In the previous post, we saw how many security tools can “lie”: they don’t tell the full story, generate noise, and often leave teams with a false sense of security. But what happens after a vulnerability is reported? The story doesn’t get any better: most findings are misunderstood.

Alerts Without Context

Not all vulnerabilities are created equal. A SQL Injection in an internal endpoint is not the same as a remote code execution exposed publicly. Yet, reports often treat them as equivalent, highlighting all “critical” issues with the same weight. The result? Security teams waste time chasing false alarms or low-impact issues, while the real threats remain in the shadows.

The Noise of False Positives

Every scanner produces false positives. Some are obvious, others less so. When a team is flooded with alerts, the tendency is either to ignore them all or blindly trust what the tool labels as “critical.” This approach is dangerous: the real risk isn’t just missing vulnerabilities—it’s failing to understand which ones actually matter.

The Role of Security Advocates

This is where humans come in: they are not tools, but interpreters. A security advocate understands the business context, knows the system architecture, and can assess the real impact of a vulnerability. With this knowledge, they can prioritize effectively and turn a confusing list of alerts into a concrete, actionable mitigation plan.

AI and Automation: Allies, Not Replacements

AI can help reduce noise, group similar alerts, and suggest priorities. But without human judgment, even the smartest algorithm is just a calculator without context. Real power comes from the combination: intelligent tools and equally intelligent people.

Off by one

Tools are useful, but they don’t replace human understanding. To truly protect our applications, we must read between the lines of reports, understand context, and put humans at the center of the security process.

The next step? We’ll explore how to optimize tool usage without being fooled by noise, and how to build smarter, more conscious security pipelines.