Contrast Security Extends Free Developer Tool by Bringing Open Source Security and SBOM Creation

Contrast Security (Contrast), the leader in code security that empowers developers to secure as they code, today announced that software composition analysis (SCA) is now available for free in CodeSec. CodeSec, the fastest and most accurate developer-first scanner on the market, is the first to offer free application security testing and SCA in a single, developer-friendly interface. The new SCA feature will enable developers to easily identify vulnerable third-party libraries quickly and accurately, getting secure code moving in minutes. With a frictionless install, quick scanning of open source software (OSS) and immediate actionable results, developers can start to ship code confidently while easily creating a standardized software bill of materials (SBOM) to manage supply chain risk.

Built with the technology used by Contrast’s customer base that consists of hundreds of thousands of developers at some of the largest brand-name companies in the world, CodeSec makes developer security more efficient and accurate by delivering the following capabilities right to the developer’s laptop for free:

• Discover dependencies: Secure vulnerable libraries (in Java, Javascript, Python, Ruby, GO, PHP, .NET) in OSS with lightning speed, accurate scans (SCA), and actionable remediation guidance to ship code faster and create standardized SBOMs with ease.
• Secure your code: Optimize code security for Java, Javascript and .NET applications with fast, industry-leading (SAST) scans and actionable remediation guidance, in a simple command line interface. Additionally, developers can secure GitHub pipelines with Contrast GitHub Actions for free.
• Secure your cloud native applications: Take advantage of a new ground-breaking application security tool for serverless environments in Amazon Web Services (AWS) Lambda Functions (Java + Python) that detects cloud-native vulnerabilities quickly and accurately while providing actionable remediation guidance in a simple command line interface (CLI).

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According to Gartner, 70%  of modern software solutions contain applications that hold flaws stemming from their use of open source. Every industry, from finance, to healthcare, to governments, trust and rely on applications and APIs built with open source. With the Log4J vulnerability and the SolarWinds attack, organizations around the world are in desperate need of generating SBOMs to understand the components in their software supply chain.

“SBOMs are a critical component of having a secure software supply chain. As part of US Executive Order 14208, the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) includes a key directive for organizations to ‘Establish and maintain a software inventory or an SBOM,'” said Katie Norton, senior research analyst at IDC. “Free solutions for developers, like CodeSec – SCA, will play an important role in helping ramp up the adoption of SBOMs.”

Unfortunately, legacy SCA tools have fallen behind and deliver alert fatigue, delays in development, and provide little to no guidance on how to fix vulnerable libraries. A new breed of free developer-first SCA tools is needed to allow developers to implement open source security testing earlier on in the development process. Contrast’s new SCA feature within CodeSec enables developers to easily identify the vulnerable libraries in OSS while providing actionable remediation guidance to ship code faster and manage software supply chain risk by allowing developers to create SBOMs with ease.

“Deploying code quickly is key in this market. That’s why current-day developers heavily rely on open source code to keep pace with the demands of companies. Those same companies are getting pressure to develop SBOMs and increase visibility into the components that make up the applications they’re creating and using each day,” said Jeff Williams, co-founder and chief technology officer at Contrast Security. “CodeSec is the answer developers have been waiting for — a single free tool that quickly and accurately identifies vulnerabilities in custom code, open source, and serverless functions. Instead of wasting time configuring, integrating, and running multiple different security tools, CodeSec provides exactly what developers need.”

CodeSec brings the fastest and most accurate scanner in the market right to developers. Making code security simple and efficient with actionable remediation guidance.