Arshan Dabirsiaghi -- Security Startups, AI Influencing AppSec, and Pixee/Codemodder.io

The Application Security Podcast

Arshan Dabirsiaghi of Pixee joins Robert and Chris to discuss startups, AI in appsec, and Pixee's Codemodder.io. The conversation begins with a focus on the unrealistic expectations placed on developers regarding security. Arshan points out that even with training, developers may not remember or apply security measures effectively, especially in complex areas like deserialization. This leads to a lengthy and convoluted process for fixing security issues, a problem that Arshan and his team have been working to address through their open-source tool, Codemodder.io.
Chris and Arshan discuss the dynamic nature of the startup world. Chris reflects on the highs and lows experienced in a single day, emphasizing the importance of having a resilient team that can handle these fluctuations. They touch upon the role of negativity in an organization and its potential to hinder progress. Arshan then delves into the history of Contrast Security and its pioneering work in defining RASP (Runtime Application Self-Protection) and IAST (Interactive Application Security Testing) as key concepts in appsec.
The group also explores the future of AI in application security. Arshan expresses his view that AI will serve more as a helper than a replacement in the short term. He believes that those who leverage AI will outperform those who don't. The conversation also covers the potential risks of relying too heavily on AI, such as the introduction of vulnerabilities and the loss of understanding in code development. Arshan emphasizes the importance of a feedback loop in the development process, where each change is communicated to the developer, fostering a learning environment. This approach aims to improve developers' understanding of security issues and promote better coding practices.
Links:
Pixee https://www.pixee.ai/
Pixee's Codemodder.io: https://codemodder.io/
Book Recommendation:
Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, Vol. 2 by John Erickson: https://nostarch.com/hacking2.htm
Aleph One's "Smashing The Stack for Fun and Profit":
http://phrack.org/issues/49/14.html
Tim Newsham's "Format String Attacks":
https://seclists.org/bugtraq/2000/Sep/214
Matt Conover's "w00w00 on Heap Overflows" (reposted):
https://www.cgsecurity.org/exploit/heaptut.txt
Jeremiah Grossman, aka rain forest puppy (rfp):
https://www.jeremiahgrossman.com/#writing
Justin Rosenstein's original codemod on GitHub:
https://github.com/facebookarchive/codemod

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