Manual Security Processes
Manual security processes refer to human-driven activities and procedures for identifying, assessing, and mitigating security vulnerabilities in software, systems, or organizations, without relying primarily on automated tools. These include practices like manual code reviews, penetration testing, threat modeling, and security audits conducted by security professionals. They are essential for uncovering complex, context-specific, or logic-based vulnerabilities that automated scanners might miss.
Developers should learn and use manual security processes when building or maintaining critical applications, especially in high-risk domains like finance, healthcare, or government, to ensure robust security beyond automated checks. They are crucial during the design phase for threat modeling, in code reviews to catch subtle bugs, and in penetration testing to simulate real-world attacks, helping comply with regulations like GDPR or PCI DSS. These processes foster a security-first mindset and are often required in secure development lifecycles (SDLC).