Application security (commonly abbreviated as AppSec) is a major concern for any organisation that’s developing software.  

Given the notable rise in cyber threats, the increase in data and privacy-related regulation, the shift towards DevOps-based development and the colossal expansion of the software supply chain, putting security first throughout the software development lifecycle has become a pressing priority.  

There are plenty of useful best practices out there, but implementing effective AppSec strategies is easier said than done.  

Organisations face a multitude of challenges on the road to creating a robust application security posture, from knowledge gaps to the complexity of managing multiple tools and vendors. However, the biggest challenge is to get developers to adopt the tools with open arms and to use them consistently. 

But that’s not to say it can’t be done. Let’s take a look at some of the most common AppSec challenges you might come across and the high-level solutions you can take to address them. 

Misaligned security standards and policies 

Misaligned Security Standards and Policies 

Challenge:
Security functions often introduce new standards and policies without fully understanding the impact on development teams. This can create technical debt, operational issues, and misalignment between security and development. 

Solution:
Adopt an agile and collaborative approach to policy development. Integrate security teams and developers to ensure everyone is on the same page and new policies are practical and achievable. 

When updating technology standards, it’s crucial to study the impact on the development community. Work closely with affected parties to ensure they have sufficient time and resources to adapt without negatively impacting their GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) posture. 

Involve developers and other stakeholders in creating security standards. This helps align what’s best for security with what’s practical for development. Schedule regular reviews to keep policies up-to-date with the current technical landscape and organisational priorities. 

The key is open communication and collaboration between security and development. By working together, you can develop standards and policies that strengthen security without creating undue burden on the teams responsible for implementation. 

Ineffective use of AppSec tools 

Challenge:
You implemented AppSec tools with the best of intentions, but you’re lacking a clear strategy, and as a result, these tools fail to enhance the security posture of your applications.  

Solution: 
Develop a comprehensive AppSec strategy as you plan to implement security tools. This will ensure you conduct a thorough assessment of your organisation’s security needs, select tools that are effective and integrate seamlessly with your existing workflows. If new tools integrate and enhance the current process, it will result in lesser learning curve, better adoption and most importantly, wide acceptance from the development community. It is imponetant to ensure new tools are supported through effective campaigns, training workshops and feedbacks actioned to improve adoption and effectiveness of the tool. 

You should also be prepared to be inundated with numerous “stock” findings  and have a managable timeline to triage and remediate these. 

Leaving developers out of tool selection 

Challenge:
Developers understand code vulnerabilities better than anyone, but they’re too often excluded from the decision-making process when it comes to selecting the best security tools for your organisation.  

Solution:
Developers are the most effective critique  and the primary consumers of the AppSec tool being evaluated for adoption. Get them involved from the very first stages of the selection process, and use their insights into usability and effectiveness to help choose tools that will enhance security without hindering productivity.  

Keep soliciting feedback from developers even after your new solutions have been rolled out so that they can share their experiences and suggest improvements that will benefit both your SDLC and your security team.

Vendor management complexity 

Challenge:
There are countless vendors in today’s AppSec market offering specialised features, but very few AppSec subject matter experts are on hand to guide organisations in selecting the right mix of tools.  

Solution:
Tool Selection should be based on priorities and risk appetite of any organisation. Due to the varied and multiple technology stacks used for development within an organisation, a one stop shop may not be comprehensive, but cost effective. Organisations should perform a gap analysis based on their risk appetite and clearly prioritise and document their core requirements before embarking on vendor selection. Based on the outcome of the PoC/PoV execution by SMEs with involvement from all stakeholders, cost and risk considerations, organisations should consider either a single vendor or multiple vendor approach.

Lack of visibility into application composition 

Challenge:
Most organisations can’t clearly articulate the components that make up an application, leading to security blind spots and increased risk throughout the software supply chain.  

Solution:
Implementing a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) will help you create and maintain a detailed inventory of all components, dependencies, and third-party libraries used in your applications.  

This transparency helps you identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities much faster, ensures a more secure development process, and helps build trust with third parties and partners.  

Most of the SCA/OSA vendors generate an SBoM which gives organisations a partial visibility of their application composition. This can be matured by adding additional information that is otherwise not visibile to the SCA/OSA vendor to generate a comprehensive application SBoM. SBoM should be kept up to date across various stages of the CI/CD journey

Too many code vulnerabilities 

Challenge:
When there are a lot of code vulnerabilities being reported, this constant deluge can overwhelm your security team, causing alert fatigue and making it difficult to prioritise and address critical issues.  

Solution:
Triage the findings to remove the noise. Next, use risk-based prioritisation to manage remediation in your code, and allow your security team to focus on the most urgent and potentially damaging issues.  

You can also implement tools that provide contextual analysis, giving security teams more information and helping them pinpoint the most critical vulnerabilities more quickly. Be sure to carry out regular reviews of the vulnerability management process to ensure it remains effective, manageable, and aligned with the most up-to-date threat intelligence.
 

Viewing security as an afterthought 

Challenge:
Security is often considered only at the last stage before release, tacked on at the very end and leading to rushed and insufficient security measures.  

Solution:
Security must be integrated into every single phase of the SDLC. Adopting DevSecOps practices will make sure that security checks and balances are embedded throughout, from the initial design phase to deployment and maintenance.  

This practice also helps encourage a security-first mindset across all development teams, so that the safeguarding and quality of the code are top-of-mind throughout the process rather than being slapped on at the end.  

In addition to this, there should be regular scans of repositories such as SCM, dependencies repo, container registries etc to ensure outdated components and/or high risk binaries are tracked and disposed of if required.  This will also help identify stored credentials in SCM etc. 

How RiverSafe can help 

Navigating the complex landscape of application security requires a balanced approach—one that addresses both technical and organisational challenges.  

By fostering collaboration between security and development teams, aligning policies with practical realities, and leveraging the right tools and practices, your organisation can build a robust and resilient security posture while delivering quality applications quickly.  

If you need help overcoming common AppSec challenges and ensuring the security of your applications in an ever-evolving threat landscape, RiverSafe can help. 

With expert DevSecOps services from RiverSafe, your DevOps team can embed security into their software development lifecycle while maintaining the highest levels of efficiency. 

As a specialised professional services provider in cybersecurity and DevOps, we’ve designed our DevSecOps services to address your unique needs and level up your development team’s cybersecurity posture. 

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