Defensics Protocol Fuzzing vs HCL AppScan comparison

The compared Black Duck and HCLSoftware solutions aren't in the same category. Black Duck is ranked #4 in FTT , and holds a 17.6% mindshare in the category. HCLSoftware is ranked #19 in AS , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 2.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Black Duck users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 84% of HCLSoftware users who would recommend it.

Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

Read 4 Defensics Protocol Fuzzing reviews

1,274 Views
140 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

HCL AppScan

Read 44 HCL AppScan reviews

4,709 Views
3,249 Comparison Views

84% willing to recommend

Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

HCL AppScan

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Fuzz Testing Tools (4th)

HCL AppScan

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Security Tools (19th), Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (17th), Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) (6th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Quality Assurance solutions, they serve different purposes. Defensics Protocol Fuzzing is designed for Fuzz Testing Tools and holds a mindshare of 17.6%, down 20.0% compared to last year.
HCL AppScan, on the other hand, focuses on Application Security Tools, holds 2.1% mindshare, down 2.6% since last year.

Fuzz Testing Tools Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Defensics Protocol Fuzzing	17.6%
PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional	33.2%
GitLab	26.6%
Other	22.599999999999994%

Fuzz Testing Tools

Application Security Tools Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
HCL AppScan	2.1%
SonarQube	16.3%
Checkmarx One	9.9%
Other	71.69999999999999%

Application Security Tools

Featured Reviews

Sarath Kumar Choday

Senior Technical Lead at HCL Technologies

Product security tests for switches and router sections

Codenomicon Defensics should be more advanced for the testing sector. It should be somewhat easy and flexible to install. What I see in the documentation isn't that. Even if something doesn't malfunction, sometimes it is hard to install and execute. The product needs video documentation. This would help a lot more.

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Ravi Khanchandani

Founder Director at Techsa Services

Has improved identification of encryption and authentication issues across cloud and on-prem applications

During the learning curve of onboarding HCL AppScan, we learned that HCL has altered the portfolio and now offers HCL AppScan 360, which has a much better look and feel with an improved user interface. However, there is one feature called SCA, which stands for Software Composition Analysis, that could be improved. When I'm doing an application scan, HCL AppScan has the ability to generate information about what components are in use. For example, if I'm scanning a web application, it shows me the various components being used. It tells me whether I have Java libraries, .NET frameworks, or other log management libraries such as Log4j, and what versions of those specific components are present. I would like to see more detailed reports from the tool. Currently, you can find out the components belonging to a specific software, but if detailed reporting became available, you would be in a better position to identify vulnerabilities. For instance, I could identify that I had the Log4j vulnerability and know that I need to fix my application accordingly. If they add the features I'm describing, I would consider giving them a higher rating. However, I've only been experienced with the product for three months.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The stability of this product is great; we tested it under multiple constraints and even on cloud services it is absolutely stable."

"ROI was 100%. Since there are no product suites available that provide the level of testing available with Codenomicon, the development, quality and security assurance departments know that the investment was correct."

"Whatever the test suit they give, it is intelligent. It will understand the protocol and it will generate the test cases based on the protocol: protocol, message sequence, protocol, message structure... Because of that, we can eliminate a lot of unwanted test cases, so we can execute the tests and complete them very quickly."

"Whatever the test suit they give, it is intelligent; it will understand the protocol and it will generate the test cases based on the protocol: protocol, message sequence, protocol, message structure, and because of that, we can eliminate a lot of unwanted test cases so we can execute the tests and complete them very quickly."

"We have found multiple issues in our embedded system network protocols, related to buffer overflow. We have reduced some of these issues."

"The product is related to US usage with TLS contact fees, i.e. how more data center connections will help lower networking costs."

"Simple and straightforward GUI."

"It identifies all the URLs and domains on its own and then performs tests and provides the results."

"With AppScan, we are now deploying less defects to production."

"Scalability, and it's a very powerful tool."

"It comes with all of the templates that we need. For example, we are a company that is regulated by PCI. In order to be PCI compliant, we have a lot of checks and procedures to which we have to comply."

"It has certainly improved our organization in terms of quality of solutions that are developed."

"The solution is easy to install. I would rate the product's setup between six to seven out of ten. The deployment time depends on the applications that need to be scanned. We have a development and operations team to take care of the product's maintenance."

