The first ever Veracode Hacker Games competition has come to a close, but were the flaws in favor of our brave competitors? Read on to find out. Over the course of the two-week challenge, students from several universities in the U.S. and the U.K. came together to explore vulnerabilities and threats that they’ll one day face on the job.

Last year brought a lot of change. Companies across the globe had to pivot, ready or not, and many went fully remote just like we did here at Veracode.

Today, more than ever before, development organizations are focusing their efforts on reducing the amount of time it takes to develop and deliver software applications. While this increase in velocity provides significant benefits for the end users and the business, it does complicate the process for testing and verifying the function and security of a release.

Whether a seasoned professional or a fresh computer science grad, every developer has his or her stressful moments of trying to dig through scanning results to mitigate or remediate a vulnerability. Since you work at the speed of “I need this yesterday,” it’s a hassle to slow down and fix flaws or even stop to rewrite code entirely. Effective AppSec today is about executing essential application security (AppSec) tests as you’re writing code.

Veracode was recently named the winner of IT Central Station’s 2021 Peer Award for application security testing (AST). Winners were chosen based on reviews from verified customers to help prospective buyers make well-informed, smart business decisions. “Receiving positive feedback from our customers on the leading technology review site for cybersecurity, DevOps, and IT is a true testament to our products and services,” said Mark Bissell, Chief Customer Officer at Veracode.

The key to successfully implementing DevOps practices is relationships. It’s about breaking down the existing silos between different functions that deliver software, like development and operations. These functions need to work toward a common goal, efficient software delivery.

To keep up with the pace of the modern world, organizations are constantly looking for ways to release software faster than their competitors. This “need for speed” has led many organizations to adopt DevSecOps. With DevSecOps, security is moved earlier in the software lifecycle, into the realm of developers. As a result of the changing development landscape, application security testing has also been evolving.