Application Security Weekly
SubscribeBringing Secure Coding Concepts to Developers – Dustin Lehr – ASW #299
When a conference positioned as a day of security for developers has to be canceled due to lack of interest from developers, it's important to understand why there was so little interest and why appsec should reconsider its approach to awareness. Dustin Lehr discusses how appsec can better engage and better deliver security concepts in a way that makes developers not only feel like their time is well used, but that the content appeals to them.
Segment Resources: - The Security Champion Program Success Guide -- A free guide that includes all steps necessary to build a successful security champion program, with real-world recommendations and examples: https://securitychampionsuccessguide.org/ - Let's Talk Software Security -- A free global virtual community where we host monthly open discussions on appsec topics: https://www.meetup.com/lets-talk-software-security/
A takeover of the MOBI TLD for $20, configuring an LLM for a CTF, firmware flaw in an SSD, Microsoft talks kernel resilience, six truths of cyber risk quantification, and more!
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Paying Down Tech Debt, Rust in Firmware, EUCLEAK, Deploying SSO – ASW #298
Considerations in paying down tech debt, make Rust work on bare metal, ECDSA side-channel in Yubikeys, trade-offs in deploying SSO quickly, and more!
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
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Close the Security Theater: Enter Resilience – Kelly Shortridge – ASW Vault
Check out this interview from the ASW Vault, hand picked by main host Mike Shema! This segment was originally published on May 9, 2023.
What does software resilience mean? Why is status quo application security unfit for the modern era of software? How can we move from security theater to security chaos engineering? This segment answers these questions and more.
Segment Resources:
Book -- https://securitychaoseng.com
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Changing the Course of IoT’s Future from Its Insecure Past – Paddy Harrington – ASW #297
IoT devices are notorious for weak designs, insecure implementations, and a lifecycle that mostly ignores patching. We look at external factors that might lead to change, like the FCC's cybersecurity labeling for IoT. We explore the constraints that often influence poor security on these devices, whether those constraints are as consequential given modern appsec practices, and what the opportunities are to make these devices more secure for everyone.
Segment resources:
Research by Orange Tsai into Apache HTTPD's architecture reveals several vulns, NCC Group shows techniques for hacking IoT devices with Sonos speakers, finding use cases for WebAssembly, Slack's AI leaks data, DARPA wants a future of Rust, and more!
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
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The Fallout and Lessons Learned from the CrowdStrike Fiasco – Shimon Modi, Jeff Pollard, Allie Mellen, Boaz Barzel – ASW #296
This week, Jeff Pollard and Allie Mellen join us to discuss the fallout and lessons learned from the CrowdStrike fiasco. They explore the reasons behind running in the kernel, the challenges of software quality, and the distinction between a security incident and an IT incident. They also touch on the need to reduce the attack surface and the importance of clear definitions in the cybersecurity industry. The conversation explores the need for a product security revolution and the importance of transparency and trust in security vendors.
As development cycles shorten and more responsibilities shift to developers, application security (AppSec) is rapidly evolving. Organizations are increasingly building mature programs that automate and enhance AppSec, moving beyond manual processes. In this discussion, we explore how organizations are adapting their AppSec practices, highlighting the challenges and milestones encountered along the way.
Key topics include the integration of security into the development lifecycle, the impact of emerging technologies, and strategies for fostering a security-first culture. Boaz Barzel shares his experiences and offers practical advice on overcoming common obstacles, ensuring that security measures keep pace with rapid technological advancements. This segment serves as a comprehensive guide for organizations striving to enhance their AppSec practices and continuously optimize their posture.
This segment is sponsored by OX Security. Visit https://securityweekly.com/oxbh to learn more about them!
Given the rapid rise of threat actors utilizing AI for cyber-attacks, security teams need advanced AI capabilities more than ever.
Shimon will discuss how Dataminr’s Pulse for Cyber Risk uses Dataminr’s leading multi-modal AI platform to provide the speed and scale required to build enterprise resilience in the modern cyber threat environment. Dataminr's world-leading AI platform helps companies stay informed - performing trillions of daily computations across billions of public data inputs from more than one million unique public data sources encompassing text, image, video, audio and sensor signals to provide real-time information when you need it most.
https://www.dataminr.com/resources/on-demand-webinar/why-cyber-physical-convergence-really-matters
This segment is sponsored by Dataminr. Visit https://securityweekly.com/dataminrbh to learn more about their world-leading AI platform perform!
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
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When Appsec Needs to Start Small – Kalyani Pawar, Danny Jenkins, Nikos Kiourtis – ASW #295
Startups and small orgs don't have the luxury of massive budgets and large teams. How do you choose an appsec approach that complements a startup's needs while keeping it secure. Kalyani Pawar shares her experience at different ends of an appsec maturity spectrum.
