[RERELEASE] What is application security?

Frank (@en0fmc) has a lot of experience with application security. His current role is the director for web application security and product management at Qualys. He's also the chapter leader for OWASP Columbia, SC. He lives and breathes application security. In this episode we discuss: what application security is; why it's important; where it should be integrated; and resources.

Summary: Timothy De Block and Tim Fowler, CEO and founder of Ethos Labs LLC, strap in to discuss the critical, rapidly escalating threats in space security. Tim explains that space is now an extension of the internet, where security has historically been ignored due to "organizational inertia" and a perceived "veil of obscurity". The discussion covers the real-world impact of GPS timing disruption on terrestrial infrastructure (like power grids and financial systems) , the danger of unencrypted space communications , and the urgent need for a holistic security approach that integrates security testers directly with development teams. They conclude with a debate on the role of AI in anomaly detection versus critical human decision-making in space. The State of Space Security and Major Threats Security is a Low Priority: Historically, security was not a priority for systems in space, often operating under a "veil of obscurity". This is slowly changing, with an uptick in security engineering roles this year, moving beyond just GRC/cyber assurance. Unencrypted Communications: A core challenge is the widespread use of unencrypted signals between bases and satellites, which can be easily intercepted and read. Tim estimates that less than 50% of signals are encrypted due to operational challenges. Encryption is Not Enough: Encryption only addresses confidentiality. An encrypted signal can still be captured and replayed, and the satellite may process it if integrity is not addressed. The Ground Segment Threat: Even encrypted space communications can be nullified if the ground network is compromised (e.g., stealing a FIPS-compliant encryption module), necessitating a holistic security approach. Repeating History: Space security is currently experiencing a situation analogous to the internet's early days (ARPANet) or the ICS/OT SCADA world 12-15 years ago, focusing on getting things operational before securing them. Real-World Impact on Terrestrial Life GPS Timing is Critical: Critical infrastructure—including pipelines, power grids, and financial systems—all rely on GPS timing for synchronization. Disruption Affects Everyone: Disrupting GPS timing can cause widespread outages. Examples include: The London Stock Exchange going down in 2012 due to a localized GPS jamming attack that wasn't even targeting them. A US Navy testing incident that caused widespread outages in San Diego, affecting ATMs and pharmacies for days. Space is the New Internet: Partnerships like T-Mobile's direct-to-cell with Starlink demonstrate that space is becoming an extension of the internet, increasing connectivity but also the attack surface. Strategy and Getting Involved Integrating Security: The best model for moving decisions closer to security on the operations-to-security spectrum is to physically place security testers (like penetration testers) directly within development teams (DevSecOps). Train Developers to Attack: A highly effective proactive security measure is to teach developers how to attack their own software; they magically stop writing vulnerable code. Space is a Culmination of Niches: Space security is the culmination of all security specializations (cloud, network, web application, ICS/OT, physical security). There is a place and a need for experts from every niche. Resources for Getting Started: Check local security conferences for the Aerospace Village (a non-profit that hosts hands-on labs). Read books like Space Cyber Security by Dr. Jacob Oakley. Attend specialized conferences like Hackspace Con. "Just Google it": Use your existing security expertise (e.g., "cloud security") and research how it applies to the space industry. AI in Space: Augmentation vs. Autonomy Anomaly Detection is Ideal: AI (machine learning) is tailor-made for high-speed computation and sensor analysis, making it excellent for anomaly detection in early warning systems. The Human Decision-Maker: Tim Fowler insists that human involvement is essential for critical decision-making and validating AI output (to determine if an alert is a false positive). He argues that an autonomous AI decision in space could quickly escalate into a hostile international incident. Scalability Debate: Timothy De Block questioned the scalability of relying on humans for every decision, using traffic light management as an example of where AI could safely and efficiently augment processes. Both agreed AI should handle "busy work" and augment human capabilities, not perform autonomous functions in sensitive situations. ETHOS LAbs Links and Resources: ETHOS LABS Website Connect with Tim Folwer on Linkedin

