Understanding Your Application Landscape

The first step in choosing security testing tools involves thoroughly understanding your application portfolio. Modern organizations typically manage diverse applications ranging from legacy monoliths to cloud-native microservices, each with unique security testing requirements. Legacy applications often lack source code access or use outdated frameworks incompatible with modern security tools. These constraints might mandate DAST as the only viable option. Conversely, greenfield cloud-native applications built with modern frameworks can leverage any testing approach.

Technology stack diversity significantly impacts tool selection. SAST tools must support your programming languages, frameworks, and build systems. While major languages enjoy broad support, specialized or legacy languages might have limited options. IAST agents must be compatible with your runtime environments—JVM versions, .NET framework variations, Node.js versions. DAST works regardless of technology stack but may struggle with modern single-page applications or complex authentication mechanisms.

Application architecture influences testing approach effectiveness. Microservices architectures multiply the number of components requiring analysis, potentially making SAST more manageable than deploying IAST agents everywhere. API-heavy architectures might benefit from specialized DAST tools designed for REST and GraphQL testing. Monolithic applications could see better results from IAST's ability to trace complex internal interactions. Understanding these architectural implications helps predict tool effectiveness.