Fortify WebInspect vs OWASP Zap comparison

Fortify WebInspect is an automated DAST solution that helps security professionals and QA testers uncover security vulnerabilities and configuration concerns by providing complete vulnerability detection. This is accomplished by mimicking real-world external security attacks on a live application in order to discover and prioritize concerns for root-cause study. Fortify WebInspect provides a number of REST APIs for easier integration, as well as the ability to be maintained via an intuitive UI or totally automated.

Fortify WebInspect may be used as a completely automated solution to suit DevOps and scaling requirements, and it integrates seamlessly with the SDLC. REST APIs aid in closer integration by automating scans and ensuring that compliance standards are satisfied. Users can make use of pre-built integrations for Micro Focus Lifecycle Management (ALM) and Quality Center, as well as other security testing and management platforms.

Teams may reuse current scripts and tools thanks to powerful connectors. Any Selenium script can be simply integrated with Fortify WebInspect. Fortify WebInspect supports Swagger and OData formats via the WISwag command line tool, allowing it to work with any DevOps workflow. A scan template can be pre-configured by ScanCentral Admin and sent to users to scan their apps, with zero security knowledge required.

Fortify WebInspect Features

Fortify WebInspect has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Security testing of functional applications (FAST): FAST can use all of the functional tests in the same way as IAST does, but it will continue crawling. FAST will not miss anything that a functional test misses.

• Insights from a hacker's perspective: View discoveries such as client-side frameworks and version number. These are findings that, if not addressed, could lead to vulnerabilities.

• Workflow macros HAR files: Fortify WebInspect can scan workflows with HAR files, ensuring that crucial content is not missed.

• Management of compliance: Preconfigured policies and reports for all key online application security compliance regulations, such as PCI DSS, DISA STIG, NIST 800-53, ISO 27K, OWASP, and HIPAA.

• Horizontal scaling can help you speed up your work: Using Kubernetes, horizontal scaling creates little versions of WebInspect that only process JavaScript. This allows the scans to run in parallel, resulting in significantly faster scans.

• Scan any API for better accuracy: Get the complete picture on APIs, including SOAP, Rest, Swagger, OpenAPI, and Postman.
  
• Managing the security of enterprise applications: To meet DevOps requirements, monitor trends within an application and take action on the most critical issues first.

• Deployment options: With the flexibility of on-premise, SaaS, or AppSec-as-a-service, you can get started immediately and scale as needed.

Fortify WebInspect Benefits

There are many benefits to implementing Fortify WebInspect. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

• Vulnerabilities are discovered faster and earlier.
• Automation and agent technology can help you save time.
• Users can utilize crawl web technologies and modern frameworks.
• ScanCentral DAST helps you manage enterprise app security risk.

Reviews from Real Users

Fortify WebInspect stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. One major one is its robust centralized dashboard, which gives insight into all vulnerabilities.

Milin S., an Information Security Architect at a real estate/law firm, writes of the product, “Reporting, centralized dashboard, and bird's eye view of all vulnerabilities are the most valuable features. The vulnerability management part of it is very easy. We can suppress or comment on each vulnerability and assign a vulnerability to an individual risk owner, which makes the work easy.”

OWASP ZAP (Zed Attack Proxy) is a free, open-source web application security scanner that enables software developers and testers to perform penetration testing on their applications to discover vulnerabilities and prevent hostile attacks. To date, it is one of the most searched Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) projects, and an international group of volunteers is maintaining it. This tool is both flexible and extensible and is intended to be used by users who are new to application security as well as expert testers. For the users' convenience, OWASP ZAP has versions for each major OS and Docker platform so as not to rely on any single OS.

OWASP ZAP focuses on being the “middle man proxy,” as it is positioned between the user’s browser and the web application. In doing so, it will intercept and examine messages that are sent between a browser and a web application. If needed, it will adjust the contents and pass those packets on to their destination. As is the case in many corporate settings, if there is already another network proxy in use, ZAP can be configured to join that proxy. A variety of add-ons for further functionality is available on ZAP Marketplace.

OWASP ZAP offers a range of security automation options, including:

• Docker Packaged Scans: A ZAP automation scanner that provides a lot of flexibility and makes it easy for the user to get started with the tool.
  
  
• Quick Start Command Line: A rapid and straightforward scanner that is suitable for a quick scan.
  
  
• API and Daemon Mode: Through a comprehensive API, this mode gives the user complete control over ZAP.
  
  
• Automation Framework: A state-of-the-art framework that is not tied to any current container technology. This framework will, in time, take over the Command Line and the Package Scan options.
  
  
• GitHub Actions: The ability to use any associated and available GitHub package scan.

Benefits of OWASP ZAP

Some of OWASP ZAP’s benefits include:

• The ability to run an automated scan. Once set up, ZAP will deploy two spiders to crawl the web application and subsequently scan each page it finds.
  
  
• It interprets your results and sends an automated alert. After scanning the web application, all requests and responses sent to each page are recorded. If there is a potential problem, an alert is created and sent to the user.
  
  
• An intuitive and innovative interface. The Heads Up Display (HUD) is a new feature that provides capabilities right in the browser. It is great for people new to web security and experienced testers alike.

Reviews from Real Users

OWASP ZAP stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Among them are the solution’s automatic scanning feature, its ease of use, its ability to report vulnerabilities, and its being a free open-source solution..

PeerSpot user Piyush S., Technical Specialist (DevOps), notes that "Automatic scanning is a valuable feature and very easy to use. The initial setup is straightforward. The solution is free due to the fact that it is open-source. The product has a strong community surrounding it to help with issues and troubleshooting. The stability of the solution is very good."

Raj K., Business Analyst at Experion Technologies, notes, “The valuable features are that it's very simple to use and the user interface is very good, particularly for beginners so they can start the application easily. It's enough to refer to an online tutorial to be able to start using this application. It's not very complex.”

Balaji S., Assistant Vice President at Hexaware Technologies Limited, writes, “The solution is good at reporting the vulnerabilities of the application. It can help us with security, SQL injection vulnerability, known vulnerabilities, et cetera. Any kind of a threat that we get in the development cycle, is what we will look for. This solution helps us find them.

Many users like how the solution has improved over the years. As Alan G., CEO at Virtual Security International, notes, "It has evolved over the years, and recently in the last year they have added HUD (Heads Up Display)."