Runtime & ADR are reshaping security for applications and APIs: What CISOs should take from IDC’s commentary on Contrast

In a new June 2025 research note, IDC highlights a major shift in how enterprises are thinking about Application Security (AppSec). The IDC Link Research Note covers Contrast Security’s Northstar release and the growing interest in Application Detection and Response (ADR).

The IDC Link Research Note states:

“The application layer has become one of the most targeted yet
under-protected areas in the modern enterprise environment.”
— IDC, Contrast Security Launches Northstar Amid
Rising Demand for Runtime AppSec
Doc #lcUS53592225, June 2025

We believe this underscores what Contrast has heard from many CISOs: Traditional tools often miss what’s happening inside running applications. That’s why Contrast built Northstar, to help teams detect and respond to application-layer attacks as they happen and to remediate with precision.

Northstar brings together runtime telemetry, graph intelligence and agentic AI fixes in a single platform designed for security operations and DevSecOps teams alike.

As the IDC Link Research Note observes:

“Contrast’s Northstar release represents an evolution of the platform, with the Contrast Graph serving as the architectural foundation.”
— IDC, Contrast Security Launches Northstar Amid Rising Demand for Runtime AppSec, Doc #lcUS53592225, June 2025

Runtime context matters. Whether you’re defending critical applications or reducing time to response, the ability to detect real threats — and act on them — is now table stakes.

To see the report (IDC requires an account), go here. 

To see Contrast Northstar in action, check out the demos.