In a cloud-first world, the traditional line between network security and application security is becoming blurred. Physical IT infrastructure can now be hidden behind layers of virtualization, and web applications are frequently designed, developed, tested, and deployed entirely in the cloud. At the same time, web applications have become the main target of cyberattacks and now account for 3 out of 4 data breaches worldwide. Web application security has never been more important – and yet there is still some confusion as to its place in the overall security posture. Established organizations often have mature network security programs, while web application security tends to receive far less attention and funding.

As companies continue to shift data and business logic onto cloud platforms and become reliant on web technologies to do business, information security has become a top priority. Business data, intellectual property (IP), and other sensitive information are now prized commodities, so cybercriminals are increasingly focusing their attacks on web applications to extract this data. This means that traditional network perimeter defense with firewalls to filter network traffic is no longer enough to ensure data security and proper access control. If exploited successfully, web application vulnerabilities can not only allow unauthorized access to sensitive data but also provide a foothold to mount denial-of-service attacks or even serve malware to website visitors.

Modern web assets include not only websites and web applications but also web services and application programming interfaces (APIs) that are used to exchange data between systems and provide the back-end for countless mobile applications. In a large organization, there can be thousands of different web assets spread across multiple systems and geographies. At this scale and level of complexity, protecting them all from cyberthreats is only possible with dedicated web application security solutions that deliver accurate and actionable results, such as modern dynamic application security testing (DAST) products.

Our white paper Web Application Security or Network Security – Do You Have to Choose? examines the history of web security and analyzes current trends to set the record straight on the role of web application security and network security in any mature cybersecurity program.

Download the PDF version of our white paper: Web Application Security or Network Security – Do You Have to Choose?