Contrast Security Inc. has unveiled two significant integrations for its Northstar platform, enhancing its application security capabilities. The latest additions, which include integrations with GitHub Copilot and Sumo Logic, aim to improve the efficiency of its runtime-native application detection and response (ADR) solution. This release builds on the Northstar offering, initially announced earlier in 2023, which combines unified detection, remediation, and observability into one streamlined experience.
The Northstar platform leverages the Contrast Graph, a real-time behavioral model that maps the application layer’s attack surface, defenses, and vulnerabilities. This mapping provides critical context for both app and application programming interface (API) security. Additionally, Northstar introduced features such as SmartFix, an artificial intelligence tool designed to auto-generate validated code fixes, and the Deployment Hub with Flex Agent, which simplifies scaling ADR across intricate enterprise environments.
Enhancing Developer Action with GitHub Copilot Integration
The integration with GitHub Copilot enables developers to apply AI-generated fixes validated by live runtime evidence, bridging the gap between detection and developer action. By utilizing SmartFix in conjunction with GitHub Copilot, developers can generate secure code fixes based on runtime vulnerability details, proven exploitability, and contextual information from the Contrast Graph. This enhancement aims to streamline remediation processes, providing ready-to-review pull requests that are context-aware and safe for production. Consequently, developers can address real issues more rapidly without disrupting their workflow, allowing them to ship code with greater confidence.
Integrating Attack Telemetry with Sumo Logic
The new integration with Sumo Logic facilitates the delivery of Contrast’s attack telemetry directly into the Sumo Logic platform. This allows security operation center teams to triage, investigate, and respond to incidents with comprehensive application-layer context. Security teams gain real-time visibility into exploit attempts, vulnerable code paths, and overall application behavior, all enriched through the Contrast Graph.
By embedding runtime intelligence into existing security information and event management workflows, organizations can respond to breaches more swiftly, reduce the mean time to detect, and cut down on investigation overhead. This integration helps teams understand the blast radius of incidents while closing the loop between application security and incident response.
The updates to the Northstar platform align with Contrast Security’s vision of securing software throughout its full lifecycle—from production back to code—using a single, unified platform.
Faya Peng, head of product and general manager of ADR at Contrast Security, emphasized the importance of these integrations. “ADR has always been about helping teams focus on what matters most by seeing what’s actually happening within their apps,” Peng stated. “These new integrations with GitHub Copilot and Sumo Logic just make that easier. Developers and security teams can now work from the same real-time data and take action faster, all within the tools they’re already using.”
Contrast Security has established itself as a leader in application security, backed by $261 million in funding raised over six rounds. This includes a notable round of $150 million in November 2021, which led to a valuation exceeding $1 billion. Investors include prominent firms such as Liberty Strategic Capital LP, Warburg Pincus, and Microsoft’s M-12 Fund.
With these additions, Contrast Security continues to strengthen its position in the application security landscape, providing developers and security teams with tools to effectively address vulnerabilities and enhance overall software security.
