Web Application Security: Exploitation and Countermeasures for Modern Web Applications

If you’re looking to protect your web applications against security threats, then you should pick up Andrew Hoffman's "Web Application Security: Second Edition.”As a full stack developer this book helped fill in some gaps in my knowledge base. I found myself recognizing a lot of terminology I heard in conversation at my job, that previously was just above my head. For example concepts like Cross Site Scripting (XSS), CORS, CSRF, CSP and Zero Trust Architecture. After reading this books I am now way better equipped to participate in these conversations and write more secure code. Honestly just the ROI on my confidence to chat about web app security made the book worth it for me.Hoffman's approach is both systematic and practical, making complex concepts accessible, even to a novice. Seriously, anyone who has access to the most simple computer, with a browser, and knows how to open a terminal can follow the contents of this book and start working through the examples. It helps that the code examples are in Javascript for quick testing and the commands are meant for a unix based terminal. Hoffman lays out the concepts in such a palatable manner that you can grok them without having to run any code examples either.Structurally, I especially like that the historical context of Web App Security is limited to a single chapter. So you can kick off the ground running without getting bogged down in historical references. The book is divided into three parts Recon, Offense, and Defense. I’m glad it’s structured this way because it was great to look forward to learning about the attack vectors and then learn how we remediate these security issues.Each chapter was packed with real-world examples, practical insights, and actionable advice I can immediately apply in my projects. Hoffman's "Web Application Security: Second Edition" is a must-read for anyone involved in the development of web applications. Especially in this day and age where cybersecurity has become a growing concern for the government and companies alike.

Andrew Hoffman’s updated edition of his book on web application security is a robust resource, good for beginners and more seasoned engineers alike. The book is easy to follow and acts as a comprehensive guide.

The book achieved a good balance between being approachable for new engineers and interesting for more experienced ones. The division between the 3 pillars gives a pleasant sense of progress while reading. Great read.