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Vardan Matevosian
Vardan Matevosian

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Application security: thinking backwards

πŸ“œ Developers often focus on what library or what tool they can use to secure their microservices. Modern tools are powerful nowadays, but you can’t be sure all doors are locked if you have never looked at them from the other side.
To truly protect an application, you must first learn how it can be attacked.

Thinking like an ethical hacker helps you understand:
πŸ•΅οΈβ€β™‚οΈ How can your application be invaded?
πŸ•΅οΈβ€β™‚οΈ Where sensitive data can be leaked?
πŸ•΅οΈβ€β™‚οΈ What weak points can be exploited?
πŸ•΅οΈβ€β™‚οΈ How attackers chain small issues into real threats?

The OWASP community plays a huge role here. The OWASP Top 10 list of grouped vulnerabilities provides clear explanations of the most common vulnerabilities, how to test for them, and, most importantly, how to mitigate them.

But theory alone is not enough.
There are excellent platforms where you can practice ethical hacking in a secure environment and understand how vulnerabilities behave in real-world scenarios. One of my favorites is PortSwigger Academy. You can choose a specific vulnerability, exploit it step by step, and then draw parallels to your own application.

This practical approach helps you see security not as an abstract concept, but as something that directly affects your users.
The main goals are:
πŸ”¦ prevent attacks before they happen
πŸ”¦ protect our users
πŸ”¦ let the users and us, not just go to sleep, but get some well-needed shut-eye πŸ†πŸŽ¬, knowing the doors are locked.

PortSwigger Academy - https://portswigger.net/web-security

PortSwigger also developed the BurpSuite DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) tool. Burp Suite is a set of tools used for penetration testing of web applications.

SAST, in combination with DAST tools, provides a more comprehensive security posture by identifying vulnerabilities in both the source code and the running application, enabling earlier detection, improved coverage, and reduced risk in production.

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