FALSE POSITIVE

Balancing Sensitivity and Specificity: Managing False Positive Security Vulnerabilities

WHAT IS FALSE POSITIVE?

False positives occur when a scanning tool, web application firewall (WAF), or intrusion prevention system (IPS) incorrectly flag a security vulnerability during software testing. False positives describe the situation where a test case fails, but in actuality there is no bug and functionality is working correctly. Because false positives need to be checked out and this can be a time-consuming process, they typically eat up valuable IT bandwidth that should be applied to more important tasks.

High rates of false positives are efficiency disrupters, having a drag effect on IT software development and testing teams. While a false positive is improperly indicating the presence of a problem when in reality one does not exist (the software is functioning as intended), the false negative is the opposite, giving you a false senses of security by indicating you don’t have a vulnerability when in fact you do.

Contrast is the clear customers’ choice

Contrast is named a Customers’ Choice in the 2021 Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer”: Application Security Testing report. With the highest percentage of 5-star ratings, this is the third consecutive year Contrast has received this powerful endorsement from customers.

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