Learn how the Snyk platform empowers application security with AI-powered tools, shift-left strategies, and developer-friendly solutions for cloud-native environments.
In an era where software vulnerabilities can lead to catastrophic breaches, application security has never been more critical. Yet, for many developers, security remains a complex and often frustrating aspect of the development process. Enter Snyk is a company that's changing how developers approach security by making it an integral, seamless part of the development workflow.
At Black Hat 2024, I sat down with Randall Degges, Head of Developer Relations and Community at Snyk, to explore how the company addresses the evolving security landscape and empowers developers to build safer applications.
Adapting to Cloud-Native and Serverless Architectures
As cloud-native and serverless architectures become increasingly prevalent, many wonder how security practices must evolve. Degges offers a reassuring perspective:
"Fundamentally, our approach is kind of the same as not cloud native and not serverless as it is with those things."
He explains that while deployment methods may change, the core security concerns remain consistent: "Like serverless, you're still writing the same code in the same language as you would. The only difference is where it's deployed."
Snyk's strategy is to provide tools that integrate seamlessly across various deployment pipelines, ensuring that security remains a constant regardless of the architecture. "We have a lot of nice tools that plug into various deployment pipelines to make it easier for devs," Degges notes.
Shifting Left: Integrating Security into the Development Workflow
One of Snyk's core missions is to make security an integral part of the development process from the earliest stages. Degges demonstrates this with Snyk's IDE integration: "We literally have three Snyk extensions, and see it here is like our little patch icon, and it's available in every popular IDE."
This integration allows developers to receive real-time security feedback as they code. Degges explains, "In real time, as you're writing code, it will conduct these scans and look and analyze your code for many issues."
But Snyk takes it a step further with AI-powered fix suggestions. "For a lot of things now, because we have these new AI tools, we can fix this issue directly," Degges demonstrates. With a single click, developers can apply AI-generated fixes to security vulnerabilities, making securing code faster and more accessible.
"This is the ultimate shift left," Degges enthuses. "It's like you're working on something. You don't care about security, but you get a button to fix problems when they pop up. And you don't even need to know anything."
Leveraging AI in Application Security
While AI is transforming many aspects of software development, Snyk takes a nuanced approach to its use in security. Degges explains that for vulnerability detection, Snyk relies on more traditional AI methods: "We don't use generative AI at all because we have our own knowledge graphs that we built. We're using good old-fashioned, old-school AI."
This approach uses symbolic variables and hard-coded rules refined through machine learning, which provides greater accuracy and eliminates the risk of hallucinations that can occur with generative AI.
However, Snyk does leverage generative AI for suggesting fixes. "We like to use generative AI to generate a fix. But then we feed the fix back to our symbolic engine to make sure it's in there. And then only if it passes do we send it out," Degges explains.
This hybrid approach allows Snyk to harness the creative power of generative AI while maintaining the reliability necessary for security applications.
Addressing Open Source Security
Open-source dependencies remain a significant vector for security vulnerabilities, and Snyk is actively working to address this challenge. "We give our service out completely free to any open source project and want people to use it with no limitations," Degges shares.
Additionally, Snyk's security research team proactively identifies vulnerabilities in critical open-source software. "We're researching to find vulnerabilities in critical open-source software and get it fixed before they're discovered," Degges explains.
The company is also partnering with organizations like the Open Source Security Foundation to support broader initiatives in securing the open-source ecosystem.
The Future of Application Security
Looking ahead, Degges emphasizes the growing importance of AI in software development and its implications for security: "If you're not using generative AI to help you build software, you're already behind the game."
However, he cautions this increased productivity comes with increased security risks: "Where I'm using generative AI to write 20x the amount of code, security becomes 20x more important. You will have vulnerabilities in that code, and you need to catch the vulnerabilities earlier."
This reality underscores the need for robust, integrated security tools to keep pace with AI-accelerated development.
Practical Advice for Developers
Degges offers some key takeaways for developers looking to improve their application security:
Embrace AI-assisted development, but be aware of the increased security implications.
Make security scanning a regular part of your development hygiene.
Use free tools like Snyk's IDE extensions to catch vulnerabilities early.
Don't rely solely on AI-generated code; always verify and test for security issues.
Stay informed about security best practices, especially when working with open-source dependencies.
Conclusion
As the software development landscape continues to evolve, with cloud-native architectures, serverless computing, and AI-assisted coding becoming the norm, security must evolve in tandem. Snyk's approach – integrating security seamlessly into the development workflow, leveraging AI responsibly, and empowering developers with accessible tools – offers a glimpse into the future of application security.
By making security an integral, almost effortless part of the development process, Snyk is not just shifting security left; they're weaving it into the fabric of software creation. Degges says, "Security should be a normal part of every hygiene checklist."
For developers looking to stay ahead of the curve and build more secure applications, embracing tools and practices that align with this philosophy is not just beneficial – it's becoming essential.
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