Summary: Timothy De Block hosts a lively discussion with Maeve Mueller on the perennial challenge of Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM). They dive into the logistics, triumphs, and frustrations of planning events that actually engage employees. The conversation covers everything from the effectiveness of different activities (like "watch and win" contests and "pitch a fish" competitions), the delicate balance of fear vs. education in phishing campaigns, and the logistical nightmares of organizing in-person events. They also explore the emerging concept of Human Risk Management and why good security awareness is ultimately just good marketing and relationship building. Key Takeaways Logistics The Struggle is Real: Timothy was "so far behind" on CSAM planning, scrambling to get materials out after October 1st, highlighting the significant time commitment required for impactful programs. Maeve, despite starting planning in June, still feels like she's "running around with like my head cut off" in October. The Power of Swag and Food: Free food, particularly good quality food (like the Costco lunch spread Timothy plans), is a reliable way to drive attendance to in-person events. Maeve noted the success of handing out donuts to draw people to their booth. Creative Engagement: Rote training doesn't work. Successful events involve engaging formats: Watch and Win Contests: Offering prizes for completing training modules, though people often just let videos play in the background. Cybersecurity Mythbusters: Demonstration-based presentations that disprove common security myths, like showing how a password cracker works. Pitch a Phish Competition: Encouraging teammates to create their own phishing emails to target a fake persona, which turns the tables and increases participation. The Booth Approach: Setting up a booth in the office lobby with swag, info cards, and food (like donuts) is effective for broad outreach. Logistical Challenges: The planning process is fraught with administrative issues, such as setting up registration forms (with Microsoft Forms being preferred over glitchy Microsoft Teams registration) and the time sink of cleaning up after in-person events (like the popcorn machine that takes 30 minutes to clean). The Human Element and Future of the Field Marketing Secure Behavior: Security awareness is fundamentally about marketing secure behaviors. Timothy and Maeve agree that the ultimate goal is to figure out how to make people care about security in their personal lives, which will then bleed over into their work habits. "Department of K.N.O.W.": Maeve highlights the need for the security team to be the "department of KNOW" rather than the "department of NO," as constant negativity leads users to circumvent controls and create Shadow IT. The Cybercriminal's Target: Cybercriminals have learned it's cheaper and easier to target the individual than to hack an organization's technology. Maeve stresses the need to tell stories about cybercrime compounds and the human element of the attack to shock employees into awareness. Human Risk Management (HRM): The movement toward HRM involves leveraging AI to look at the "full person"—analyzing phishing results, training completion, and telemetry from other security tools. This data-driven approach positions security awareness to collect overall human risk data. Building Community: Both hosts emphasize the value of relationships—both with internal business partners and with the external security awareness community. Timothy is launching a Security Advocates Program to pull in non-security employees and champion secure messages.

Summary: Timothy De Block sits down with Matt Topper of Uber Ether to discuss the critical intersection of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and the current cyber threat landscape. They explore how adversaries have shifted their focus to compromising user accounts and non-human identities, making identity the "last threat of security". Matt Topper argues that most enterprise Zero Trust implementations are merely "VPN 2.0" and fail to integrate the holistic signals needed for true protection. The conversation dives into the rise of cybercrime as a full-fledged business, the challenges of social engineering, and the promising future of frameworks like Shared Signals to fight back. Key Takeaways The Identity Crisis in Cybersecurity The Easiest Way In: With security tooling improving, attackers focus on compromising user accounts or stealing OAuth tokens and API keys to gain legitimate access and exfiltrate data. Cybercrime as a Business: Cybercriminal groups now operate like legitimate businesses, with HR, marketing, and executives, selling initial access and internal recon capabilities to other groups for a cut of the final ransom. The Insider Threat: Cybercriminals are increasingly paying disgruntled employees for their corporate credentials, sometimes offering a percentage of the final ransom (which can be millions of dollars) or just a few thousand dollars. Social Engineering the Help Desk: Attackers easily bypass knowledge-based authentication (KBA) questions because personal data has been leaked and they exploit the help desk's desire to be helpful under pressure to gain access. Zero Trust, Non-Human Identity, and the Path Forward Zero Trust is Underwhelming: Matt Topper views most enterprise implementations of Zero Trust as overly network-centric "VPN 2.0" that fail to solve problems for multi-cloud or SaaS-based organizations. True Zero Trust is a holistic strategy that requires linking user, device, and machine-to-machine signals. The Non-Human Identity Problem: Organizations must focus on mapping and securing non-human identities, which include API keys, service accounts, servers, mobile devices, and runners in CI/CD pipelines. These keys often have broad access and are running unchecked. Shared Signals Framework (SSF): A promising solution developed by the OpenID Foundation, SSF allows large vendors (like Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce) to share risk and identity signals. This allows a company to automatically revoke a user's session in a third-party application if a compromise is detected by the identity provider. User Behavior Analytics (UBA): Effective security requires UBA, such as tracking users' browsing habits and using data analytics to establish a baseline of normal behavior, moving toward the "Moneyball" approach seen in sports. Data Quality and the IAM Challenge Data Quality is Broken: Many problems in IAM stem from poor data quality in source systems like HR and Active Directory, where there is no standardization, legacy data remains, and roles are misaligned. Selling Security to Marketing: To gain funding and traction for UBA and data analytics, security teams should pitch the problem to the marketing team by showing how it can track user behavior, prevent fraud (like "pizza hacks" from rewards program abuse), and save the company money in chargebacks. Resources & Contact UberEther: Matt Topper's company, which focuses on integrating identity access management tools to build secure systems right from day one. Shared Signals Framework (SSF): A framework from the OpenID Foundation for sharing security and identity signals across vendors.

