From my perspective, spotting security vulnerabilities early starts with shifting left—embedding security into every phase of the SDLC. I emphasize: Threat modeling during design to anticipate potential attack vectors. Secure coding practices and regular peer code reviews with a security checklist. Static code analysis tools (like SonarQube, Snyk, or Checkmarx) integrated into CI pipelines for early detection. Dependency scanning to catch vulnerabilities in third-party libraries before they reach production. Early detection not only reduces risk but also cuts down remediation costs significantly. Proactive is always better than reactive when it comes to security.

The vulnerabilities shall be identified asap in the SDLC, using security frameworks could help like OSWASP SAMM creating a SSDLC (Secure Software Development Life Cycle). This approach can enable other concepts like ‘shift-left’ strategy. I start with threat modeling during the design phase, define security requirements based on OWASP ASVS and NIST, and ensure secure architecture reviews are part of the planning. Then I integrate SAST, dependency scanning, and SBOM generation into CI/CD pipelines. Another game changer, promote a security-first culture by embedding security champions and enforcing policy-as-code to prevent insecure code from reaching production. Proactive approach to reduce risk also aligns security with development speed.

When designing software, I prioritize security from the start. I use threat modeling, follow OWASP Top 10 practices, and rely on code reviews and static analysis to catch issues early. By integrating security into CI/CD and monitoring dependencies, I help prevent vulnerabilities before deployment.

A lot of teams focus on security testing at the code or architecture level but behavioral vulnerabilities get missed. The fastest way to expose weak spots? Run chaos scenarios with real users. Let people try to break it intentionally—both internally and with friendly outsiders. You’ll uncover flawed assumptions, access loopholes, and UI blind spots that no scanner will flag. Security isn’t just about hardened systems it’s about outsmarting the human factor before attackers do.