DevSecOps

The Top 10 Application Security Solutions

Explore the top application security solutions that prioritize features such as real-time threat detection and vulnerability management to safeguard software applications.

Last updated on Apr 30, 2024

Written by Mirren McDade

Technical review by Laura Iannini

The Top 10 Application Security Solutions Include:

1. Acunetix
2. Checkmarx One
3. Contrast Secure Code Platform
4. GitLab
5. HCL AppScan
6. Invicti Application Security Testing
7. Opentext Fortify
8. Rapid7 Insight AppSec
9. Synopsys Application Security Testing
10. Veracode Continuous Software Security Platform

Application security is vital for any business, regardless of its size or industry, to protect themselves from falling victim to attacks. The growing complexity of cyber threats demands advanced security technologies to protect business-critical applications from vulnerabilities.

Application security solutions are specifically designed to protect software from potential threats, preserving application integrity and, in the process, your business’s reputation. These solutions include methods for identifying, fixing, and preventing security vulnerabilities, both at the application and network levels.

This guide will highlight the top application security solutions currently available in the market. Each of these solutions brings a unique range of features, integrations, security policies, and protection measures. In order to identify the top solutions, we have considered their capabilities and effectiveness based on technical testing observations and real user feedback. Read on to gain a clear understanding of what each security solution offers and make an informed choice that meets your business’s application security needs.

Acunetix

Acunetix offers web application security testing, enabling organizations to identify vulnerabilities in their websites or web applications easily. Acunetix can detect more than 7,000 security vulnerabilities, including SQL Injection and Cross-site Scripting. It can also automatically scan all website files with custom form authentication and other specific access and session controls.

With its built-in capacity to export vulnerabilities to widely used security tools, Acunetix allows for extensive automated testing. It implements a preliminary approach to patching these vulnerabilities, thereby providing additional time for comprehensive remediation. Acunetix also leverages its AcuSensor gray-box scanning technology to assess server-side Java, ASP.NET, and PHP code execution. This capability is significant in determining where vulnerabilities are located and reducing the false positive rate. Acunetix provides a well-rounded perspective on the security vulnerabilities present in a web application. It gives recommendations on actions to fix identified vulnerabilities and allows for retesting.

Acunetix presents a range of technical and compliance reports that can be utilized by web application developers, security professionals, and regulators to evaluate and minimize security risks. These include vulnerability management tools, integration with popular issue trackers, and readily compiled compliance reports for PCI DSS, OWASP Top 10, ISO 27001, and HIPAA compliance.

Checkmarx One

Checkmarx is an application security company based in Atlanta, Georgia, that has been in operation since 2006. The company specializes in providing Application Security Testing (AST) solutions that enforce security measures at every level of the software development process. Checkmarx One, their flagship product, is a cloud-native platform that houses a comprehensive suite of AST solutions designed to bolster digital transformations across any phase of contemporary application development.

This product is poised to shield every facet of modern applications with its AST features, including Static Application Security Testing (SAST), Software Composition Analysis (SCA), Supply Chain Security (SCS), API Security, Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), Container Security, and Infrastructure as Code (IAC) Security. Each of these features can interact to deliver advanced security, vulnerability prioritization, exploitation potential in open-source software, identification, detect, and testing of shadow APIs, vulnerability consolidation, risk ratings, and prioritization guidance into one comprehensive dashboard.

Checkmarx One also simplifies the application security process and manages AppSec costs by offering unified dashboards, an integrated set of automation tools, a range of application security services, and a risk-based ranking system for applications. These features collectively enable users to detect and resolve vulnerabilities seamlessly and efficiently using a unified workflow.

Contrast Secure Code Platform

Contrast Security is a prominent company that provides a unified code security platform specifically designed for developers. They have developed an approach that allows every test to be a security test, essentially making code security effortless for developers. This platform secures the entire software development lifecycle, from development to production.

Contrast Security excels in identifying code security defects with precision, offering straightforward solutions for developers to correct these defects. This platform also encourages innovation by enabling development teams to construct and deploy in the most efficient and secure way possible.

