Team Wabbi
July 3, 2025
Why Security Must Sit at the Table in Digital Transformations
In today’s fast-moving world of digital transformation, organizations are under immense pressure to innovate quickly, scale rapidly, and deliver seamless customer experiences. But in that rush to modernize, there’s one critical area that often gets overlooked: security—specifically, how AppSec and DevSecOps are embedded into the transformation process.
As Brittany Greenfield, CEO of Wabbi, shared on the Digital Shifts: Corporate Evolution Tales podcast, leaving security out of early transformation conversations isn’t just a technical oversight—it’s a strategic misstep.
“Security is not sitting at the kids table; it’s part of the conversation.”
Security as a Strategic Player, Not a Tag-Along
Security can no longer be treated as a post-launch checkpoint or a last-minute checklist item. In a world where DevSecOps is becoming a critical component of modern software delivery, excluding security from the start means you’re not just increasing risk—you’re slowing down your transformation.
When it’s not integrated from the beginning, organizations often face serious consequences: delayed deployments, resource reallocation to patch vulnerabilities, or even compliance and regulatory setbacks.
Brittany highlighted a key mindset shift:
“Security should be aligned with your organization’s risk profile and goals.”
That alignment ensures that development teams aren’t stuck making security decisions in a vacuum. Instead, they can evaluate risks and trade-offs in context—knowing when to hit pause and fix something immediately versus when it’s acceptable to defer, provided it’s resolved within a set window, like 90 days.
This kind of clear, contextual risk alignment is the essence of AppSec maturity. It allows teams to move faster while still maintaining a strong security posture.
Not All Risks Are Created Equal
Digital transformation is rarely a one-size-fits-all initiative, and neither is application security. Brittany illustrated this with a relatable example: a banking app.
“There’s a different risk profile for your dashboard versus your bill pay and your wire transfer because there are so many different components.”
The dashboard might expose little to no sensitive information, whereas the wire transfer function could be a prime target for attackers. Treating those risks the same creates inefficiencies—and worse, can leave mission-critical components under protected.
With a Dev Sec Ops approach, security strategies become adaptive, context-aware, and continuous—embedded into the SDLC rather than bolted on at the end. By embracing this, organizations can reduce friction, prioritize appropriately, and maintain better control over their application risk landscape.
Security Is Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is about agility, scalability, and resilience—but none of those are achievable without trust. And trust is built on security.
When AppSec and Dev Sec Ops practices are woven into every stage of the software development lifecycle—from planning and coding to deployment and monitoring—security stops being a blocker and becomes a true enabler of transformation.
By empowering teams with the tools, automation, and context they need to manage security proactively, organizations unlock faster release cycles, lower remediation costs, and stronger compliance.
So yes, security belongs in the digital transformation conversation. Not as an afterthought. Not as a barrier. But as a strategic partner that ensures innovation can happen confidently, at scale, and without compromise.
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