Global AppSec DC 2019

Security assessments are a critical part of any security program. Being able to identify – and communicate about – vulnerabilities systems is required to get vulnerabilities prioritized for remediation. For web and mobile applications, assessment methodologies are reasonably straightforward and established. However, for cloud-native applications, the combination of new technologies and architectural elements has introduced questions about how to scope, plan, and execute security assessments. This presentation looks at how the assessment landscape has changed with the introduction of cloud-native applications and explores how threat modeling is central to testing their security. In addition, the “Four C’s” conceptual model for looking at cloud-native application security is introduced, including a discussion of how both automated and manual testing methodologies can be used to accomplish assessment goals. Finally, vulnerability contextualization and reporting are discussed, so that teams running cloud-native application assessments can properly characterize the results of their efforts to aid in the prioritization and remediation of identified issues.