Why All SCA Products Suck! (And Why You Still Need One Anyway)

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2 years ago
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Technology AppSec Application Security Web Application Security Application Security Testing Application Security Basics AppSec Program Web security OWASP OWASP Top 10 cyber security

In this episode of the *Why All AppSec Products Suck* series, we explore the **pros and pitfalls of Software Composition Analysis (SCA)**. While SCA tools are essential for identifying vulnerabilities in third-party libraries and managing license risks, they’re often misunderstood and misapplied.

We dig into why SCA can produce **false positives**, miss **custom code vulnerabilities**, and provide a **partial picture** of your app’s risk profile—and why they’re still a critical piece of your AppSec toolkit when used wisely.

🔍 **What you'll learn in this episode:**
- What SCA is, how it works, and why it matters
- Why your own custom code is probably riskier than the libraries you pull in
- How licensing compliance is just as critical as vulnerability scans
- Common pitfalls: false positives, shallow scans, transitive dependencies
- Why SCA works best when paired with tools like IAST, DAST, or RASP

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⏱️ **Chapters:**
1. 00:00 – Intro: What is SCA?
2. 01:05 – The value of inventorying your dependencies
3. 03:00 – Why third-party libraries matter in modern dev
4. 05:00 – Where SCA falls short: no view of your custom code
5. 06:20 – False positives from unused library functions
6. 08:20 – Debates on vulnerability sources: Snyk vs. Contrast
7. 09:40 – Licensing risk: not just about security
8. 10:30 – Combining SCA with IAST/DAST for full coverage
9. 11:30 – Wrap-up and preview of next episode (WAF)

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

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