Manual Security Auditing vs Dynamic Application Security Testing

Developers should learn manual security auditing to build more secure applications, especially in high-risk environments like finance, healthcare, or critical infrastructure where automated scans are insufficient meets developers should use dast during the testing phase of the software development lifecycle to identify runtime security vulnerabilities that static analysis might miss, such as injection flaws, broken authentication, and sensitive data exposure. Here's our take.

Manual Security Auditing

Nice Pick

Developers should learn manual security auditing to build more secure applications, especially in high-risk environments like finance, healthcare, or critical infrastructure where automated scans are insufficient

Pros

• It's crucial during the software development lifecycle (SDLC) for identifying logic flaws, business logic vulnerabilities, and zero-day threats that tools can't detect
• Related to: penetration-testing, secure-coding

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Dynamic Application Security Testing

Developers should use DAST during the testing phase of the software development lifecycle to identify runtime security vulnerabilities that static analysis might miss, such as injection flaws, broken authentication, and sensitive data exposure

Pros

• It is particularly valuable for web applications and APIs exposed to the internet, as it helps ensure compliance with security standards like OWASP Top 10 and PCI-DSS before deployment
• Related to: static-application-security-testing, penetration-testing

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

Use Manual Security Auditing if: You want it's crucial during the software development lifecycle (sdlc) for identifying logic flaws, business logic vulnerabilities, and zero-day threats that tools can't detect and can live with specific tradeoffs depend on your use case.

Use Dynamic Application Security Testing if: You prioritize it is particularly valuable for web applications and apis exposed to the internet, as it helps ensure compliance with security standards like owasp top 10 and pci-dss before deployment over what Manual Security Auditing offers.

The Bottom Line

Manual Security Auditing wins

Developers should learn manual security auditing to build more secure applications, especially in high-risk environments like finance, healthcare, or critical infrastructure where automated scans are insufficient