In the world of cybersecurity, the concept of “shift left” has been a game-changer. The idea of integrating security into the earliest stages of the software development lifecycle (SDLC) is not just a trend; it’s a fundamental paradigm shift that has brought immense value.
By empowering our developers with security tools and knowledge, we’re catching and remediating vulnerabilities earlier, and at a significantly lower cost. Shifting left is, without a doubt, one of the most effective strategies we’ve adopted to build more secure applications from the ground up.
While the active, preventative nature of shifting left is indispensable, relying on it as a sole line of defense is a bit like a boxer who only ever throws a left hook. It’s a powerful, effective punch, but it leaves you exposed to the attackers.
The reality of the modern threat landscape is that even the most robust “shift left” strategy can’t account for every eventuality. This is where the critical importance of runtime application protection comes into play – the strategic right jab.
The Blind Spots of a Purely “Shift-Left” Approach
To understand the necessity of runtime protection, we need to be candid about the inherent limitations of pre-production security measures. Static and dynamic application security testing (SAST and DAST) are cornerstones of our “shift left” approach. Current versions of Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) can tell you if there are certain flaws in a running application.
Acting alone, these testing tools are excellent at identifying known vulnerabilities, common coding errors, and even some insecure configurations. They can’t tell you, though, if a flaw is exploitable and they cannot fix anything.
None of the “xAST” solutions can see the future, either. New, zero-day vulnerabilities, like the bug that caused the now-infamous Equifax breach of 2017, emerge on a weekly (if not daily) basis. The vulnerability in the Apache Struts framework was known, and a patch was available.
However, in a complex enterprise environment, patching isn’t always instantaneous. A runtime protection solution could have detected and blocked the exploit in real-time, providing a crucial safety net.
Some of the most insidious threats don’t lie in the code itself, but in how the application behaves in the wild. Consider the recent breaches involving insider threats or the sophisticated attacks on the Microsoft Exchange Server. These weren’t necessarily the result of a developer’s coding mistake but rather the exploitation of legitimate application functionality in unexpected and malicious ways. These are the kinds of threats that only manifest at runtime.
The Economic Imperative of a Balanced Strategy
The financial argument for shifting left is clear: it’s exponentially cheaper to fix a vulnerability in development than in production. But what is the cost of a breach that slips through those early defenses? The financial fallout from a major security incident can be staggering, encompassing regulatory fines, legal fees, customer churn, and lasting reputational damage.
Investing in and pairing runtime application security with testing tools isn’t about duplicating efforts; it’s about a defense-in-depth strategy that acknowledges the dynamic nature of cyber threats. This isn’t just a “nice to have”; it’s fast becoming a standard and necessary business expense for any organization serious about protecting its digital assets.
The Unseen Threats Runtime Protection Unveils
Runtime protection solutions operate from within the application itself, giving them a unique and invaluable perspective. They can:
- Detect and Block Zero-Day Exploits: By monitoring for anomalous behavior and known attack patterns in real-time, runtime tools can often thwart attacks that exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities.
- Prevent Business Logic Abuse: These tools can identify when an application’s features are being used in unintended and malicious ways, something that is nearly impossible to detect with static code analysis.
- Provide Invaluable Threat Intelligence: When an attack is attempted, runtime protection provides detailed, real-time alerts that allow our security teams to respond immediately, understand the nature of the threat, and strengthen our defenses against future attacks.
- Guard Against Insider Threats: By monitoring for unusual data access and exfiltration patterns, runtime security can be a powerful deterrent and detection mechanism against malicious insiders.
A Symbiotic Relationship for a Stronger Defense
The conversation shouldn’t be “shift left versus runtime protection,” but rather “shift left and runtime protection.” These are not competing methodologies; they are complementary forces that, when combined, create a formidable security posture.
To learn more about how Waratek RASP and shift-left tools create a robust defense-in-depth, request a demo today.
