Security has always been a “drag” on application development. But with organizations shipping code more frequently, and across multiple environments, that drag is turning into a widening security gap that attackers are quick to exploit.
The dangers are based on a lot more than mere alarmist industry hype. A recent Linux Foundation survey highlights that 75% of new developers are unfamiliar with secure software development practices, which is all the more risky in a world where teams depend heavily on open source and external packages.
These trends are raising some serious questions about application security solutions and how well existing security practices can handle the speed, scale, and complexity of modern app development.
The Application Security Gap and Why It’s Growing
The application security gap is the growing mismatch between how apps are built and shipped today (extremely quickly, with many dependencies) and how many organizations go about securing them (with little more than periodic testing and manual reviews).
A recent GitLab study found that two-thirds of engineering teams are releasing software significantly faster than they were a year prior, with many deploying on a daily basis or even multiple times per day.
An organization might confidently say “We test our apps,” which could be technically true, but it often doesn’t cover constantly changing blind spots around APIs, third-party dependencies, cloud configurations, and other high-risk exposures. As application components grow more modular and dependent on external services, it means that often, no single team maintains full visibility or ownership of the entire risk surface at any given moment.
At the same time, the scale of modern applications makes manual reasoning increasingly unrealistic. “Vibe coding” and other modes of AI-assisted development are only adding fuel to the fire. Production-grade code gets produced in seconds with little human input, increasing the likelihood that critical security gaps make it to production unnoticed.
The main disconnect happens when delivery is quick and continuous, while security testing is still just a point-in-time event. Many security programs are stuck in the era of slower, more stable software development, which must change to keep pace with how applications are developed and deployed today.
How Attackers Are Exploiting the Gap
Zero-day vulnerabilities in applications are quite common these days, even in well-supported and mature technologies. But most zero-days aren’t that fancy. Attackers regularly exploit some common errors developers make. A good resource to learn from about this is the OWASP Top 10, which was recently updated to cover the latest application security gaps.
The main issue on the list is broken access controls, which happens when the application doesn’t properly enforce who can access what. In reality, this translates into bad actors being able to view or manipulate data and functionality they shouldn’t have access to.
Next on the list are security misconfigurations. These are simple to tune, but given the vast number of environments, services, and cloud platforms most applications span, they are difficult to maintain at scale. A common example are exposed admin interfaces, which opens the door to credential-related attacks, particularly brute-forcing.
Software supply chain failures add another layer of risk. Modern applications rely heavily on open-source libraries, APIs, packages, container images, and CI/CD components. Any of these can introduce vulnerabilities or malicious code into production. A single compromised dependency can impact thousands of downstream applications.
For application developers and enthusiasts, it is highly recommended to study the entries in the OWASP Top 10, along with related OWASP lists such as the API Security Top 10 and emerging AI security guidance.
What Closing the Security Gap Actually Requires
Closing the application security gap is a multi-stage effort that requires planning and dedication. First, developers must understand the risks their design choices introduce and rethink their approach to AI-assisted coding to ensure security considerations aren’t skipped in favor of speed.
Another necessary step is shifting away from periodic testing toward continuous assessments throughout the software development lifecycle (SDLC). With a combination of human expertise and automated tools, security can scale without slowing down development.
To make that happen, it’s also worth noting that not every finding deserves equal attention. Modern testing surfaces a large volume of issues, many of which are theoretical or low-impact in practice. To be effective, organizations need to prioritize vulnerabilities that are actually exploitable and pose a direct business risk.
Finally, assessments must reflect how applications are used today. Modern applications are accessed through APIs, automation, bots, mobile clients, and partner integrations. That means security testing needs to account for how these interactions can be abused.
Final Thoughts
Cybersecurity is a never-ending cat-and-mouse game where attackers only need to find one gap, while defenders must account for them all. That is the challenge of modern application security. With so many avenues to exploit, attackers rarely have to wait for some big vulnerability or dramatic failure. They exploit simple oversights that happen due to the complexity of application environments.
The good news is that these risks are not too great to overcome. The only change that needs to happen is modernizing security practices. When approached continuously and thoughtfully, security becomes a natural part of building resilient, trustworthy software.
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