Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series of posts on the advantages of a Shift Left approach to security.
In today’s fast-paced development cycles, “Shift Left” is the mantra. Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is used to scan code before it’s compiled and Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) to probe applications from the outside. But, both have critical limitations. SAST is notorious for false positives, burying developers in noise. DAST is a “black box,” slow to run and often missing the context of why an exploit is possible.
These are the blind spots where vulnerabilities thrive – inside the app, in the gap between compiled and production-ready code.
Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) fills this gap. IAST operates from inside the application as it runs during the normal testing phase. Real-time insight with full source code visibility that other testing tools cannot give you.
How IAST Delivers Immediate Value
- Real-Time Accuracy: Because IAST instruments the application’s code, it sees exactly how data flows and how components interact in real-time. When it flags a vulnerability like SQL Injection, it’s not guessing based on an external response; it’s reporting that it witnessed tainted data reach a sensitive SQL query.
- Actionable Feedback for Developers: IAST doesn’t just say “You have a vulnerability on this page.” It pinpoints the exact file and line of code responsible, along with the full data trace that triggered it. This transforms a frustrating security ticket into a clear, actionable bug report, drastically reducing Mean Time to Remediation (MTTR).
- Seamless DevSecOps Integration: IAST agents are deployed on the test server and integrate directly into your CI/CD pipeline. They work passively in the background during existing functional or automated testing, providing security feedback without adding a cumbersome, dedicated security scanning step.
By adding IAST to your toolchain, you’re not just shifting left; you’re testing smarter. You empower developers to fix real, confirmed vulnerabilities faster than ever before. But, even with IAST tools in place, there is still another gap to be filled: vulnerabilities you can’t fix or don’t know about before launch.
We’ll cover that in our next post – how combining runtime application security protection (RASP) extends the real-time benefit of IAST into production.
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