.

Implement DevSecOps as per our white paper but leave your AppSec as-is, i.e. exposed, at risk, and vulnerable.

Implement DevSecOps as per our paper but implement GuardRails’ end-to-end and code-to-cloud AppSec. That way, you have the peace of mind and security to take as much time as you need to plan your next steps and get it done the right way the first time. (GuardRails usually takes minutes (sometimes even seconds) to secure all your pipelines.)

How GuardRails Can Strengthen Your Organization’s Appsec 

For most organizations, enterprise application security represents a steep mountain. They struggle to secure their apps because their Appsec programs involve a lot of repetitive, manual, and resource-heavy tasks. Budget and resourcing challenges make it hard to implement these tasks, creating security blindspots that open the door to many cyber threats.

GuardRails eliminates these manual tasks to help organizations boost both security and the productivity of their security teams. Offering fast vulnerability detection, frictionless setup, and support for all modern programming languages, GuardRails can optimize the ROI of your security program and team. Click here to book a free, personalized demo of GuardRails.

How to Build a DevSecOps Pipeline white paper

Click here to get our How to build a DevSecOps pipeline white paper.

Are Leaders Prioritizing Enterprise Application Security Enough?

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in DevSecOps signifies a transformative shift in the realm of software development, cybersecurity, and information technology. It facilitates automation, enhances application security (AppSec), and accelerates the software development process by predicting potential vulnerabilities and mitigating them in real-time. This strategic integration of AI in DevSecOps is a significant move towards building robust, secure, and efficient software systems.

It’s no wonder that AI-powered solutions are in high demand.

However, despite the clear advantages of AI in AppSec, many companies are still hesitant to invest in the technology due to concerns over the implementation cost. However, the true cost of not investing in AI-powered AppSec solutions can be far greater. In this blog post, we will explore the true cost of not implementing AI in your AppSec initiative.

AI enhances the speed and efficiency of software development

AI can automate repetitive tasks, thereby freeing up developers' time for more critical tasks and decision making. AI models can also analyze vast amounts of data in real-time, which is beyond human capability. This ability to analyze and learn from data in real-time significantly accelerates the software development process, providing a competitive advantage in the realm of information technology.

AI can identify potential vulnerabilities and threats that humans might miss. Moreover, AI solutions can learn from past training data and predict future vulnerabilities, thereby enabling proactive security measures. This ability to predict and mitigate potential security issues before they occur is a significant advantage of integrating AI in DevSecOps.

What are the consequences of not implementing AI?

Traditional methods of securing applications are increasingly ineffective against sophisticated cyber threats. AI, with its advanced capabilities such as machine learning and automation, offers a potent solution to this problem. However, a failure to incorporate AI into AppSec can lead to a plethora of security vulnerabilities, impacting information technology and software development processes.

Without the integration of AI, the ability to detect and respond to threats in real-time is significantly compromised. AI algorithms, as part of cybersecurity measures, can analyze vast amounts of data, identifying patterns that may be overlooked in manual security operations. The absence of AI in AppSec can result in inefficient and time-consuming processes, thereby increasing the risk of security breaches in cloud security and other areas.

The lack of AI integration in AppSec can also result in a failure to keep pace with rapid technological advancement. As cyber threats evolve, the need for advanced security measures to maintain a competitive edge becomes more critical. Machine learning, a subset of AI, can learn and adapt to new threats, maintaining a competitive advantage by staying a step ahead of potential security breaches. Without AI, AppSec may struggle to adapt to the evolving threat landscape, leaving applications vulnerable to attacks.

How does AI impact the financial aspect of AppSec?

By automating routine tasks and enhancing threat detection capabilities, AI can reduce operational costs (labor costs, maintenance costs) in DevSecOps. This can result in significant savings in the long run. Additionally, by preventing security breaches, AI can save businesses from the financial losses (and significant expenses) associated with data breaches.

