What is the difference between DAST and SAST?

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) and Static Application Security Testing (SAST) are two distinct methods for identifying vulnerabilities in software.

DAST tests applications during runtime, interacting with the application from an external perspective to simulate real-world attacks. This practical approach is effective at finding vulnerabilities like SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) that appear during the application’s operation.

SAST, on the other hand, analyzes the application’s source code, binaries, or bytecode without executing the program. It focuses on identifying vulnerabilities within the code itself, such as coding errors and insecure coding practices, before running the application.

While DAST identifies issues during operation, SAST detects problems in the codebase, making them complementary approaches to application security.