# Automation without alignment: The hidden cost of modern DAST

DevFeed: [Automation without alignment: The hidden cost of modern DAST](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/automation-without-alignment-the-hidden-cost-of-modern-dast-7688.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://portswigger.net/blog/automation-without-alignment-the-hidden-cost-of-modern-dast>)

Author: Dafydd Stuttard

Published: 2026-03-12T12:02:57Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [PortSwigger Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/portswigger-blog.md>)

Topics: [Application Security](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/application-security.md>), [Automation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/automation.md>), [Security](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/security.md>), [Web app](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/webapp.md>), [Web](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/web.md>)

Tags: [automation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/automation.md>), [security](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/security.md>), [testing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/testing.md>), [tool](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/tool.md>), [web](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/web.md>), [workflows](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/workflows.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that modern DAST automation delivers diminishing returns when it operates separately from manual web security testing. It presents DAST as an extension of practitioner workflows that still requires human judgment, and highlights the friction created when automated findings must be validated in a separate tool.

## Source excerpt

Watch the webinar recording: Burp Suite DAST x Burp Suite Professional: Better Together I'm a firm believer that if you want to understand how secure an application really is, you have to test how it