yayabobiDeveloper security platforms have evolved from simple code analyzers to comprehensive gatekeepers, meeting the pace and flexibility demanded by modern DevOps teams. And they continue to be crucial in helping companies fight crippling attacks.
In 2022 alone, organizations worldwide detected 493.33 million ransomware attacks. We could go on, but every statistic will tell you the same: you need to bring your A-game to protect your code - or get a security platform like Snyk to do it for you.
Snyk is a popular choice among developers, but the big sharks don't swim alone - the market is teeming with other potential contenders that may not only be an excellent alternative to this platform but also fill in the gaps that Snyk users have found over the years. This article explores ten Snyk alternatives.
What is Snyk?
Snyk is a DevSecOps platform that provides different security tools to automatically find, fix, and monitor known vulnerabilities in open-source dependencies.
Some of its products include Static Application Security Testing (SAST) for code security, Software Composition Analysis (SCA) to analyze and assess vulnerabilities in more detail, and IaC security for developer workflows in the cloud. Last year, over 300 million tests were run by Snyk's users, demonstrating its extensive utilization across global teams.
But users also report some common issues with the platform, such as the complexity of the Snyk setup and the high frequency of false positive alerts, which overload security teams and waste their time and resources. Users say Synk can be complicated to configure and maintain and lacks customizability and integrations to other tools. Despite their limitations, DevSecOps tools are non-negotiable in your stack - below are some of their benefits.
Developer security platforms
By identifying, addressing, and monitoring vulnerabilities in code, developer security platforms significantly reduce the risk of security breaches and strengthen your security posture (helping with regulatory compliance on the way).
But these platforms also accompany you through expanding your infrastructure and team. As you focus on getting more features to market and your infrastructure scales up to meet your goals, you need security at the foundational level. Flexible and scalable DevSecOps tools will be with you on that journey, helping you achieve agility and safety through the security automation of critical processes such as vulnerability management, security testing, and code reviews.
What to look for in a developer security platform
- Security testing: A robust platform should enable all kinds of security testing, including SAST, DAST), and IAST.
- Integration with CI/CD Pipeline: the platform should smoothly integrate with your CI/CD pipeline, ensuring a seamless transition from development to deployment.
- Comprehensive reporting: Including an analysis of the severity and state of each vulnerability. By unifying all of your security tools into one, Jit goes the extra mile, providing in-context, in-PR findings that you can search, filter, and export from one platform.
- Integration with DevOps Tools: The platform should also integrate with popular DevOps tools, such as multi-cloud management tools, Version Control, and performance monitoring solutions.
- Real-Time remediation: Real-time, actionable remediation strategies for identified vulnerabilities allow rapid response to security threats and minimize potential damage.
- Security Compliance: the platform should assist in not just meeting but proving that you meet regulatory standards or other security frameworks. For instance, Jit enables you to collect evidence for multiple SOC2 controls with the click of a button.
Top 10 Snyk Alternatives for Code Security
1. CheckmarxSAST
Checkmarx SAST provides static application security testing at the source code level. It supports incremental or full scans, integrates with mainstream IDEs, SCMs, and CI servers, and offers remediation guidance. Its broad language and framework coverage ensures compatibility with various development environments.
Best for security and risk managers requiring a versatile solution.
Customer review: "The most valuable features are the easy-to-understand interface, and it's very user-friendly. It will scan code line by line and find most of the vulnerabilities. Very easy to use. Vulnerability report is awesome."
2. Jit
Jit is a DevSecOps platform that offers easy orchestration with many open-source security tools, enabling you to build a Minimum Viable Security Plan (MVSP) that covers all CI/CD stages. You can gather insights from all security tools into a single platform and get enriched reporting and real-time remediation suggestions to complement your code scanning results.
Based on a third-party study, Jit found significantly more true positives in a shorter time than other market-leading tools. For instance, it reached 100% accuracy in only 7 seconds of scanning Java code, while market-leading competitors took over a minute to perform the same scan.
Plus, by covering all stages of the CI/CD, Jit makes it easier to prove regulatory compliance and meet the requirements of frameworks such as SOC2 and AWS's FTR.
Best for organizations of all sizes that require scalable, flexible, and user-friendly security orchestration for their development operations.
Customer review: "What I really like about Jit is that they bring in the OSS tools I already like and use into a single solution and help me start using them much quicker. Great tool for anyone who needs to check off compliance boxes and get up and running with security but doesn't want to slow down their sprints."
3. Veracode
Veracode offers diverse security products, including static and dynamic analysis (SAST & DAST), software composition analysis (SCA), and penetration testing. It empowers developers to create secure code with features like machine learning for insecure code fixes and a command line interface for review. It also offers remediation guidance and policy & reporting management.
