In order to assess the overall security of a web application, many organizations choose to carry out web application security testing. This process is vital to ensure the safety of a website. A majority of today’s applications are developed using web-based platforms which have to be implemented within an environment that is highly protected from outside sources. For this reason, security testing becomes very important for the implementation of new technologies. Many companies make use of web-based security testing tools in order to evaluate the entire system.
Web application security testing involves sending various kinds of information gathering commands to the web application and then observe how it reacts. Mostly, these so called false tests analyze whether the web application is performing something it is not meant to do or is complying with the standard it was designed to follow. For instance, it is also significant to note that web security testing isn’t just about checking the current security features (i.e., authentication and authorization) which can be implemented into the application already. It also entails knowing how information gathering techniques work and what kind of data the client company requires.
Another approach used in web application penetration testing is manual verification. Here, testers to create test cases manually which involve creating or updating web source code. Each step in the development process is performed manually. The intention here is to identify any possible issues or defects which are supposed to be resolved when the software is released.
Web Application Security Testing
While there are several ways by which companies can carry out comprehensive web application security testing, it mainly depends on the kind of testing services they require. For instance, there are companies that only need to carry out vulnerability scanning, database injection, and validation while other companies may need to carry out both testing activities. In addition, one can also choose to carry out the testing activity manually or through automated tools. However, automated tools are preferred mainly because these carry out the entire process much faster and easier.
One web application security testing technique that is carried out automatically is pen testing. Pen Testing is a technique where various forms of attacks are conducted on the web application in order to determine its vulnerabilities and subsequently find the ways to overcome them. For this reason, pen testing is a very good way to identify vulnerabilities, flaws, and errors in the web applications and to ensure that they are not exploited. Through this technique, problems which can potentially bring down an organization’s server can be detected before they get too big.
Web application security testing helps organizations identify the flaws in their web apps and to fix them in order to prevent serious threats to the organizations. For this reason, organizations that adopt web app penetration testing must pay special attention to identifying the flaws in the applications and take necessary steps to solve them. Organizations that successfully implemented security testing software have reduced the risks posed by their applications to a great extent and have provided their clients with complete peace of mind.
Tags: web application security testing, linux, sql injection, kali linux, web