Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) Tools
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Veracode is an application security platform that performs five types of analysis; static analysis, dynamic analysis, software composition analysis, interactive application security testing, and penetration testing. Veracode offers on-demand expertise and aims to help companies fix…
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Veracode is an application security platform that performs five types of analysis; static analysis, dynamic analysis, software composition analysis, interactive application security testing, and penetration testing. Veracode offers on-demand expertise and aims to help companies fix…
AppScan (formerly Rational AppScan) is an application security testing solution acquired by HCL Technologies from IBM in late 2018. Appscan supports both dynamic (DAST) and static (SAST) application security testing.
AcuSensor from Maltese company Acunetix is application security and testing software.
Checkmarx, an Israeli headquartered company with US offices, provides a suite of application security software delivered via the Checkmarx Software Security Platform. Individual modules and capabilities include Checkmarx Static Application Security Testing, Checkmarx Software Composition…
Invicti enables organizations in every industry to continuously scan and secure all of their web applications and APIs. Invicti provides a comprehensive view of an organization’s entire web application portfolio, and automation and integrations enable customers to achieve broad coverage…
Hdiv Detection, from Hdiv Security in San Sebastián, detects security bugs in the source code before they are exploited, using a runtime dataflow technique to report the file and line number of the vulnerability. Security issues are reported to security teams in real-time, according…
Synopsys Seeker is presented by the vendor as an IAST solution with active verification and sensitive-data tracking for web-based applications, which the vendor states is more accurate than traditional DAST solutions.
A solution to ensure a system remains resilient against modern threats while optimizing its performance.
Contrast Security headquartered in Los Altos provides Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) via Contrast Assess, which works by deploying an intelligent agent that instruments the application with smart sensors to analyze code in real-time from within the application.
Learn More About Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) Tools
What is Interactive Application Security Testing?
Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) tools analyze an application’s code from within the application while an external test or human tester interacts with a specific functionality. IAST is primarily used for web application and web API security testing. IAST used embedded agents within the application to test for vulnerabilities in the application as it runs dynamically. This structure allows for easier testing automation than legacy application security testing (AST) methods.
There are several benefits of using Interactive Application Security Testing. IAST generally takes place in the testing/QA stage of the software development life cycle (SDLC). This means that problems are caught and addressed quickly, and usually much earlier in the SLDC than other (AST) tools. It also integrates with existing development pipelines, which reduces disruptions in existing testing and development processes.
IAST is often used in conjunction with other security tools. For instance, accompanying functionalities like software composition analysis provide IAST with even more peripheral data to identify, assess, and alert developers to vulnerabilities. Using IAST within a broader security tech stack can also mitigate some of the drawbacks of the tool, such as language-based or server-side limitations.
IAST vs. DAST and SAST
Interactive Application Security Testing has emerged out of pain points from dynamic application security testing (DAST) and static application security testing (SAST). Static application security testing looks at the code of an application while it is at rest, while dynamic application security testing simulates attacks on an active application in a testing environment to expose vulnerabilities. Both of these testing classes operate outside of the application itself, while IAST functions within the application. This provides for more granularity and rapid results than either SAST or DAST. IAST also allows for more continuous testing than its predecessors.
IAST primarily differs from SAST in that SAST tests the entire codebase, while IAST only tests the discrete functions being interacted with. This allows IAST to be used more flexibly than SAST, while creating fewer false positives because IAST uses more than just source code to determine vulnerabilities. However, SAST can provide a more comprehensive test of the codebase than IAST on its own.
IAST is distinct from DAST because of its location within the application itself. The embedded agent allows for more granular issue identification with IAST than with DAST. IAST tools can specify the line of code in question, while DAST can only infer the sources of observed vulnerabilities. DAST also requires specialists to manually conduct tests, while IAST can be automated in many cases.