"It provides a better integration for our ecosystem."

"AppScan's most valuable features include its ability to identify vulnerabilities accurately, provide detailed remediation steps, and the newly introduced AI-powered features that enhance its functionality further."

More HCL AppScan pros

Cons

"You can't implement proprietary ciphering algorithms, nor can you modify protocol models if you need to test customized public protocols."

"It requires understanding the Defensics protocol."

"Sometimes, when we are testing embedded devices, when we trigger the test cases, the target will crash immediately. It is very difficult for us to identify the root cause of the crash because they do not provide sophisticated tools on the target side. They cover only the client-side application... They do not have diagnostic tools for the target side. Rather, they have them but they are very minimal and not very helpful."

"It does not support the complete protocol stack. There are some IoT protocols that are not supported and new protocols that are not supported."

"Codenomicon Defensics should be more advanced for the testing sector. It should be somewhat easy and flexible to install."

"It's a little bit basic when you talk about the Web Services. If AppScan improved its maturity on Web Services testing, that would be good."

"There is not a central management for static and dynamic."

"It has crashed at times."

"We would like to integrate with some of the other reporting tools that we're planning to use in the future."

"AppScan is too complicated and should be made more user-friendly."

"Improving usability could enhance the overall experience with AppScan. It would be beneficial to make the solution more user-friendly, ensuring that everyone can easily navigate and utilize its features."

"Sometimes it doesn't work so well."

"The pricing has room for improvement."

More HCL AppScan cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Licensing is a bit expensive."

"I would rate the product's pricing a nine out of ten. The product's pricing is expensive compared to the features that they offer."

"I rate the product's price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high. HCL AppScan is an expensive tool."

"The price of HCL AppScan is okay, in my opinion. You just buy HCL AppScan and don't pay anything anymore, meaning it is just a one-time purchase."

"The product is moderately priced, though it's an investment due to extensive code analysis needs."

"The product has premium pricing and could be more competitive."

"AppScan is a little bit expensive. IBM needs to work a little bit on the pricing model, decreasing the license cost."

"The tool was expensive."

"HCL AppScan is expensive."

More HCL AppScan pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Manufacturing Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Retailer

Computer Software Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	31

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about HCL AppScan?

The most valuable feature of HCL AppScan is its integration with the SDLC, particularly during the coding phase.

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What needs improvement with HCL AppScan?

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What is your primary use case for HCL AppScan?

I'm currently working with BigFix and HCL AppScan. At least three people in my company are using HCL AppScan. Since we are a reseller, we run it in both lab environments and live production applica...

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Comparisons

SonarQube vs Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

Compared 9% of the time

Blue Cedar vs Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

Compared 7% of the time

Checkmarx One vs Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

Compared 7% of the time

Coverity Static vs Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

Compared 6% of the time

Ixia BreakingPoint vs Defensics Protocol Fuzzing

Compared 5% of the time

More Defensics Protocol Fuzzing Competitors

Veracode vs HCL AppScan

Compared 9% of the time

SonarQube vs HCL AppScan

Compared 8% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

Checkmarx One vs HCL AppScan

Compared 7% of the time

Acunetix vs HCL AppScan

Compared 6% of the time

More HCL AppScan Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Defensics Protocol Fuzzing vs. PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional

March 2026

Download Defensics Protocol Fuzzing product report

Buyer's Guide

HCL AppScan

March 2026

Download HCL AppScan product report

Also Known As

Codenomicon Defensics

IBM Security AppScan, Rational AppScan, AppScan

Overview

Defensics® fuzz testing is a comprehensive, powerful, and automated black box solution that enables organizations to effectively and efficiently discover and remediate security weaknesses in software. By taking a systematic and intelligent approach to negative testing, Defensics allows organizations to ensure software security without compromising on product innovation, increasing time to market, or inflating operational costs.

Black Duck

IBM Security AppScan enhances web application security and mobile application security, improves application security program management and strengthens regulatory compliance. By scanning your web and mobile applications prior to deployment, AppScan enables you to identify security vulnerabilities and generate reports and fix recommendations.

HCLSoftware

Sample Customers

Coriant, CERT-FI, Next Generation Networks

Essex Technology Group Inc., Cisco, West Virginia University, APIS IT

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