Application security best practices

AI-generated code and autonomous development workflows are transforming how software is built and shipped. Teams are now able to release features faster than ever before, thanks to tools that automate everything from code generation to infrastructure provisioning. As your application footprint expands, so does your exposure to vulnerabilities.

Application security is no longer a secondary concern–it must be embedded directly into your developer workflows: automated, enforced, and always visible.

This article explores best practices for modern application security, particularly in environments shaped by AI, autonomy, and developer self-service.

Why application security is harder than ever

Securing modern applications requires more than scanning code for flaws or checking boxes before deployment. The way software is built has fundamentally changed, creating a set of new challenges.

Increased complexity

Modern architectures favor microservices, APIs, and distributed systems. Each new service adds to the surface area attackers can exploit. Dependencies between services and third-party libraries further compound the risk, especially when those dependencies aren't tracked or maintained.

Developer autonomy

Developers are shipping faster and more independently than ever before, often without a dedicated security team reviewing their work. While this accelerates innovation, it can also lead to critical gaps in security if guardrails aren't in place.

AI-generated code introduces blind spots

AI tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT are becoming trusted companions in the development process. However, they don’t always follow internal security conventions, may reuse unsafe code patterns, and rarely offer context-aware security guidance. Without structured oversight, AI-assisted development can quietly introduce vulnerabilities at scale.

Evolving threat landscape

Attackers are no longer relying solely on manual techniques. Automated scanning, bot-driven reconnaissance, and targeted software supply chain attacks are growing in frequency. Weak points in your CI/CD pipeline, misconfigured permissions, or unpatched dependencies can be exploited in minutes.

Mounting security technical debt

Security debt, like any other form of tech debt, accumulates quickly when left unchecked. In environments where teams are shipping multiple times a day, that debt can become overwhelming and difficult to remediate over time.

Key components of strong application security

How do you secure an application stack that's moving this fast? The answer lies in automation, early intervention, and shifting the culture around security ownership.

Shift security left

Security shouldn’t start at deployment; it should be embedded in planning, design, and development.

• Threat modeling should be a standard part of your design process.
• Use secure-by-default templates for new services to ensure encryption, RBAC, and secret management are included from the start.
• Integrate linting, code quality gates, and security checks directly into CI/CD pipelines.
• Conduct code reviews with security in mind, not just for functionality.

By addressing security concerns earlier in the development process, teams can reduce the cost and complexity of fixing issues later.

Define what security means for your organization

Every team should understand the minimum security standards they’re expected to follow. It’s important to take the following measures:

• Document what "security" specifically means within your organization.
• Establish baseline requirements such as TLS everywhere, no hardcoded secrets, and proper RBAC enforcement.
• Create security checklists for different types of applications and deployment scenarios.
• Ensure standards evolve alongside your technology stack and threat landscape.

Achieving and maintaining security can be a shared responsibility rather than an external requirement. But it’s only possible when everyone agrees on what ideal security looks like.

Automate as much as possible

Manual security reviews don’t scale. Here’s what you can and should automate:

• Static Application Security Testing (SAST) analyzes source code for security vulnerabilities without executing the program.
• Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) for testing running services in staging environments.
• Secrets scanning in code, config files, and CI pipelines.
• CI/CD policy enforcement that blocks deployments missing required checks.

The more you can automate security validation, the less it becomes a bottleneck for development velocity.

Move fast, but with guardrails

Enabling development velocity while maintaining security requires thoughtful guardrails:

• Enable developers to accelerate coding with AI while establishing automated validation checks.
• Recognize that AI tools often overlook critical documentation and compliance requirements, leading to fragmented ownership.
• Adopt structured governance frameworks with automated checks and clear accountability to securely manage AI-generated code.
• Balance rapid development with proactive security policies that protect without impeding innovation.

Leverage AI-specific security checks

AI code generation can help developers move faster, but that speed must be paired with automated safety nets.

• Create templates for common security checks targeting typical AI code generation vulnerabilities like SQL injection and hardcoded credentials
• Establish key validation questions for teams using AI-generated code, such as:
  
  • Do AI-generated services follow internal design patterns and conventions?
  • Is AI tool usage auditable across teams and environments?
  • Do teams understand the boundaries of safe AI code usage (e.g., no authentication logic via AI)?
  • Are AI-generated pull requests clearly flagged for additional review?

Security best practices enabled by an internal developer portal (IDP)

Internal developer portals (IDPs) play a pivotal role in scaling security across fast-moving teams. They serve as centralized hubs where development and security converge.

Golden paths with security built-in

Golden paths are standardized templates that guide teams toward best practices. When security is baked into these templates, such as secure default configurations, required authentication modules, or encrypted data storage, developers are equipped for success from day one.

Automated service ownership and accountability

Every service should have an owner. IDPs enforce metadata tagging, SLAs, and escalation paths, which are all critical for incident response and security audits. When an incident occurs, there’s no ambiguity about who’s responsible.

Security scorecards and maturity tracking

Track and report on the security posture of every service:

• Is TLS enforced?
• Are secrets rotated regularly?
• Are dependencies scanned and updated?

Scorecards help security teams prioritize remediation and give leadership visibility into overall risk.

Policy enforcement with integrated tooling

By integrating tools like SAST, DAST, Software Composition Analysis (SCA), and IaC scanning directly into the IDP, teams can:

• Block services from being promoted to production if they miss key checks.
• Get real-time feedback during development.
• Reduce the burden of manual compliance reviews.

Secret and credential hygiene

IDPs can enforce the use of secret managers and scan for exposed credentials. This reduces one of the most common and dangerous mistakes: leaving sensitive data in plain text within code repositories.

Auditability and observability

Modern IDPs provide visibility into what's running, where it lives, and how secure it is. Whether you're prepping for a compliance audit or a post-mortem, centralized observability is key.

The internal developer portal for application security

OpsLevel is an internal developer portal designed to drive continuous improvement across your software ecosystem, with robust features that enhance application security. 

By integrating with leading security tools like Snyk, Veracode, Synopsys, and SonarQube, OpsLevel centralizes security alerts, vulnerability insights, and key metrics directly within your development environment.

With OpsLevel, you can:

• Centralize security alerts and important information from security tools in a single place, with support for Snyk, Veracode, Snyopsys, SonarQube, and more.
• Run security checks against services to ensure you are following best practices, like collecting vulnerability data from scanning tools or ensuring no secrets are stored in code.  
• Define security best practices using OpsLevel’s Service Maturity Rubric and assess every service’s alignment and compliance with security standards–as part of your organization’s definition of software maturity.
• Build dashboards for key application security metrics–such as code coverage and Mean Time to Remediate (MTTR)–to track progress over time using OpsLevel’s custom widgets.

OpsLevel makes it easy for engineering teams to embed and enforce application security best practices across all services, ensuring consistent and proactive security throughout the development lifecycle.

Set up time with one of our technical experts to learn more or watch our demo on OpsLevel for security teams.

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