Investing in cybersecurity measures is crucial for any organization seeking to protect sensitive data and assets. Cybersecurity breaches can be expensive, costing companies millions of dollars in damages, lost productivity, and legal fees. A 2023 report by IBM found that the average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million, a 2.3% increase from the previous year. The report also found that it takes an average of 204 days to identify and contain a data breach, leading to extended periods of downtime and lost revenue. 

The threat of cyber attacks is only increasing, with hackers becoming more sophisticated and attacks becoming more frequent.

Data breaches can be incredibly costly to organizations, both financially and in terms of reputation. The cost of a data breach can include a range of expenses, such as legal fees, regulatory fines, and lost revenue due to downtime. In addition, there is the intangible cost of damage to a company's reputation, which can have long-lasting effects on customer trust and loyalty. It is essential for organizations to prioritize security and implement robust measures, such as AI in AppSec, to protect against the costly consequences of a data breach.

By implementing AI in application security, organizations can significantly reduce the time it takes to detect and respond to potential threats. This means that in the event of an attack, the organization can quickly identify the source of the threat, determine the extent of the damage, and take immediate action to mitigate it. The longer it takes to detect a threat, the more damage it can cause, both in terms of financial loss and damage to the organization's reputation.

The future is now: DevSecOps, powered by AI

The integration of AI into DevSecOps can revolutionize software development processes, resulting in smarter, faster, and more secure outcomes. Through AI solutions, businesses stand to gain a competitive edge.

Contrary to what some may think, one doesn’t need to start investing billions to get the ball rolling. Getting started is simple: most businesses can easily empower DevSecOps with AI by integrating AI solutions into the DevSecOps workflow. With the right AI tools, leaders can enable their teams of experienced developers to focus on strategic aspects, improving the overall efficiency and security operations of the workflow.

Fostering a culture of innovation and learning is another way leaders can empower DevSecOps with AI. By encouraging their teams to explore and experiment with AI and machine learning, leaders can drive innovation and improve outcomes. Providing training and resources to understand and leverage AI effectively can also empower teams, enhancing application security and cloud security.

Investing in AI-based AppSec tools is no longer an option but a necessity for businesses of all sizes. The cost of a security breach far outweighs the cost of implementing an AI-based AppSec solution.

However, the current landscape looks like the Wild West: many purport to offer AI-powered solutions, but the implementation leaves much to be desired. One common pain point: false positives. Rather than saving time (and money), these AI solutions cause more harm than good.

Simply slapping “AI” into a solution and calling it a day isn’t good enough for us - not while false positives are still a problem. What we offer is this: the GuardRails you know and love, powered by AI, helping you move towards zero false positives. We want to help you move that needle.

Discover why investing in AI is no longer optional for businesses. Stay ahead of the curve and find out why you can't afford not to embrace AI in AppSec.

The Cost of AI

The Cost of AI (and Why You Can't Afford Not To)

GuardRails is pleased to announce its integration with Azure DevOps. This new integration marks an important milestone for GuardRails, as it expands the reach of its platform to a wider range of enterprises. With this integration, GuardRails customers on Azure DevOps can now benefit from the platform’s secure code review and automated remediation actions.

Adding to our list of supported integrations, Azure DevOps joins the likes of GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket. Our frictionless integration will allow many more enterprises to leverage the GuardRails platform to effectively identify and remedy crucial security weaknesses at an earlier stage in the software development lifecycle (SDLC), strengthening their overall security posture.

GuardRails understands the importance of security and compliance during the development lifecycle, which is why we continually strive to offer integrations with the most widely used platforms in the industry. Our integration with Azure DevOps is another step in our efforts to provide a comprehensive security solution for developers and enterprises alike.

Step 1: On the Sign Up / Log In pages, you will see a new button to sign up or log in with Azure DevOps.

Step 2: If GuardRails hasn’t been installed, a screen from Azure DevOps will prompt you to authorize GuardRails.

Step 3: For successful integration, you need to generate Personal Access Token (from the Azure DevOps portal) and input it into the GuardRails dashboard.

Note: Users will only need to provide the Personal Access Token on the GuardRails root account (corresponding to the Azure DevOps’ Organization), it will be inherited to all sub-accounts (corresponding to the Azure DevOps’ Projects)

Step 4: After providing a valid Personal Access Token, you can now navigate to the sub-accounts in the GuardRails dashboard, enable the repositories, and trigger scans.

