In the current digital era, it is becoming more and more important for businesses to have reliable security systems that are designed to achieve defensive security goals and reduce risk.
Whether an organization develops its own internal business applications, outsources the development of web or mobile applications for use by its clients, or relies on open-source software or libraries, AST is necessary to achieve a high level of cyber security assurance.
It is possible for even full-service software development companies with strict source code review procedures to decide to have testing done on their products in order to reduce risk.
An application flaw or malicious code could give an attacker initial access, elevated privileges, the ability to disable security or crucial business services, the ability to steal crucial company information, the ability to encrypt crucial data and hold it for ransom, or even the ability to permanently destroy a firm’s data.
There are many different types of AST, and this guide will help stakeholders understand the variations and choose the best testing techniques for each of their assets.
What does testing for application security involve?
To ward off cyberattacks, AST examines native desktop, mobile, and online programs and packages for exploitable flaws. The goal of a “black-box test” is to attempt to exploit the target application in the same way that a real-world attacker would.
By simulating a real-world cyberattack, it is possible to evaluate the security of an application and the security controls in its environment (such as web-server settings). In a “white-box” test, testers are given details about an application’s internal workings, which may include providing the entire source code for manual inspection.
A mix of black-box and white-box testing known as “grey-box” testing allows the penetration tester to validate particular security objectives, such as a target application’s susceptibility to insider attacks, with the use of some restricted knowledge about the target application.
What purpose does application security testing serve?
Companies are anticipated to cover a total of $6 trillion in damages from cybercrime in 2021. In response to the worry of suffering significant losses, businesses are increasing their cybersecurity investment and adopting a more proactive strategy to reduce their exposure to cyber-risk.
The IBM report found that the average cost of a data breach increased from about $4 million CAD in 2018 to $6.75 million CAD per incident in 2021. Cyberattacks can cause business interruptions, damage to a company’s reputation, the loss of business relationships, large fines, and class action lawsuits.
How much time does application security testing require?
Software applications can make use of a variety of technologies, perform a range of tasks, and have varied levels of complexity. The time and resources required to test an application vary substantially as a result.
Applications with complex functionality frequently require more testing time than those with basic functionality. The level of expertise, tools, abilities, and data gathering needed to conduct a successful evaluation are also impacted by specific software technologies, such as the language used to design an app and the software architectures used.
The length of an AST is also influenced by the level of testing and assurances needed by a corporation to meet its risk requirements. Black-box testing is the most accurate at simulating a scenario of a real-world cyberattack, but it takes time for the penetration testing company to manually gather information.
White-box testing provides the penetration testing entity with complete information, including source code, allowing source code to be manually examined for potential exploitability; nevertheless, human code inspection takes time.
What Kinds of Application Security Testing Are There?
Web application testing
Web- application security testing is the procedure of performing penetration tests on a website and its hosting infrastructure. White-box tests can speed up the testing process or enable deeper testing into key areas.
Grey-box tests give pentesters limited knowledge about the target application before the testing process begins to speed up the process and allow testers to focus on specific goals. Black-box tests test the application’s resilience against a simulated real-world cyber-attack.
App Evaluation for Mobile
Numerous companies have created their own mobile applications for usage internally and externally. Testing mobile apps may involve analyzing both the mobile version of a web site and native mobile apps that have been downloaded and installed directly on iOS or Android.
Mobile app testing often employs the same approaches as web application testing, including checking for OWASP Mobile Top Ten flaws, confirming best practices, and assessing API endpoints and infrastructure.
Evaluation of Native Desktop Software
Native Windows, macOS, and Linux application testing reduces the risk of a program being used to get initial access, escalate system rights, read or change undesirable data, and ensures that they have been produced securely.
Generally speaking, native desktop applications should be tested for proper input sanitation, safe use of any functions that can execute system commands, map memory, and deserialize objects, as well as the application logic to ensure that it can implement type-checking and variable type-assignment properly and that the authentication process is bug-free.
Additionally, the dangers of a vulnerability considerably increase if the application is to be run as an administrator or root user, necessitating a more thorough assessment.
Open Source Software Testing
Open source software (OSS) libraries are used frequently in the creation of apps since they help expedite the process and reduce costs. Although OSS source code is by definition open to the public, there is no guarantee that it has been checked for security flaws. In fact, many open source software programs have had harmful code or flaws found in them. OSS apps that have been fully developed may also be used by businesses.
Dynamic Application Security Testing
Testing an application while it is in use is known as dynamic application security testing (DAST) and can be carried out in white-box, grey-box, or black-box modes.
Through dynamic analysis, it is possible to assess the security of access control, the protection of sensitive information, the proper handling of mistakes by the program, and the attack resistance of the application.
A more complicated kind of DAST called fuzzing is providing inaccurate, unexpected, or unpredictable data to an application.
Static Application Security Testing
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is a type of white-box testing that entails examining the source code to audit a software application.
Although functions or packages that may represent security risks can be found using automated source code analysis techniques, the results should still be manually checked. There are tools for analyzing source code for all widely used software programming languages and frameworks, including mobile apps for iOS and Android.