Key features of this solution include the Contrast Assess tool, which ensures the security of every line of code via innovative IAST technology, and the Contrast Protect tool, that precisely detects and blocks runtime attacks on known and unknown code vulnerabilities. The company’s Contrast Scan tool is highly accurate in identifying and rectifying real vulnerabilities at a fast pace. To bolster third-party and open-source code security, the Contrast SCA tool tests and protects code moving through your software supply chain.

Contrast also provides security for serverless environments in only three clicks with its Contrast Serverless application. The CodeSec feature allows users to secure code and serverless environments for free through a simple command line interface.

GitLab

GitLab is a comprehensive DevOps platform, delivered as a single application. It facilitates collaboration between Development, Security, and Ops teams and boosts the entire software build process – GitLab takes your project from concept to final product, while reducing development costs, time to market, and improving developer productivity.

Among its distinguishing features are multiple security capabilities that seamlessly integrate into your development lifecycle. GitLab offers Static and Dynamic Application Security Testing (SAST and DAST), Container Scanning, Dependency Scanning, and License Compliance to ensure your applications are secure and compliant. SAST assesses application source code and binaries for potential vulnerabilities ahead of deployment, while DAST analyzes runtime vulnerabilities in your active web applications. Both tests display vulnerabilities in conjunction with each merge request, with the results compiled into a single report for easy review. Advanced features such as Secret Detection and Code Quality Analysis are also embedded in the system.

GitLabs License Compliance feature helps to stay in line with software license policies. By defining policies for each project, the tool scans the project dependencies for suitable licenses and identifies non-compliant ones. This makes it a complete package for your development lifecycle.

HCL AppScan

HCL AppScan is an effective solution for managing and conducting application security tests. It effortlessly merges into your Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC) tools, as well as DevOps processes and toolchains. AppScan ensures rapid, adaptable, and precise scanning with enhanced accuracy and extensive testing along with compliance reporting capabilities.

The suite offered by HCL AppScan lets developers, DevOps personnel, and security teams efficiently detect application vulnerabilities and address them in each phase of the software development cycle. With top-tier testing tools, a centralized platform for oversight and visibility, and various deployment options, HCL AppScan aids businesses in safeguarding their applications, whether on-premises, or natively on the cloud. In terms of its solutions, HCL AppScan provides Dynamic Analysis Security Testing (DAST) for running applications and APIs, Static Analysis (SAST) for analyzing source code in applications and APIs during the developmental process. It also offers Interactive Analysis (IAST) for application and API monitoring to detect and rectify vulnerabilities without hampering development. The Software Composition Analysis (SCA) helps identify vulnerabilities due to open-source software components.

HCL AppScan supports a variety of capabilities, such as API testing, automatic issue correlation, and supports over 30 coding languages. All of this collectively renders HCL AppScan as a comprehensive and robust security solution for applications.

Invicti Application Security Testing

Invicti Security is a global leader in application security testing. With a focus on web applications and APIs, Invicti provides continuous scanning and security measures to ensure the safety of these platforms. This Austin-based company has been contributing to the AppSec field for over 15 years and serves over 3,500 organizations worldwide.

Invicti offers comprehensive visibility into an organization’s web application portfolio. Its powerful automation and integration capacities enable clients to maintain broad coverage of multiple applications effectively. Its unique scanning approach combines both dynamic (DAST) and interactive (IAST) techniques. This increases vulnerability detection and helps to highlight the risks other tools may miss. The company’s Proof-Based Scanning reduces false positives and the time spent on manual verification while offering detailed documentation to assist developers in fixing identified issues quickly.

Invicti’s security testing tools seamlessly integrate with the developers’ workflows. This facilitates addressing potential security threats early in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), thereby saving developers’ time and resources. In addition to this, its continuous scanning and security checks manage to keep the applications secure round-the-clock. Every time a deployed technology becomes outdated, Invicti automatically sends a notification, ensuring the apps always stay protected.

Opentext Fortify

Opentext Fortify is a software security vendor originating from California. Fortify was absorbed by OpenText in 2022 and offers a suite of security products including Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), as well as supplementary tools and services designed to enhance Software Security Assurance.

