February 2025 Summaries

Security organizations are often at the forefront of alerting the market to changes in the application security landscape, emphasizing the need for consolidation and automation in response to the rapid growth of environments and multi-pronged attacks. In collaboration with Informa TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group, a survey of 383 cybersecurity and IT professionals in the U.S. and Canada reveals that protected web applications are expected to grow by 39% over the next 24 months, with API usage projected to increase from 32% to 80%. Challenges include managing security amid agile development and increasing cloud infrastructure use. Web application firewalls are common, with 92% of organizations utilizing them, and many relying on multiple vendors due to gaps in coverage and effectiveness. Additionally, 45% of respondents have experienced DDoS attacks as part of broader diversions, with 70% noting significant operational impacts. While automation is viewed as potentially advantageous to adversaries, 56% of developers believe defenders have the edge. The report suggests that organizations consider integrated application security solutions to effectively protect increasingly complex environments, allowing security to be built into development processes.

The PCI DSS 4.0 deadline on March 31, 2025, marks the enforcement of enhanced security measures initially introduced in March 2022, focusing on stronger authentication, encryption, and monitoring for businesses handling payment card data. These updates are in response to rising sophisticated cyber threats targeting card information and include requirements such as multi-factor authentication, stricter password controls, and thorough risk assessments. A key mandate is the deployment of a web application firewall (WAF) to detect and prevent web-based attacks, which poses challenges due to potential false positives and interference with legitimate traffic. Fastly's Next-Gen WAF is highlighted as a solution that meets PCI DSS 4.0 requirements by offering advanced web application and API protection with minimal false positives and integration flexibility, capable of deploying quickly across various environments. This WAF allows organizations to meet compliance goals efficiently while avoiding disruptions to legitimate operations, making it a favorable option ahead of the impending deadline.