Shift Left Security

The practice of introducing security checks and vulnerability detection earlier in the development process, ideally at the point of writing code, rather than treating security as a downstream concern. When security is shifted left, tools flag potential vulnerabilities during development before code is committed or reviewed, reducing the window in which flaws can propagate. For example, an AI coding tool that highlights insecure patterns inline as a developer writes code, or a linter that blocks commits containing known vulnerability signatures, are both forms of shift left security.