The Application Security Podcast

Brad Geesaman, Principal Security Engineer at Ghost, joins the podcast today to explore how AI and large language models are transforming the world of application security. The discussion starts with the concept of "toil"—the repetitive, exhausting work that drains AppSec teams as they struggle to keep up with mountains of security findings and alerts. Brad shares his insights on how LLMs can provide meaningful leverage by handling the heavy lifting of triage, classification, and evidence gathering, while keeping humans firmly in the loop for final decisions. They also discuss the seismic shift happening in the AppSec market, with AI-native approaches potentially disrupting traditional security tooling. Listen along to hear more about the future of secure coding and how artificial intelligence might finally give security teams the helicopter view they need to fight fires effectively.FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: ➜Twitter: @AppSecPodcast➜LinkedIn: The Application Security Podcast➜YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApplicationSecurityPodcast Thanks for Listening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In this special episode of the Application Security Podcast we meet nine of the OWASP Board of Directors candidates. Each candidate discusses their unique qualifications, experiences, and vision for OWASP's future. Topics include enhancing OWASP's impact, improving outreach and education, securing funding, and engaging local chapters. Don't miss this insightful debate as these candidates share their strategies to help secure a brighter future for OWASP. FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: ➜Twitter: @AppSecPodcast➜LinkedIn: The Application Security Podcast➜YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApplicationSecurityPodcast Thanks for Listening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Francesco Cipollone, the CEO of Phoenix Security, shares his extensive experience in AI and security, discussing the crucial difference between true AI agents and glorified chatbots. Learn why Phoenix Security utilizes six different LLMs instead of a single super agent. Understand the sobering economics behind AI implementation and the importance of adopting AI responsibly. Get practical advice on integrating AI agents to enhance, not replace, human capabilities, while touching on the Agentic AI Manifesto's key principles. This conversation is perfect for anyone navigating the AI landscape both cautiously and optimistically.FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: ➜Twitter: @AppSecPodcast➜LinkedIn: The Application Security Podcast➜YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApplicationSecurityPodcast Thanks for Listening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simon and Devika Gibbs, the innovative minds behind Cybersec Games, join us on the episode today. Discover how the Gibbs duo are revolutionizing the way we teach and learn security concepts through interactive gaming. Learn about their journey from developing stationary for agile teams to delving into the world of threat modeling games like Elevation of Privilege. We talk about the power of gamification in cybersecurity education, and get the inside scoop on their Cybersecurity Game Challenge, which invites creative minds to bring their game ideas to life. FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: ➜Twitter: @AppSecPodcast➜LinkedIn: The Application Security Podcast➜YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApplicationSecurityPodcast Thanks for Listening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our guest today is Akansha Shukla, an information security professional with over 10 years of experience in application security, DevSecOps, and API security. We’re discussing why API security remains one of the least mature areas of AppSec today and exploring the challenges developers face when securing APIs. Akansha shares her insights on incorporating APIs into threat modeling exercises, the ongoing struggles with API discovery and inventory management, and the authorization challenges highlighted in the OWASP API Security Top 10. The conversation also touches on whether "shift left" is truly dead and why we still haven't solved basic security problems like input validation despite having the frameworks to address them.FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: ➜Twitter: @AppSecPodcast➜LinkedIn: The Application Security Podcast➜YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApplicationSecurityPodcast Thanks for Listening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The European Union's Cyber Resilience Act is set to revolutionize how we approach product security worldwide. In this episode, we sit down with application security expert Nariman Aga-Tagiyev to break down everything you need to know about this legislation. Nariman has over 20 years of software development experience and today he’s sharing his expertise with us. Learn what the EU CRA is and why it matters for global software companies, key compliance requirements, and how OWASP SAMM can help you.FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: ➜Twitter: @AppSecPodcast➜LinkedIn: The Application Security Podcast➜YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApplicationSecurityPodcast Thanks for Listening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marisa Fagan, Head of Product at Katilyst and a security culture expert, shares her insights on building effective security champions programs. She emphasizes the importance of management buy-in and using the SAPs model to motivate developers. Marisa discusses the common pitfalls that can derail initiatives and reveals a blueprint for sustainable security culture. Topics include integrating privacy and accessibility programs, measuring success through key metrics, and fostering collaboration between development and security teams to enhance overall security awareness.

In this episode, Aram Hovsepyan, an OWASP core team member and entrepreneur known for his work on security metrics, unravels the fallacies behind conventional security metrics like vulnerability counts and CVSS scores. He introduces the Goal Question Metric framework, urging organizations to create dashboards that genuinely reflect security readiness. Aram discusses critical metrics that matter, including the often-overlooked mean time to resolution, and emphasizes the need for precise, reliable data to enhance overall security posture.

We’re discussing the intersections of application security (AppSec) and sales strategy with our guest, Sean Varga. Sean shares the unique challenges and best practices in AppSec sales, like the importance of empathy, understanding customer needs, and community participation. Learn about the OWASP top 10 for AppSec Sales and discover how to achieve success by aligning with customer goals, maintaining detailed living documents, and fostering strong partnerships. FOLLOW OUR SOCIAL MEDIA: ➜Twitter: @AppSecPodcast➜LinkedIn: The Application Security Podcast➜YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApplicationSecurityPodcast Thanks for Listening! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah-Jane Madden, a speaker at OWASP Barcelona, dives into the evolving impact of AI on software development. She discusses the misconceptions surrounding AI, stressing that traditional engineering practices remain crucial. Madden emphasizes the importance of maintaining foundational coding skills while integrating AI responsibly. The conversation highlights the balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and the need for ongoing engagement with coding quality. With personal anecdotes, she warns against over-reliance on AI tools, promoting a thoughtful approach to their use.