Why hands-on exploitation makes product security stronger

Product security has a unique role within an organization. It is not solely about building secure systems, and it is not solely about finding flaws. It sits at the intersection of building, breaking, and defending products, translating security knowledge into practical decisions that improve how software is designed, developed, and maintained. That is what makes the discipline both challenging and valuable. Product security teams need to understand how modern applications are built, how attackers uncover weaknesses, and how to help engineering teams address risk in a way that is both practical and scalable. Frameworks like the OWASP Top 10 or CWE Top 25 are an important starting point. They provide a shared language for discussing common classes of risk and help teams build baseline awareness, but frameworks alone are not enough. Real-world security problems rarely appear as neat, isolated examples. They show up in complex implementations, edge cases, business logic, and subtle design decisions. Security practitioners must move beyond theoretical knowledge and gain practical, hands-on experience to really understand how to protect products. That is why we are excited to share that two members of our Product Security team have earned the Hack The Box Certified Web Exploitation Expert (CWEE) certification, one of the most demanding hands-on web security certifications available today.