Recognition validates Contrast’s leadership in real-time application attack detection and blocking
Contrast Security, the leader in Application Detection and Response (ADR), announced it has been named a Runtime Innovator in the Latio 2026 Application Security Market Report. The report recognizes vendors that protect applications against runtime threats and enable enterprises to respond to active attacks within seconds.
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The Latio report signals a structural shift in modern application security. As AI accelerates software development and increases application complexity, organizations continue to face expanding vulnerability backlogs and active exploitation in production. Traditional shift-left approaches alone have not eliminated zero-day exposure.
“Runtime has become the source of truth for exploitability and protection in modern application security,” said James Berthoty, Founder and Analyst at Latio. “Vendors recognized as Runtime Innovators demonstrate meaningful capabilities in real-time detection, reachability, and application-layer protection.”
Berthoty recognized Contrast for combining deep application instrumentation, function-level runtime reachability, and real-time attack blocking through its Application Detection and Response platform.
“Application security teams are overwhelmed by scanner noise and growing attack surfaces,” said Jeff Williams, Founder of Contrast Security. “Runtime is where truth lives. Being named a Runtime Innovator validates our belief that security must not only detect risk but stop attacks inside the application, in production, where they actually occur.”
Contrast ADR enables any security team to:
- Detect and block active application-layer attacks in real time
- Confirm exploitability through function-level runtime reachability
- Correlate attack telemetry, vulnerability data, and cloud context within the Contrast Graph
- Reduce false positives and vulnerability backlogs
- Provide developers with precise, context-aware remediation guidance
Unlike traditional WAF-centric approaches that rely on rule updates and patch timing, Contrast protects applications against known and unknown exploits directly at runtime.
To further explore the findings of the Latio 2026 Application Security Market Report, Contrast Security will host a live webinar with James Berthoty on March 18 at 1:00 p.m. ET. The session will provide deeper insight into the evolution of application security, the role of runtime technologies, and practical guidance for modern buyers.
Key Takeaways
- Runtime is the source of truth for exploitability and protection
- Real-time attack blocking closes the gap between vulnerability discovery and exploitation
- Application Detection and Response extends protection directly into the application layer
- Function-level reachability improves prioritization and trust
- AI is reshaping both software development and application security platforms
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