Klocwork, a company known for its Insight software that performs source code analysis on-the-fly, has released a new version of its flagship product that offers C/C++ developers the same tools that web application developers have been using for some time.
Given the fact that attackers are still exploiting application vulnerabilities, source code analysis and checking is a major part of the development lifecycle and QA process. Klocwork has offered their Insight engine for years, and the latest version offers the same level of performance and security checking as seen in the past, but expands that functionality to C/C++ developers.
Interestingly, the C/C++ aspect of Insight 9.5 works the same way a spellchecker would. Insight underlines defects as developers are writing their code. In the background, syntax and dataflow analysis, build comprehension, and incremental analysis run continuously in order to ensure accurate identification of security vulnerabilities and critical defects.
Related: Implementing a Secure Development Lifecycle: Lessons from the Trenches
As is the case with C# and Java development, Insight 9.5 offers checks for several security issues including input validation, injection issues, XSS, and banned APIs. On the performance side, checks for memory leaks, loops, allocation errors, and dead or unreachable code are also part of the plan.
Reporting-wise, Insight 9.5 has a new tool (written in HTML 5) that allows development teams to answer questions about security and performance, offering a redesigned report creator that uses drag and drop pivot charts for customization.
“What we’ve seen and heard from our customers is a continued desire to get away from inefficient ‘batch processing’ deployments where all their code analysis is centralized. It’s an inefficient and costly approach to deploying this technology,” said Mike Laginski, Chief Executive Officer, Klocwork. “Source code analysis is a developer tool not an audit tool,” he added. But Insight allows development teams the chance to make early security vulnerability and defect detection a reality.
More information is available here.
Related: Implementing a Secure Development Lifecycle: The Importance of Executive Support
