Episode Summary

Are you curious about the ever-changing landscape of data security? In this episode, we are joined by Danny Allan, the newly appointed Chief Technology Officer at Snyk, to delve into the evolving landscape of data security. In our conversation, we discussed his professional background and how he went from hacking security systems at university to becoming a security expert at Snyk. Hear about his experience in dynamic application security testing and the challenges and opportunities of working for large companies. We unpack how controlling human actions can reduce security vulnerabilities, the nuances of running cloud-hosted services, and how the techniques used for static application security testing have changed. Danny explains the importance of considering security aspects during the early stages of software development and how governance has integrated into data security measures. Gain valuable insights into the ever-changing landscape of data security, AI’s potential role in revolutionizing security practices, and much more.

Show Notes

In this episode, Guy Podjarny is joined by Danny Allan, the new CTO at Snyk. Danny shares his fascinating career journey that has taken him in and out of the application security space over the past 20+ years.

They discuss how application security practices like static analysis (SAST) and dynamic scanning (DAST) have evolved, with SAST becoming much faster and easier to integrate earlier in the development cycle. Danny reflects on what has changed and what has surprisingly stayed the same since his earlier days in AppSec.

The conversation digs into the intersections between application security, data security, cloud security, and how these domains are becoming more interconnected as the same teams take on responsibilities across these areas. Danny draws insights from his recent experience at Veeam, highlighting how practices like data immutability and multi-person authorization grew in importance to combat ransomware threats.

Looking ahead, Danny and Guy explore the potential impact of AI/ML on application security. From automating threat modeling to personalizing vulnerability findings based on developer interests to generating rules and fixes, Danny sees AI unlocking many opportunities to transform AppSec practices.

Overall, this episode provides a unique perspective spanning Danny's 20+ year career in security. His experiences illustrate the evolution of AppSec tooling and processes, the blurring of domains like app/data/cloud security, and how AI could radically reshape the future of application security.

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