Welcome to the Elephant in AppSec, the podcast to explore, challenge, and boldly face the AppSec Elephants in the room. Today, I’m joined by a true force in cybersecurity. With over a decade of experience, Confidence Staveley has dedicated her career to helping organizations build secure, innovative products. She’s the founder of MerkleFence, where she serves as Director of Application Security for various companies, and the author of the Amazon bestseller API Security for White Hat Hackers. Confidence is known for making cybersecurity concepts accessible to diverse audiences, as seen in her popular YouTube series, "API Kitchen" @SisiNerdTV where she uses culinary metaphors to explain API security. A globally recognized leader and speaker, she’s earned accolades like Cybersecurity Woman of the World 2023, while empowering teams to innovate securely. She also leads the CyberSafe Foundation, a groundbreaking NGO focused on building a digitally inclusive and secure Africa. In this episode, we explore why proactive strategies like ethical hacking are essential, how organizations can protect against the growing risks of insecure APIs, and why compliance alone isn’t enough. Confidence shares her 2024 insights into API security, from third-party integration challenges to gaps in frameworks like the OWASP API Security Top 10, while emphasizing the importance of making security actionable for both leaders and developers. With that, get ready to hear Confidence’s opinions. Dive right in! Connect with Confidence: / confidencestaveley Connect with Alexandra: / alexandra-charikova Mentioned in the video: Escape: https://escape.tech — API Security & DAST Platform MerkleFence: https://merklefence.com/ API Security for White Hat Hackers: https://www.amazon.com/API-Security-W... CyberSafe Foundation — Confidence’s NGO dedicated to creating a digitally secure and inclusive Africa: https://www.cybersafefoundation.org/ OWASP API Security Top 10: https://owasp.org/API-Security/editio... Recommended books: 1. Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers by Andy Greenberg 2. Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell