Contrast Security
Contrast Security provides application security tooling that embeds security analysis and protection into the software development lifecycle for enterprise and cloud-native environments.
- Platform for Application Security Testing (AST) and runtime protection across the software development lifecycle
- Instrumentation-based scanning integrated into development pipelines and Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) workflows
- Detection of vulnerabilities in custom code, open-source components, and application behavior
- Runtime security controls for production applications and APIs
- Tooling aligned to DevSecOps practices for development, security, and operations teams
More About Contrast Security
Contrast Security focuses on application security for organizations that build and run custom software, with an emphasis on embedding security checks into development and operations workflows rather than relying only on perimeter defenses. Its platform is used by development, security, and DevOps teams to identify and manage vulnerabilities in web applications, microservices, and APIs deployed on-premises (on-prem) or in cloud environments.
The company’s offerings System Integration Testing (SIT) within the application security (AppSec) and DevSecOps tooling categories. Contrast Security uses instrumentation-based techniques, often referred to as in-app security, where agents or libraries are integrated into applications or runtimes to observe code execution, data flows, and interactions with frameworks and libraries. This approach is positioned as a complement or alternative to traditional Static Application Security Testing (SAST) and Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST), providing feedback that is tied directly to running code and real execution paths.
Contrast Security’s platform supports integration into Continuous Integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines and common build and deployment tooling, enabling automated security checks as part of standard software delivery processes. This aligns with DevSecOps practices in which security tests run alongside unit tests and integration tests, with findings surfaced directly to developers via Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), ticketing systems, or pipeline reports.
From a technology perspective, the offerings commonly interact with modern application stacks that use Java, .NET, and other enterprise languages and frameworks, as well as containerized and cloud-native deployments on platforms such as Kubernetes. The instrumentation model allows the platform to analyze how applications use frameworks, databases, and external services, and to detect vulnerabilities such as injection flaws, insecure configurations, or misuse of cryptographic libraries based on actual runtime behavior.
In production environments, Contrast Security also supports runtime application security capabilities, which fall into the Runtime Application Self-Protection (RASP) and application and Application Programming Interface (API) protection categories. These capabilities monitor live traffic and application behavior to detect and block certain classes of attacks in real time, working alongside existing web application firewalls and network security controls.
For directory classification, Contrast Security aligns to AST, runtime application security, and DevSecOps enablement. Its tools are positioned for enterprises that run custom web and API workloads and want security controls that are embedded into the software development lifecycle and application runtime rather than applied only at the network edge.