Summary: Timothy De Block speaks with Bruce Johnson of TekStream about a truly innovative solution to the cybersecurity skills shortage: the Student-Powered Security Operations Center (SOC). Bruce outlines how this three-way public-private partnership not only provides 24-hour threat detection and remediation serves as a robust workforce development program for university students. The conversation dives into the program's unique structure, its 100% placement rate for students, the challenges of AI "hallucinations", and how the program teaches crucial life skills like accountability and critical thinking. The Student-Powered SOC Model Workforce Development: The program tackles the cybersecurity skills shortage by providing students with practical, real-world experience and helps bridge the gap where new graduates struggle to find jobs due to minimum experience requirements. Funding Structure: The program is built on a three-way private-public partnership involving the state, educational institutions, and Techstream. The funding for the SOC platform is often separate from the academic funding for student talent building. "Investment Solution": The model is positioned as an investment rather than an outsourced expense. Institutions own the licenses for their SIM environments and retain built assets, fostering collaborative value building. Reputational Value: The program provides significant reputational value to schools, boasting a 100% placement rate for students and differentiating them from institutions that only offer academic backgrounds. Cost Savings: It serves as a cost-saving measure for CISOs, as students are paid an hourly rate to perform security analyst work. Student Training and Impact Onboarding and Assessment: The formal onboarding process, which includes training on tools, runbooks, and hands-on labs, has been shortened to six weeks. The biggest indicator of a student's success is their critical thinking test, which assesses logical reasoning rather than rote knowledge. Progression and Mentorship: Students are incrementally matured by starting with low-complexity threats (like IP reputation) and gradually advancing to higher-difficulty topics, including TTPs (Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures), utilizing a complexity scoring system. Integrated career counseling meets regularly with students to review their metrics and guide their career planning. Metrics and Productivity: The program has proven successful, with students handling 50% of incident volume within a quarter of onboarding, including medium to high complexity threats. Beyond Cybersecurity: Students gain valuable, transferable life skills, such as collaboration, accountability, professionalism, and "adulting", which helps isolated students become more engaged. AI and the "Expert in the Loop" Techstream’s Overkill AI: Techstream uses its product, Overkill, for 24-hour threat detection and remediation, automating analysis, prioritization, and the creation of new detections to go "from zero to hero in 24 hours". Expert Supervision: Their approach is "expert in the loop" , meaning humans (students and analysts) are involved in supervising the AI, with automation being adopted incrementally as trust is built. The Hallucination Challenge: Timothy De Block raised concern about students lacking the experience to discern incorrect information or "hallucinations" from AI output. Bruce Johnson affirmed that the program trains students in three areas: using AI, supervising AI, and understanding AI broadly. Training Necessity: Students must learn how to do the traditional level one work before they can effectively supervise an AI, as experience is needed to detect when the AI makes a bad assumption.