Any feedback or help needed? Reach out to us at support@guardrails.io.

GuardRails customers on Azure DevOps can now benefit from the platform’s secure code review and automated remediation actions.

Azure DevOps integration

“Developers have done phenomenal work in the DevOps space, whereas Security has not kept up with them. It’s not feasible for DevOps to slow down, so security needs to step up. This is easier said than done since it requires a cultural shift in the way the software delivery teams, and security teams work together.[1]” 

As great as a cultural shift would be, how long would planning and implementing such a shift take in your own organization? What about your Application Security (AppSec) and vulnerability while doing it? Unless you take major steps, you’re going to be as exposed then as you are now and, under such circumstances, as we said in our How to Build a DevSecOps Pipeline white paper, the tendency will be to rush. And that’s where mistakes happen.

But what if there was an easier, better, and more secure method? One which:

Installs in the cloud in seconds (or on-premises in minutes).

Works out of the box for 80% of organizations (but is fully customizable thereafter).

Automatically secures your end-to-end and code-to-cloud on all current and future repositories.

Eliminates vulnerabilities at source (and eliminates your security bottleneck)

Helps your developers become better coders.

Means you deliver better and more secure software faster.

The key to effective AppSec is people and processes (KISS).

Keep It Simple Sunshine… (not quite what my old drill instructor used to say, but you get the point).

Importantly, and despite what others may say, the key to effective AppSec isn’t more tools (you definitely don’t need any more tools).

More tools means more complications, complexity, challenges, and costs. More tools also comes with more false positives, noise, and increases alert fatigue on your already overwhelmed teams.

The reality is you do need the opposite: you need simpler, better, and fewer tools that can deliver the actual results you want, i.e., fewer false positives and much less noise.

The right automation tools can help, but first you must get your people and processes in order. Tools alone are not the answer.

Solve your people and processes problem and the rest is easy

With Application Security, your problem is vulnerabilities and the inability to remediate or deal with them effectively (by definition, no vulnerabilities means invulnerable). 

People: Unfortunately, 98% of vulnerabilities are introduced by a specific set of people and, as with all problem solving, we must understand the root cause. For that, we must call out the Elephant in the Room (we’ll do that shortly). 

Processes: In terms of processes, this requires us to not only look at both your the entire Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and your vulnerability change management processes but also to change them: they’re too slow, cumbersome, and likely costly.

But to allay any fears, don’t be concerned. This post explains how to address both of the above, and alsom by the end, you will also see exactly how:

Painlessly you can transform your SDLC and vulnerability management lifecycles (slashing significant amounts of time and costs in both) .

Seamlessly and quickly you can implement this change (we’re talking minutes not weeks).

Overcoming resistance to such rapid change can be both smoothe and harmonious (for all your development, security, and product teams).

AppSec in your organization will be catalyzed like never before (and this is a serious eye-opener for most we talk with).

As an organization, you can help your organization to do far more with less (including reducing the number of tools and expensive licenses, consolidating security, and developing better and more secure software faster, etc.)

All with a smooth and quick transition, minimal upsets, and zero downtime.

Developers introduce 98% of vulnerabilities during coding. Not deliberately, of course, but that’s the situation and it has been for a long time. 

(A quick question for you, imagine what eliminating 98% of vulnerabilities in your organization would do for you and your security bottleneck? What about for your dev and security teams? If it’s anything short of a game-changer, then we’re the ones who’ll be shocked.

Solving your vulnerability management problem

When you effectively solve your vulnerability management problem, you:

produce better, more reliable, and more secure software faster.

Unfortunately, your developers are caught between a rock and a hard place

Introducing 98% of vulnerabilities in itself is bad enough, but as we discovered in Contrast Security’s 2022 State of DevSecOps report, that’s only one part of it:

Against that, the same report also stated that DevOps are under increased pressure from the business to shorten release cycles and commit more code. 

