Why All IAST Products Suck! (And Why They Might Save AppSec in the Future)

2 years ago
43

In this episode of the “Why All AppSec Products Suck” series, we unpack the strengths and blind spots of **IAST (Interactive Application Security Testing)** tools. IAST promises precision and real-time insight by **instrumenting** the app code while it runs, but it comes with real constraints—language support, deployment complexity, and integration gaps in modern, distributed architectures.

If you're exploring how to improve secure development practices or debating between DAST vs. IAST, this is your episode.

🔍 **What you'll learn in this episode:**
- How IAST works differently from SAST, DAST, and others
- Where it excels: real-time tracing, minimal false positives, code-level remediation
- Why language support and microservice complexity limit adoption
- The tradeoff between depth (quality per language) and breadth (multi-language support)
- How IAST can be a cornerstone in future AppSec stacks—when used in the right way

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⏱️ **Chapters:**
1. 00:00 – Intro: IAST in the AppSec mix
2. 01:04 – Defining IAST: integrated, instrumented, or interactive?
3. 02:06 – IAST’s live execution view = massive power
4. 03:12 – Why interpreted languages are a limitation
5. 04:30 – Depth vs. breadth dilemma
6. 06:00 – Microservices + instrumentation = integration chaos
7. 07:20 – Where IAST shines: tracing code execution and remediation
8. 08:30 – IAST + DAST = future powerhouse
9. 09:20 – Wrap-up and next episode preview: SCA

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📚 **This episode is part of a comprehensive series**, where we cover each category of App Sec products:
* SAST: Static Application Security Testing
* DAST: Dynamic Application Security Testing
* IAST: Interactive Application Security Testing
* SCA: Software Composition Analysis
* WAF: Web Application Firewall
* RASP: Runtime Application Self-Protection (Next-Gen WAF)
* Manual Pen-Testing of Applications
(SAST vs DAST vs IAST vs SCA vs WAF vs RASP vs Pen-Testing)

🎞️ **Watch the full playlist**:
[AppSec Product Comparison Series](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLr15vRqvmtdW-LxrY_fFGNV8ub4_d_Qoc)

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🌐 **Explore More**
- Website: https://danondev.com
- Twitter: @Dan_On_Dev
- Instagram: @dan_on_dev
- Facebook: @danondev

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