The foundation of Opentext Fortify’s services rests on the principle of secure coding. They provide forward-thinking Application Programming Interface (API) discovery and testing options for various applications throughout their life cycle. This also extends to web applications; the company has an industry-leading Application Security Testing (AST) portfolio designed to bolster modern web application security. Mobile applications also fall within the coverage of Opentext Fortify’s security provisions. They conduct rigorous testing across the client, network, and backend service layers to ensure the security of your mobile applications.

Opentext Fortify also provides protection for infrastructures using cloud-native services offering a broad shift-left security solution encompassing Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to serverless applications. Their operations also extend to security for containers, preventing vulnerabilities and misconfigurations that could potentially pass onto production, and they employ extensive testing to bolster the resilience of Internet-of-Things (IoT), connected devices, and client applications.

Rapid7 Insight AppSec

Rapid7 is a technology company that specializes in providing security solutions that offer visibility, analytics, and automation through the Insight cloud. This makes complex operations simpler, and aids security teams in reducing vulnerabilities, monitoring for potential threats, shutting down attacks, and automating routine tasks.

InsightAppSec is a system designed to effectively decrease risk in modern web applications. This solution performs black-box security testing to automatically identify and triage vulnerabilities, prioritize actions, and rectify application risks. It features Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) and comes equipped with functions to replay attacks and validate fixes, reducing time spent on remediation and limiting back-and-forth communication among development teams. It integrates smoothly into existing development workflows, putting security testing at the heart of the build pipeline, and fostering better collaboration between development and security teams. Notably, InsightAppSec is built to secure modern web interfaces and APIs, with fewer false positives and missed vulnerabilities.

Efficiently managing large application portfolios, this solution also offers rich compliance and remediation reporting, and features automatic vulnerability detection for threats like SQL Injection, XSS, and CSRF. Running on cloud and on-premise scan engines, it even allows scan scheduling and blackouts, facilitating a more controllable and manageable interactions.

Synopsys Application Security Testing

Synopsys Application Security Testing aims to incorporate security measures into the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), from the initial stage to deployment. This product targets potential application vulnerabilities that hackers are likely to try and exploit.

Synopsys integrates multiple security analysis techniques, including software composition analysis to manage open source and third-party component risks, static analysis to detect and correct security vulnerabilities and quality issues in code during development, and interactive and dynamic analysis to expose vulnerabilities and data protection issues in web applications. The Synopsys Application Security Testing solution delivers comprehensive testing of any application, service, or container by combining several analysis techniques. It assists developers in identifying and rectifying security defects as they code.

Additionally, it allows the integration and automation of security testing with existing CI, repository, and workflow tools. With the benefit of Synopsys’s global team, companies can quickly and cost-effectively address projects with on-demand security testing services. Synopsys also offers a Polaris Software Integrity Platform for risk management and progress tracking across a company’s portfolio.

Veracode Continuous Software Security Platform

Veracode is an application security service provider headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts. The company was established in 2006 and specializes in SaaS application security by incorporating application assessment methods in development procedures. Veracode’s Continuous Software Security Platform aims to harmonize security and development to facilitate the smooth running of a secure DevOps setup.

It facilitates tools for development teams that effortlessly blend into their operational environments and suggests necessary fixes. It also provides a broader view of the company’s security posture using comprehensive analytics and reporting that aids in meeting regulatory requirements. Veracode’s platform offers continuous scanning for risk reduction at each stage of development. It also accommodates data residency requirements with a European instance on Amazon Web Services centered in Frankfurt, Germany, and meets US Federal Government security standards with a new FedRamp authorization.

The platform enables developers to identify and rectify faults promptly and at scale, where they operate. It offers automatic remediation guidance, in-context learning facilities and operates on an open and extensible structure. It promises a comprehensive DevSecOps approach with a streamlined process for governance, risk, and compliance. Finally, its cloud-native SaaS architecture negates the need for infrastructure concerns, thereby providing elastic scalability, high performance, and cost-efficiency.

The Top 10 Application Security Solutions

Everything You Need To Know About Application Security Solutions (FAQs)

What Are Application Security Solutions?

