OWASP
An open community dedicated to improving software security through free tools, standards, and the widely referenced Top 10 vulnerability list.
Definition
OWASP (Open Worldwide Application Security Project) is a nonprofit foundation that produces freely available resources for improving software security. Their most well-known publication, the OWASP Top 10, catalogs the most critical web application security risks and is updated periodically to reflect evolving threats.
Beyond the Top 10 list, OWASP provides testing guides, security cheat sheets, vulnerability scanning tools, and frameworks for secure development practices. It has become the de facto standard reference for web application security in the software industry.
Why It Matters
Web application vulnerabilities like SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and broken authentication continue to cause billions in damages annually. OWASP provides the common language and prioritized framework that development teams use to address these threats systematically.
For businesses, OWASP compliance is often a baseline requirement in security audits, vendor assessments, and regulatory frameworks. Understanding the Top 10 helps non-technical stakeholders ask the right questions about their application security posture.
Examples in Practice
A development team runs OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) against their web application before launch, identifying three cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and one insecure direct object reference that could have exposed customer data.
During a vendor selection process, a company requires all SaaS providers to demonstrate how they address each item in the OWASP Top 10, using it as a standardized security evaluation framework.