A quick guide to application security testing services

A Quick Guide to Application Security Testing Services

​ eb​application security testing services should​be​part​of​QA​Testing.​A​standard​software​ W and​web​application​development​company​have​a​testing​department​or​a​QA​​team​that​ continually​tests​the​software​and​web​applications​developed​by​the​firm​to​assure​that​the​ products​work​as​it​was​intended​to​and​have​no​flaws.​

Larger​software​companies​also​finance​hundreds​of​thousands,​if​not​millions​of​dollars​on​ application​security​testing​services​to​automate​some​of​the​testing​methods​and​ensure​that​ the​product​is​of​high-end​quality.

How​ come​ this​ kind​ of​ bugs​ ​ that​ when​ misused,​ could​ put​ the​ customers'​ data​ and​ the​ testing​department​or​QA​team​do​not​distinguish​business​at​risk?

Only the Functionality of Web Applications is Tested While​ software​ companies​ have​ functions​ dedicated​ to​ identify​ functionality​ bugs,​ most​ of​ them​do​not​have​any​security​testing​mode​in​place.​ In​ fact​ when​ a​ developer​ combines​ a​ new​ button​ in​ a​ web​ interface,​ typically​ there​ are​ documented​ methods​ that​ are​ accompanied​ by​ the​ testing​ department​ to​ test​ the​ functionality​ of​ the​ button,​ but​ there​ are​ no​ methods​ to​ test​ the​ functionality​ under​ the​ button​and​to​check​if​it​can​be​tampered​with​or​utilized.

This​mostly​occurs​because​many​corporations​still​distinguish​functionality​(QA)​and​security​ testing,​ or​ the​ supervision​ is​ unaware​ of​ the​ implications​ a​ misused​ security​ matter​ might​ have​on​the​customers'​business.

Web​applications​should​be​checked​for​weaknesses​during​SDLC Security​testing​of​web​applications​and​any​other​kind​of​software​should​be​involved​in​the​ software​development​life-cycle​(SDLC)​with​the​standard​QA​testing.

If​a​security​loophole​is​found​at​a​later​stage,​or​by​a​customer,​it​is​of​a​humiliation​for​the​ business,​and​it​would​also​require​the​business​much​more​fo​fix​the​vulnerability.​ So​as​much​as​developers​are​required​to​do​unit​testing​when​they​write​new​code​for​a​ new​purpose,​the​testing​department​should​also​be​expected​to​test​and​validate​that​the​ new​function​is​safe​and​cannot​be​misused.

Even​if​the​developers​obey​proper​security​coding​practise,​or​say​that​they​do​not​require​ a​particular​tool​to​do​security​testing,​accurate​web​application​security​testing​should​be​ completed​by​the​testing​department​to​assure​there​are​no​web​application​vulnerabilities.

Typically​ developers​ also​ say​ that​ they​ support​ proper​ coding​ exercises​ but​ when​ they​ complete​ they​ also​ check​ their​ code​ several​ times,​ and​ the​ company​ still​ funds​ and​ build​ departments​ to​ test​ their​ code,​ so​ why​ not​ check​ their​ code​ for​ web​ application​ weaknesses​as​well?

​ nless​the​developers​are​experienced​hackers,​their​code​should​never​be​released​to​the​ U public​ unless​ it​ has​ been​ through​ a​ conventional​ security​ audit.​ After​ all,​ a​ security​ vulnerability​ is​ like​ an​ ordinary​ software​ glitch.​ For​ example,​ if​ an​ input​ field​ in​ a​ web​ application​enables​the​user​to​enter​his​name,​the​developer​defines​the​input​of​such​field​ to​letters​only.​ The​testing​unit​will​also​check​that​only​letters​are​permitted​as​input​and​that​the​input​is​ stored​ in​ the​ right​ place.​ So​ once​ at​ it​ might​ as​ well​ examine​ if​ special​ characters​ are​ allowed,​or​if​the​web​application​executes​encoded​input.​If​it​is,​then​it​is​a​error​that​falls​ under​the​security​category.

Developing Secure Web Applications and Software As​we​have​seen,​there​are​sufficient​reasons​and​several​benefits​to​adding​security​testing​ of​web​applications​with​the​functionality​testing.​ You​can​never​pretend​that​a​web​application​is​without​any​bugs,​in​the​same​way,​that​you​ can​never​pretend​that​it​works​accurately,​which​is​why​businesses​are​investing​in​testing​ and​QA​teams.​