Application security refers to the combination of security measures applied at the app levels, which work together to prevent any misuse, theft, of damage to data or code. This comprehensive approach is used to address issues with security during application development, design, and deployment – as well as to block security vulnerabilities before they can lead to an attack.

Application security solutions typically include a mix of different security software and hardware devices that come together to minimize risk and deal with vulnerabilities. These solutions may include security requirements during the application development phase, security testing and patch management, post-deployment Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP), intrusion detection systems, or encryption technologies. Essentially, they safeguard the application during its entire lifecycle, from development to deployment and maintenance.

Whether it’s a web application, mobile app, or program software, every application requires effective security management to curb potential cyber threats, breaches, and application irregularities. To that effect, numerous tech companies have developed various advanced, effective, scalable, and easy-to-implement application security solutions.

Why Is Application Security Important? What Are The Benefits?

Data security and privacy is a huge concern for businesses of all sizes and in all industries. Well defined application security policies help to defend against cyber-attacks. If successful, these attacks have the potential to cause considerable damage, including financial loss and the erosion of user and customer trust.

Some key benefits of using application security include:

Better protection against data theft for confidential information
Reduces the risk associated with Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) on application policies
Minimises the attack surface
Offers greater visibility and control over applications
Reduces risk associated with both internal and third-party sources
Enhances customer confidence by effectively securing their data

Application security solutions help to mitigate security vulnerabilities associated with applications. With proper data security and privacy policies in place, application users and customers can enjoy stronger protection against cyber-attacks and organizations can rest easy knowing they have greatly minimized their overall risk.

What Features Should You Look For In Application Security Solutions?

The capabilities of application security solutions can vary depending on the vendors, but some particularly valuable features to look out for include the following:

SAST (Static Application Security Testing) Static application security testing is a white box testing method employed to examine the source code, bytecode, or binary code of the application. This means that vulnerabilities can be identified without needing to execute the program. This code analysis makes it possible to identify security issues at an earlier stage of the development process, including detecting serious threats such as insecure configurations, code injection, and other possible vulnerabilities.
DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) Dynamic application security testing involves testing a running application to detect any vulnerable points from an external perspective. This is achieved by simulating real-world attacks on active applications. This provides a dynamic assessment of the applications security posture, revealing potential vulnerable points that may only be possible to spot in a live environment. This can be very useful for identifying issues such as authentication flaws, input validation problems, and runtime vulnerabilities.
Web Application Firewall This is a highly useful feature that works to defend web applications against common cyber-attacks like cross-site scripting, cross-site request forgery, and SQL injection, by acting as a barrier between possible threats and the application. A web application firewall does this by filtering and monitoring HTTP traffic that flows between the internet and the web applications and using predefined security rules to block malicious traffic.
Dependency scanning This involves the analysis of the application’s dependencies, including frameworks and libraries, in order to detect possible weaknesses in third-party components. Since so many applications are reliant on third-party libraries, any vulnerabilities here can undermine your entire application security. Dependency scanning helps to ensure the foundation of the software is solid and up-to-date, and thereby more secure.
Monitoring incident response This requires setting up specific tools and processes to tackle real-time monitoring of any security events, including incident response mechanisms to that work to address and mitigate security incidents quickly and efficiently. This capability puts organizations in a good position to detect abnormal activities and respond to potential threats effectively and without delay.

Mirren McDade

Senior Journalist & Content Writer

Mirren McDade is a senior writer and journalist at Expert Insights, spending each day researching, writing, editing and publishing content, covering a variety of topics and solutions, and interviewing industry experts. She is an experienced copywriter with a background in a range of industries, including cloud business technologies, cloud security, information security and cyber security, and has conducted interviews with several industry experts. Mirren holds a First Class Honors degree in English from Edinburgh Napier University.

Laura Iannini

Cybersecurity Analyst

Laura Iannini is an Information Security Engineer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity from the University of West Florida. Laura has experience with a variety of cybersecurity platforms and leads technical reviews of leading solutions. She conducts thorough product tests to ensure that Expert Insights’ reviews are definitive and insightful.