Best for teams looking to automate remediation processes.
Customer review: "Easy to set scans to monitor risks on applications. Informative dashboards to help monitor remediations. Training to help developers learn security principles."
4. Spectral
Spectral detects and eliminates risks such as exposed API keys, tokens, credentials, and cloud misconfigurations. It scans code, configurations, binaries, and other materials in your codebase, and it also automates the processes of secret protection at build time. This tool also supports 500+ different stacks and is language agnostic.
Best for detecting and protecting against data breaches.
Customer review: "Spectral is a reliable gatekeeper for our secrets...is easy to set up and use and provides valuable insights into sensitive issues."
5. Acunetix
Acunetix is a website security scanner that detects and helps to remediate over 7,000 vulnerabilities, including those listed in the OWASP Top 10, SQL injections, XSS attacks, misconfigurations, exposed databases, and out-of-band vulnerabilities. Its scans provide actionable results and help to resolve vulnerabilities by pinpointing the exact lines of code that need fixing.
Best for organizations and security teams looking for a robust and swift web application vulnerability scanner.
Customer review: "Acunetix is a very easy-to-use vulnerability analysis tool. Accunetix can detect most of the vulnerabilities. Best tools for automation testing."
6. Gosec
Gosec is an open-source security tool specializing in the analysis of Go code. By scanning the Go AST (Abstract Syntax Tree), it can identify a range of security problems, including SQL injections, unsafe block usage, and poor random number generation. Jit integrates Gosec into its developer security platform, offering extended functionality for Go code review.
Best for development teams heavily invested in the Go language.
7. Semgrep
Semgrep is open-source and lightweight. It is designed to catch common programming errors like logic errors, security issues, and violations of code standards. With support for multiple languages (including Python, JavaScript, Go, C, and others), Semgrep offers a customizable rule set. Jit offers integration with Semgrep, which, combined with other security tools, enhances its ability to catch programming errors and security issues.
Best for development teams that require a fast and customizable code analysis tool.
Customer review: "Semgrep helped us in no time narrowing down important vulnerabilities and focusing on what matters thanks to Semgrep Supply Chain. It is the product with the best ROI I would recommend adding to your SSDLC. It is fast, extendable, and customizable, with a handy CLI."
8. Mend.io
Mend.io, formerly WhiteSource, offers a comprehensive Application Security (AppSec) program on automation and scalability. With solutions like Mend SCA, Mend SAST, Mend Renovate, and Mend Supply Chain Defender, the platform seeks to modernize application security and provide Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) that improve application security.
Best for organizations looking to build robust AppSec programs to reduce risk and accelerate development.
Customer review: "Mend supports source code library scans and container scans and checks licenses used by our apps and services to ensure we meet our security, compliance, and licensing requirements. We would have to use multiple platforms to achieve this."
9. Lacework
Lacework provides a data-driven, cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) that offers end-to-end security from code to the cloud. The platform's core capabilities include CNAPP, Cloud Infrastructure Entitlement Management (CIEM), Infrastructure as Code Security (IaC), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), and Kubernetes container security.
Best for companies that require an integrated solution for cloud security, particularly those using cloud-native applications and infrastructure.
Customer review: "The compliance reporting that Lacework provides is a fantastic capability to measure the current level of compliance both at AWS and K8S levels. The interface of the product is very intuitive, easy to use, and has been getting frequent updates on UX and new capabilities such as the attack path capability, which gives great insights to top risks."
10. AppCheck
AppCheck is a technology-agnostic platform that provides comprehensive enterprise security testing solutions. The platform covers web applications, APIs, Single Page Applications (SPAs), and infrastructure, delivering up-to-date vulnerability coverage for your entire IT estate.
Best for teams that seek to automate their vulnerability detection and management processes.
Customer review: "With AppCheck, we can run unlimited vulnerability scans of our web applications. Many scan templates exist for the most popular web platforms (WordPress, Magento, etc.) and the most common software flaws and vulnerabilities (including OWASP top-10). The scan reports (generated in PDF format) look very professional - similar to the reports produced by pentesting companies."
Upgrading your code security posture
So, a lot of fish in the sea, right? But remember that DevSecOps tools, be it Synk alternatives or any other category, are as effective as the strategy that governs them. When choosing a platform, consider your unique requirements, project scope, and team size.
Most importantly, keep your developer team at the core of the decision-making process, and make sure that you choose a tool that eases security and empowers your team, not one that makes their work ten times harder (yes, that CAN be possible!). If you want to explore Jit's high-velocity and high-performing SAST, start for free here.