Summary: Timothy De Block is joined by Sam Chehab to unpack the key findings of the 2025 Postman State of the API Report. Sam emphasizes that APIs are the connective tissue of the modern world and that the biggest security challenges are rooted in fundamentals. The conversation dives deep into how AI agents are transforming API development and consumption, introducing new threats like "rug pulls" , and demanding higher quality documentation and error messages. Sam also shares actionable advice for engineers, including a "cheat code" for getting organizational buy-in for AI tools and a detailed breakdown of the new Model Context Protocol (MCP). Key Insights from the State of the API Report API Fundamentals are Still the Problem: The start of every security journey is an inventory problem (the first two CIS controls). Security success is a byproduct of solving collaboration problems for developers first. The Collaboration Crisis: 93% of teams are struggling with API collaboration, leading to duplicated work and an ever-widening attack surface due to decentralized documentation (Slack, Confluence, etc.). API Documentation is Up: A positive sign of progress is that 58% of teams surveyed are actively documenting their APIs to improve collaboration. Unauthorized Access Risk: 51% of developers cite unauthorized agent access as a top security risk. Sam suspects this is predominantly due to the industry-wide "hot mess" of secrets management and leaked API keys. Credential Amplification: This term is used to describe how risk is exponential, not linear, when one credential gains access to a service that, in turn, has access to multiple other services (i.e., lateral movement). AI, MCP, and New Security Challenges Model Context Protocol (MCP): MCP is a protocol layer that sits on top of existing RESTful services, allowing users to generically interact with APIs using natural language. It acts as an abstraction layer, translating natural language requests into the proper API calls. The AI API Readiness Checklist: For APIs to be effective for AI agents: Rich Documentation: AI thrives on documentation, which developers generally hate writing. Using AI to write documentation is key. Rich Errors: APIs need contextual error messages (e.g., "invalid parameter, expected X, received Y") instead of generic messages like "something broke". AI Introduces Supply Chain Threats: The "rug pull" threat involves blindly trusting an MCP server that is then swapped out for a malicious one. This is a classic supply chain problem (similar to NPM issues) that can happen much faster in the AI world. MCP Supply Chain Risk: Because you can use other people's MCP servers, developers must validate which MCP servers they're using to avoid running untrusted code. The first reported MCP hack involved a server that silently BCC'd an email to the attacker every time an action was performed. Actionable Advice and Engineer "Cheat Codes" Security Shift-Left with Postman: Security teams should support engineering's use of tools like Postman because it allows developers to run security tests (load testing, denial of service simulation, black box testing) themselves within their normal workflow, accelerating development velocity. API Key Management is Critical: Organizations need policies around API key generation, expiration, and revocation. Postman actively scans public repos (like GitHub) for leaked Postman keys, auto-revokes them, and notifies the administrator. Getting AI Buy-in (The Cheat Code): To get an AI tool (like a Postman agent or a code generator) approved within your organization, use this tactic: Generate a DPA (Data Processing Agreement) using an AI tool. Present the DPA and a request for an Enterprise License to Legal, Security, and your manager. This demonstrates due diligence and opens the door for safe, approved AI use, making you an engineering "hero". About Postman and the Report Postman's Reach: Postman is considered the de facto standard for API development and is used in 98% of the Fortune 500. Report Origins: The annual report, now in its seventh year, was started because no one else was effectively collecting and synthesizing data across executives, managers, developers, and consultants regarding API production and consumption.

