Cloud-based Kubernetes applications have become the standard for modernizing workloads, but their multi-layered design can easily create numerous entry points for unauthorized activity. To protect your applications from these threats, you need security controls at each layer of your Kubernetes infrastructure.

Today, we announced our entrance into the Static Application Security Testing (SAST) market. It’s a significant development for WhiteSource, which has until now been solely focused on open source software security. In this post, I explain why we decided to make this move beyond open source into proprietary code security, and the value it will bring to developers, security teams, and their organizations.

Before we jump into definitions, let’s quickly level set on how we got here. Over the last few years, the way we build software has changed drastically. With the increasing need to move faster and release more frequently, organizations are opting to get rid of monolithic architectures and adopt a microservices architecture for greater agility, resiliency, and efficiency.

I love the boundless possibilities of modern software development. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can code. More than any other time in human history, each of us has the power to build something in software, to realize whatever we can imagine. At the same time, a thriving ecosystem of open source software components allows us to stand upon the shoulders of giants, to quickly assemble huge building blocks of existing functionality that can rocket us toward our own goals.

As the pace and complexity of software development increases, organizations are looking for ways to improve the performance and effectiveness of their application security testing, including “shifting left” by integrating security testing directly into developer tools and workflows. This makes a lot of sense. Defects, including security defects, can often be addressed faster and more cost-effectively if they are caught early.

The 12th volume of our annual State of Software Security (SOSS) report is now live! Rather than examining a single year of activity associated with an application, in this year's report we looked at the entire history of active applications. By doing so, we can view the full life cycle of applications, which results in more accurate metrics and observations.

Building an application security program can be overwhelming. The steady stream of content encouraging teams to shift left is inspiring, but it doesn’t help you get started. Looking toward organizations with mature AppSec initiatives can make the gap seem insurmountable — all while an actionable plan remains elusive. Like anything else in software development, application security is a journey. A journey that’s much more enjoyable with some guiding principles.

A managed services partner should do more than run the tests you choose. The right partner will work with you to shape your application security program. If your firm has attempted to hire internal security experts lately, you know they’re few and far between.

Security is one of the most changeable landscapes in technology at the moment. With innovations, come new threats, and it seems like every week brings news of a major organization succumbing to a cyber attack. We’re seeing innovations like AI-driven threat detection and zero-trust networking continuing to be a huge area of investment. However, security should never be treated as a single plane.