Top five actions engineers should take based on the OWASP Top 10 2021 security updates

The OWASP Foundation's 2021 update to the OWASP Top 10 security vulnerabilities highlights significant shifts in the landscape of application security risks. The most notable change is the rise of Broken Access Control to the top position, indicating its increased criticality, while Broken Authentication has dropped in importance. New categories such as Insecure Design and Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) have been introduced, reflecting evolving security challenges. The update also shows the absorption of XML External Entity (XXE), Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and Insecure Deserialization into broader categories like Security Misconfiguration and Software/Data Integrity Failures. As vulnerabilities in software dependencies become more prevalent, engineering and security teams are encouraged to adopt a security-first design approach, utilize automated scanning tools, and invest in penetration testing and bug bounty programs to identify and mitigate risks. The document underscores the necessity of a defense-in-depth strategy, highlighting that no single solution can address all security threats, and emphasizes the role of continuous monitoring and education in maintaining application security.

No tracked trend matches for this post yet.