The Past, Present And Future Of Static Application Security Testing Tools

Meet Evelyn Quan Wang, the protagonist of the adventure sci-fi movie - Everything Everywhere All At Once. As the story unfolds, we see her on an enthralling adventure, in which she can alone save the world by exploring other parallel universes and connecting her doppelgangers in those verses. There is no denying that Evelyn is one of the most exciting characters but 'verse-jumping' technology is something that makes this movie even more fascinating.

Verse-jumping is a technology that allows people to access the skills, memories and bodies of their counterparts living in parallel universes (aka Alphaverse). Not just that, verse-jumping technology helped Evelyn combat the minions of Jobu Tupaki (the villain of these verses). Now that's quite an adventurous world!
 
Pretty similar to Alphaverse, the reality is full of challenges that make software and applications prone to risks. Now, just like Evelyn had verse-jumping technology, developers have SAST Tools that help them identify the root cause of risks and rectify the underlying security flaws. These tools run an 'inside-out' scan of the applications and reduce security issue by providing immediate feedback to developers on issues. Long story short, these tools help you identify security flaws in source code that could be exploited by hackers and automate manual tests on everything, everywhere, all at once.
 
Quite an introduction there, right? This is just the beginning; a lot more interesting stuff and some spooktacular puns are coming your way; read on!
 

What Are Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Tools?

Static Application Security Testing, or SAST, is a method of analyzing software code without executing it. Security analysts use static application security testing to investigate the source code of software applications for security risk and vulnerabilities and other bugs before users see it. The static analysis does not test how secure an application is but rather hunts for specific code defects that might make it insecure. However, these risks can be a lot trickier than you think.
 
That's where SAST Tools come to your rescue. These tools step in with the ability to analyze 100% of the codebase. Additionally, they are much faster than manual code reviews performed by analysts or developers. These tools can scan millions of lines of code in a matter of minutes. Not just that but these tools also automatically identify critical vulnerabilities and catch errors and deviations from standards so developers can modify their coding practices before testing.

These tools have come a long way since their evolution; let's find out how and get this party startled.
 

Origin Of Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Tools

 
The timeline of SAST Tools is here to be-witch you.
 

• The practice of statically analyzing the source code has existed as long as computers have existed, although security testing techniques were in the spotlight during the 1990s. The first public discussion of SQL (structured query language) injection was held in 1998 when web applications integrated new technologies such as JavaScript and Flash. 

• The year 2000 stepped in with the emergence of DAST (dynamic application security testing). This year was all about scanning and functionally testing applications which remarked the entry of vendors and the growth of this technology. DAST still exists today and is a prominent part of application security programs. 

• Open-source analysis or open-source binary analysis, today known as software composition analysis, made an entry in 2002. It was the year when the first commercial product for scanning open-source packages came to the market. Besides, 2002 also remarked on the entry of SAST Tools into the market. These tools primarily looked at the application security codes. 

• In 2006, industry analysts focused on the application security space and application security scanning technologies. By this time, the focus shifted to different aspects, so more technologies such as interactive application security testing (IAST) and runtime application self-protection (RASP) tools came out to perform application security testing in different ways. However, SAST Tools are considered the starting point behind the evolution of these tools and technologies.

Let's get back to the present and understand how these tools work and help you stay waaaay ahead of the carve.
 

What Is The Process Of Static Application Security Testing Tools?

 
This is how SAST Tools work for you and let you have a ghoul time (we mean good time! #pun intended!)
 

• Configuration Analysis

  Configuration analysis enables you to answer questions about how well your products meet your user's needs. It covers anything from analyzing the usability of a product and its features to checking any potential risks and hazards. SAST Tools perform configuration analysis that helps manufacturers ensure that their products are safe to use and not prone to failure, which could have dangerous consequences for users. 

• Semantic Analysis

  Semantic analysis is the process of extracting meaning from text. It involves identifying the topics, themes and ideas in a piece of writing. In principle, this seems straightforward; however, it can be challenging to implement in practice. Analyzing text at a semantic level is challenging because natural language is complex and ambiguous. People use words differently and meanings can change depending on the context of a sentence or paragraph. Hence, SAST Tools use NLP to analyze text at a semantic level and ensure it says what it needs to say.

• Dataflow Analysis

  Dataflow analysis analyzes program data to determine which values are used and which are ignored. It helps developers find bugs such as uninitialized variables. SAST Tools help them meet coding standards, link checks and other code analysis tools check for uninitialized and unused variables.

 
That was all about how these tools work. Now, we have something more delectable than pumpkin pies for you - the benefits of SAST Tools.
 

What Are The Benefits Of Static Application Security Testing Tools?
 

SAST Tools help software testers by providing more information about the target program than dynamic testing alone can. Here we list some of the benefits of STAT – take a sneak peek.
   

• Looking For Defects

  Static Application Security Testing Tools (SAST) analyze application source code and look for defects and vulnerabilities that could lead to application failures. These tools check the source code directly and find problems that other testing methods do not uncover.

• Detecting Risks 

  These tools can also find hidden or unexpected risks in your code. It is because they operate directly on the source code, which means they aren't limited by what a compiler sees or black box APIs. This is why users need an end-to-end solution for static application security testing that covers several different layers of the application development lifecycle.

• Ensuring Accuracy

  SAST Tools enable you to perform comprehensive scanning of code and these tools do it much faster than humans performing manual code reviews. SAST Tools scan millions of lines of code within minutes with maximum accuracy.
   

 We're pretty sure you're impressed but the future of Static Application Security Testing Tools is even more impressive. Let's grab some quick insights!

What Are The Future Trends Of Static Application Security Testing Tools?

It’s time to lift your spirits as we are about to tell the story of the future of SAST Tools.
 
Even though SAST Tools have been around for several years, their adoption has accelerated over the past few years and their usage is expected to grow even further in the future. User interfaces of these tools are all set to modernize as traditional web services depart. Besides, the future of code security demands SAST Tools to be fast, accurate and have developer-first approaches. The future version of these tools will allow developers to find and address security issues directly within the tool as part of the workflow.

To date, the traditional forms of analysis – static and dynamic analysis – perform independently but there has been a demand by DevOps users to merge this analysis. Your wish will be granted as the future will incorporate static and dynamic analysis, thereby bringing together dynamic application security testing (DAST) tools and Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Tools. We are sure the future will make it easier and faster to perform security code reviews! #CantWait
 

It's A Wrap!

Today, more than ever, businesses are becoming aware of the importance of software security. With high-profile data breaches making headlines regularly and software adoption growing across almost every industry, it is no longer a "nice-to-have" feature but an essential element of any digital solution. At the same time, keeping your code secure is challenging for many reasons. For example, finding bugs that could lead to insecure code takes time and money to test all possible paths through your application. Security Application Testing Tools are robust tools that help you take care of everything, everywhere, all at once and solve your paramount concern of security.