Summary: Timothy De Block sits down with Ed Gaudet, CEO of Censinet and a fellow podcaster, for a wide-ranging conversation on the rapid, transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Ed Gaudet characterizes AI as a fast-moving "hammer" that will drastically increase productivity and reshape the job market, potentially eliminating junior software development roles. The discussion also covers the societal risks of AI, the dangerous draw of "digital cocaine" (social media), and Censinet's essential role in managing complex cyber and supply chain risks for healthcare organizations. Key Takeaways AI's Transformative & Disruptive Force A Rapid Wave: Ed Gaudet describes the adoption of AI, particularly chat functionalities, as a rapid, transformative wave, surpassing the speed of the internet and cloud adoption due to its instant accessibility. Productivity Gains: AI promises immense productivity, with the potential for tasks requiring 100 people and a year to be completed by just three people in a month. The Job Market Shift: AI is expected to eliminate junior software development roles by abstracting complexity. This raises concerns about a future developer shortage as senior architects retire without an adequate pipeline of talent. Adaptation, Not Doom: While acknowledging significant risks, Ed Gaudet maintains that humanity will adapt to AI as a tool—a "hammer"—that will enhance cognitive capacity and productivity, rather than making people "dumber". The Double-Edged Sword: Concerns exist over the nefarious uses of AI, such as deepfakes being used for fraudulent job applications, underscoring the ongoing struggle between good and evil in technology. Cyber Risk in Healthcare and Patient Safety Cyber Safety is Patient Safety: Due to technology's deep integration into healthcare processes, cyber safety is now directly linked to patient safety. Real-World Consequences: Examples of cyber attacks resulting in canceled procedures and diverted ambulances illustrate the tangible threat to human life. Censinet's Role: Censinet helps healthcare systems manage third-party, enterprise cyber, and supply chain risks at scale, focusing on proactively addressing future threats rather than past ones. Patient Advocacy: AI concierge services have the potential to boost patient engagement, enabling individuals to become stronger advocates for their own health through accessible second opinions. Technology's Impact on Mental Health & Life "Digital Cocaine": Ed Gaudet likened excessive phone and social media use, particularly among younger generations, to "digital cocaine"—offering short-term highs but lacking nutritional value and promoting technological dependence. Life-Changing Tools: Ed Gaudet shared a powerful personal story of overcoming alcoholism with the help of the Reframe app, emphasizing that the right technology, used responsibly, can have a profound, life-changing impact on solving mental health issues. Resources & Links Mentioned Censinet: Ed Gaudet's company, specializing in third-party and enterprise risk management for healthcare. Reframe App: An application Ed Gaudet used for his personal journey of recovery from alcoholism, highlighting the power of technology for mental health.

Wes (@kai5263499) spoke about this topic at BSides Hunstville this year. I was fascinated by it and decided to invite Wes on. Mac malware is a bit of an interest for Wes. He's done a lot of research on it. His talk walks through the history of malware on Macs. For Apple fan boys, Macs are still one of the more safer options in the personal computer market. That is changing though. Macs because of their increased market share are getting targeted more and more. We discuss some pretty nifty tools that will help with fending off that nasty malware. Little Snitch is one of those tools. Some malware actively avoids the application. Tune in for some more useful information.

Claire (@ClaireTills) doesn’t have your typical roll in infosec. She sits between the security teams and marketing team. It’s a fascinating roll and something that gives her a lot of insight into multiple parts of the business. What works and what doesn’t work in communicating security to the different areas. Check her blog out.In this episode we discuss:How important is it for the company to take security seriouslyHow would someone get started improving communication?Why we have a communication problem in infosecWhere should people startMore resources:Networking with Humans to Create a Culture of Security by Tracy Maleeff - BSides NoVa 2017Courtney K BsidesLV 2018, Implementing the Three Cs of Courtesy, Clarity, and Comprehension to Optimize End User Engagement (video not available yet)BSidesWLG 2017 - Katie Ledoux - Communication: An underrated tool in the infosec revolutionJeff Man, The Art of the Jedi Mind TrickThe Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple WordsChris Roberts, Communication Across Ranges

Claire (@ClaireTills) doesn’t have your typical roll in infosec. She sits between the security teams and marketing team at Tenable. It’s a fascinating roll and something that gives her a lot of insight into multiple parts of the business. What works and what doesn’t work in communicating security to the different areas. Check her blog out.In this episode we discuss:What Claire’s experience is with communication and infosecWhat’s ahead for communication in infosecWhy do people do what they do?What questions to askMore resources:Networking with Humans to Create a Culture of Security by Tracy Maleeff - BSides NoVa 2017Courtney K BsidesLV 2018, Implementing the Three Cs of Courtesy, Clarity, and Comprehension to Optimize End User Engagement (video not available yet)BSidesWLG 2017 - Katie Ledoux - Communication: An underrated tool in the infosec revolutionJeff Man, The Art of the Jedi Mind TrickThe Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple WordsChris Roberts, Communication Across Ranges