“Nearly 8 in 10 respondents (79%) say their DevOps team is under increased pressure to shorten release cycles and commit more code [1, p. 11].”

It’s clear that developers are in an unwinnable situation and, under such circumstances, are either:

In a situation where they’ve deemed it better to pass the buck downstream, into version control, CI/CD, and the software development lifecycle (SDLC), and on to their dear friends in security; or,

Considering that developers are frequently being called on to fix these mistakes as part of change management, then it must be the former.

But when the scans being employed prevent them from doing their jobs properly, it’s hardly the developers fault. 

Vulnerability scans are unfit for purpose

If developers are skipping security scans because they’re too slow, then it’s quite clear that the scans are unfit for purpose. Sadly, our experiences show this is an all too common product of Shift Left—the attempt to move security closer to development in the SDLC.

Circling back to Glenn Wilson’s quote at the top, in the mad rush to Shift Left, point solution security scanning tools were broached as being the answer (primarily because that’s all that was available at the time). Sadly, the industry’s moved much faster than anyone could have anticipated, and though these costly, complex, and expensive tools might have performed some function, they’ve fallen way short of what was intended.

That’s not the tool’s fault, of course. The tools were only ever designed and built for security teams at the end of the SDLC.

Security scanning tools were never designed for fast-paced development teams.

The security tools shifted left, but the people and processes didn’t.

Developers don’t want to wait minutes for a security scan, let alone hours. As for half-a-day+... no chance. Developers need to run scans fast and often. Anything else and they’re going to do exactly what research has confirmed—reject the tools and skip the scans. 

For the minority who’ve said they do run scans (16%), what should they do while they’re waiting for the scan to finish—security training, perhaps?

“I find security an insufferably boring procedural hindrance.”

Said one developer (Others weren’t so kind). 

Some even said that they didn’t even consider security as being withn their remit.

Across the board, developers stated receiving 20–60 hours security training per year. Typically, this is in a traditional library (aka ‘snore’) format: a blog or an article, or video a-la-YouTube. Unfortunately, such training is rarely specific to their experience, skillset, or current task, is presented in a format they hate, and takes them away from work they should be doing (and are under pressure to deliver).

It must be said that many developers do want to help, but they lack the security skills, experience, or means to do so. Given their current situations what choices are there?

Running security scans or scuba-diving with whale sharks?

If you were a developer and you know this scan’s going to take at least 4 hours, and your manager’s breathing down your neck because of a looming deadline, and you’ve got a tonne more code to complete before your much needed vacation to scuba-dive with whale sharks in the Maldivies (and the last thing you want to do is have that hanging over your head during your time off), what would you do?

Sit there, twiddle your thumbs, take the pain, and risk ruining your trip, or skip the scan, pass the buck, meet your deadline, and then have the holiday of a lifetime?

That’s moot, of course, because 84% have already told us they regularly skip scans and they will continue to commit almost all vulnerabiliites. This is why…

If your development team are skipping running the tools then the tools are clearly unfit for purpose. 

(Let’s leave talking about bypassing organizational policies and processes, the heightened risk of data breaches, exposure, or violating any legal, regulalatory, or compliance aspects, as that’s an entirely different discussion.)

If the tools are unfit for purpose, then what’s the point of them? 

At the very least you could just get rid of them and save yourself the licensing, operational, and maintenance costs. Your situation wouldn’t be any worse.

Skipping security scans masks a bigger problem

Worse, if your developers can bypass security policies and processes then you have even less control over vulnerabilities than you though you had. Now you’re not even being given the chance to identify vulnerabilities early, let alone fix them.

It’s inefficient, risky, and unacceptable. It’s also very, very expensive.

Research shows that the average software in production contains 4+ vulnerabilities and the average time to remediate vulnerabilities is 90+ days. However, for critical vulnerabilities, according to the CMO of Mend in June 2023, remediation is around 9-months.

Remediating vulnerabilities in released software is estimated to cost 640x more than remediating them at source. Not only is this unsustainable, it also leads to:

As great as a cultural shift would be, how long would planning and implementing such a shift take in your own organization?