In complex software ecosystems, individual application risks are compounded. When it comes to mitigating supply chain risk, identifying backdoors or unintended vulnerabilities that can be exploited in your environment is just as critical as staying current with the latest hacking intel. Understand how to spot and reduce the risk to your environment and prevent disruption to your operation.
This segment is sponsored by Threatlocker. Visit https://securityweekly.com/threatlockerbh for a free trial!
Every mobile device connecting to enterprise assets hosts a unique blend of work and personal apps, creating a complex landscape of innumerable vulnerabilities. Thankfully, methods exist to provide security teams with the real-world insights necessary to proactively address threats and shield against attacks targeting mobile apps and device endpoints. Nikos Kiourtis, CTO at Quokka, shares the latest findings in mobile security, outlining emerging threats and effective measures to reduce your mobile app attack surface – and safeguarding against potential attacks and data breaches.
Segment Resources: - Panelcast with SC Magazine: 8 ways attackers target mobile apps to steal your data (and how to stop them) https://www.scmagazine.com/cybercast/8-ways-attackers-target-mobile-apps-to-steal-your-data-and-how-to-stop-them - Ryan Johnson’s talk at DEF CON 32, “Android App Usage and Cell Tower Location: Private. Sensitive. Available to Anyone?” https://defcon.org/html/defcon-32/dc-32-speakers.html
This segment is sponsored by Quokka. Visit https://securityweekly.com/quokkabh to learn more about their intelligence app solutions!
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
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Building Successful Security Champions Programs – Marisa Fagan – ASW #294
Even though Security Champions programs look very different across organizations and maturity levels, they share core principles for becoming successful. Marisa shares her experience in building these programs to foster a positive security culture within companies. She explains the incentives and rewards that lead to more engagement from champions and the benefits that come from so many people being engaged with security.
Segment Resources:
- OWASP Security Champions Guide - Get Involved! - https://owasp.org/www-project-security-champions-guidebook/#div-getinvolved
- OWASP Security Champions Guide - LinkedIn page - https://www.linkedin.com/company/owasp-security-champions-guide/
- The Security Champions Success Guide - https://securitychampionsuccessguide.org/
- "Building a Successful Security Champions Program... What Does it Take?" - https://www.katilyst.com/post/building-a-successful-security-champions-program-what-does-it-take
The code curation considerations of removing abandoned protocols in OpenSSL, kernel driver lessons from CrowdStrike's crash, choosing isolation primitives, cross-cache attacks made possible by SLUBStick, and more!
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
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A CISO’s Perspective on AI, Appsec, and Changing Behaviors – ASW #293
Modern appsec isn't modern because security tools got shifted in one direction or another, or because teams are finding and fixing more vulns. It's modern because appsec is meeting developer needs and supporting the business. Paul Davis talks about how AI is (and isn't) changing appsec, the KPIs that reflect outcomes rather than being busy, and the importance of communication for security teams.
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
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Where Generative AI Can Actually Help Security (And Where It Doesn’t) – Farshad Abasi, Allie Mellen – ASW #292
Generative AI has produced impressive chatbots and content generation, but however fun or impressive those might be, they don't always translate to value for appsec. Allie brings some realistic expectations to how genAI is used by attackers and can be useful to defenders.
Segment resources:
- https://www.forrester.com/blogs/generative-ai-will-not-fulfill-your-autonomous-soc-hopes-or-even-your-demo-dreams/
- https://www.forrester.com/blogs/top-5-things-you-need-to-know-about-how-generative-ai-is-used-in-security-tools/
- https://www.forrester.com/blogs/the-blob-is-poisoning-the-security-industry/
SAPwned demonstrates tenets of tenant isolation, a weak login flow puts Squarespace domains at risk, how AIs might (or might not) be useful for fixing code, getting buy-in for infosec investments, and more!
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
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Producing Secure Code by Leveraging AI – Stuart McClure – ASW #291
How can LLMs be valuable to developers as an assistant in finding and fixing insecure code? There are a lot of implications in trusting AI or LLMs to not only find vulns, but in producing code that fixes an underlying problem without changing an app's intended behavior. Stuart McClure explains how combining LLMs with agents and RAGs helps make AI-influenced tools more effective and useful in the context that developers need -- writing secure code.
Cloudflare's 2024 appsec report, reasoning about the Cyber Reasoning Systems for the upcoming AIxCC semifinals at DEF CON, lessons in secure design from post-quantum cryptography, and more!
Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/asw for all the latest episodes!
