In our world, web application development is a major industry that’s only going to get bigger as things become more digital. However, the increasingly online solutions are vulnerable to various cyber attacks, which put valuable commodities such as consumer data at risk of being compromised. This is why developers and organizations are not only encouraged but obliged to enhance security through a litany of measures, one of these being a web application penetration test, according to ImmuniWeb.
In this piece, let’s delve into what exactly these tests are. We’ll look at a guide showing how they’re conducted and analyze what is needed for proper testing. With that out of the way, we can move forward to the detailed steps of the process.
Defining said testing: why is it essential?
A web app penetration test is a purposeful bombardment of an app with an attack to see how vulnerable it is to real-world events. The main idea behind it is to be more thorough and intentional compared to its ethical hacking ancestors, whose vulnerability testing was done more out of curiosity. The thorough nature comes through the addition of skilled human work, which can find more elaborate weak spots that automated testing can’t at the moment.
Pen tests, as they’re also called, are known to be on the pricier end of things. That said, in this day and age, they are necessary for a host of reasons that include:
- Integrity, as well as compliance assurance, which refers to the protection of data and the practice’s enforcement by regulatory bodies such as the GDPR
- This practice also helps reduce the number of cyber attacks, as vulnerabilities can be discovered and addressed beforehand
- Because compliance has been met through them, issues regarding data breaches and the resulting lawsuits can work in the favor of those launching apps, thus reducing legal fees
- It shows proof of your investment in cybersecurity
How it’s conducted
The idea behind this type of testing is that all areas of vulnerability should be identified before malicious entities find and exploit them in the real world. These points of vulnerability are digital/IT assets that are rather frequented by said malicious entities and they include :
- Websites
- Web and mobile applications
- All things residing on the cloud
- The blockchain
With these in mind, the process of testing can begin. Web application penetration testing involves several steps, and these are as follows:
The initiation phase
This Phase involves copious amounts of planning and sees everything from the test’s scope, goals and methodologies be defined. Thus, the phase also sees the gathering of information regarding any discovered vulnerabilities within the scope of possible weaknesses.
The scanning phase
This Phase happens before the simulated attacks and sees a great deal of analysis done to see how the code behind target apps will react to certain intrusion attempts. This analysis is done in both a static and a dynamic way, with the latter being particularly useful since it looks at the apps as they run, providing insight in real-time.
The attack phase
This phase sees the uncovering of a host of weaknesses via the use of attacks like backdoors and SQL injection. These weaknesses are then exploited by testers, who do this by throwing everything at them, including data theft and traffic interception, among other things. The purpose of this action is to see how much of an impact the testers have in terms of damage caused.
The attack maintenance phase
Once the attack phase is completed, it isn’t entirely done, as whatever weak spot that has been discovered is further acted on. This part of the web application penetration test exists to see whether or not said weak spot is ripe for further exploitation by the malicious entities of the real world.
The results phase
By this point, it is safe to say that the testing process has been done, with only one phase remaining, which is the results phase. Here, the findings of the entire process are compiled into a report that shows three key things, which are:
- What weak points were discovered and taken advantage of during the test
- What key data was accessed from it
- How long testers were able to engage in activity without being noticed
Naturally, the process has to eventually lead to something, which in the case of those taking part in it, is the fixing of whatever weaknesses are discovered. When this is done, the benefits listed above can be enjoyed.
What good testing needs
Now, testing can be both internal (dealing with emails, phishing and rogue employees ) and external (dealing with Internet access). Regardless, it seeks to address the thousands of cybersecurity attacks faced annually and while this type of testing can be of great help, it has to be done correctly for such results.
Two things that can help you determine if the help you wish to use for this is any good, is to see if they have a good amount of the right testing tools. Said tools span the entire length of weaknesses that could be faced, particularly on the external front and they include web, mobile app, email and cloud varieties. Interestingly enough, some vendors will even offer these tools for free, with more thorough examples requiring extra payment.
Another thing you should look for is the certification of the vendor or team whose paid help you’re acquiring. While certification isn’t always an indicator of how knowledgeable someone is, it’s better to be safe, if you’re going to pay.
Final thoughts
When it comes to protecting the data or digital assets of an entity, many paths can be taken and among these, a web application penetration test is one worth looking at. This is because it gives you the chance to evaluate and verify the security of your systems before they are heavily targeted in the real world.
The steps listed above are what help ensure this and if followed by a skilled and certified team, they can help ensure that you comply with little problems. The search for such teams will have to be on your part, though, but if you pull it off, your digital assets will be safer with a test than without.
