Web App Security Testing
Tags: security, testing, testdev, webdev
Published: 2021-10-19 07:04:34

Websites and web applications have undergone a revolution since the time they came into the market until date. There were approximately 1.83 billion websites on the internet in January 2021, based on the statistics. These web apps can provide features that were not imaginable by anyone and were almost next to impossible.

Business holders are bringing their businesses directly approachable for the valued customers via the websites every day. These organizations are rolling out new updates quickly to improvise the user experience and provide the best in market services. There are web applications designed for finance, marketing, banking, online shopping, etc. that make customers' lives more convenient and open doors for cybercriminals.

Cybercriminals are always prepared to exploit an open vulnerability and break into the organization's system to accomplish their malicious intentions or earn revenue illegally. This makes <a href=https://www.getastra.com/blog/security-audit/web-application-security-testing/>Web app security testing</a> a necessity to assure the all-time smooth functioning of your website.

<b>Basics of Security Testing</b>

Security testing is a type of software testing, which includes recognizing the potential risks, vulnerabilities, and threats present in a system. The core reason behind security testing is to make your system setup impenetrable and inaccessible for cybercriminals.

Security professionals make efforts to ensure that the key features of an application work smoothly without any security gaps in the production environment. Several aspects of security like data confidentiality, integrity, authenticity, etc., are put under test to gain the best results for assessing the web application. 

<b>Introduction to Web App Security Testing</b>

Web app security testing is a methodology to assess the security loopholes and flaws present in your web application to prevent security and data breaches, malware, and other cyberattacks. A comprehensive web app security testing discloses all the hidden risky endpoints that a hacker might use to break into your system and exploit it for their good.

Companies and organizations are building the latest technology-based web applications hastily due to the neck-to-neck competition. Due to these prompt code applications for sensitive activities like banking and finance are more prone to cybercrimes and illegal activities.  

There have been reports that state that security teams took several months to unveil the presence of an external entity in their systems. The main aim of a hacker is to stay hidden in the web application for as long as possible to cause maximum damage. 

Web app security testing is the key to successfully get rid of the external agents who break into your system with malicious intentions and ensure an all-time smooth functioning of your web app.

<b>Why do you need Web App Security Testing?</b>

The web app security testing targets to find security risks and potential vulnerabilities in the design, logic, or configuration of a web application. The web app security testing process involves sending incorrect inputs and wait for the system response to judge the behavior of the web app in unexpected circumstances. 
These negative tests assess whether the system is doing something that it is not supposed to do.

<b>Judging the System Response</b>

The problem arises when the system reveals confidential and sensitive information meant only for the internal teams due to negative tests or inappropriate inputs. Security testing procedures help the experts and organizations to understand and analyze the system response and the weak ends left by the <a href=https://dzone.com/articles/promoted-from-dev-to-team-lead-8-things-they-didnt>development team</a>.

<b>Adhere to security compliances</b>

Web application security testing is not only to protect your web app from external threats but also to adhere to the mandatory compliances or audit standards to keep providing your services without obstacles. These are some common security goals laid out by organizations for web apps all across the globe. Security testing reports provide in-depth details of the missing purposes to avoid penalties for non-compliance.

<b>Financial and trust damage</b>

A cyberattack on your web application can cause you mental trauma and, at the same time, would cost you a heavy revenue loss. The longer it takes to recover from the attack, the more expensive it becomes. Once the security of your web app is broken, customers start to have trust issues while dealing with your web app. They prefer to stay away, which breaks the business-customer loyalty built with efforts over the past years within a few days of the security breach.

<b>Methodologies for Security Testing in Web Apps?</b>

Web app security testing is a complex process that involves various phases, techniques, and steps to execute and report all the loopholes present in a web application to plan mitigation and remedial policy efficiently. 

Some of the most commonly used methodologies for web app security testing are as follows:

<b>Password Cracking</b>: Web app security testing begins with 'Password Cracking' to login to private sections of a web app. One can use a password cracker tool or guess the most commonly used usernames and passwords for this procedure. The open-source password crackers have a list of these commonly used usernames and passwords. If the web app does not make it mandatory to use a complex password with a combination of alphanumeric and special symbols, etc., the passwords are cracked in no time. 

Cybercriminals also try to steal the unencrypted passwords stored in cookies using different techniques and fetch your organization's sensitive information.

<b>URL manipulation</b>

The security testers must verify that an application should not pass critical information in the URL query. It is possible only if the developers use the HTTP GET method for the exchange of data in client-server communication. If the web app uses unsecured protocols like HTTP, the web app has security issues associated with it.

The attackers can modify the input variables present in the GET request and corrupt the data stored or steal the organization's confidential information. It is a must to transfer such sensitive information only via secured channels via HTTPS.

<b>Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)</b>

This is one of the most common techniques to hinder the functioning or working of a web application. If the web application accepts HTML or scripts from HTML, the website is prone to <a href=https://www.getastra.com/blog/tag/cyber-attacks/>cyberattacks</a>. Hackers use this method on browsers to implement malicious URL inputs on the browser. This reveals the sensitive credentials that are further used to access business logic and other sensitive details. 

<b>SQL Injection</b>

A web application database is its back-end support system that stores all the essential information, user and employee credentials, user data, and other sensitive information. If an application's database is compromised, details of thousands or millions of users are readily available for the cybercriminals to misuse or sell on the dark web to earn huge profits. 

<a href=https://dev.to/lindsfonnes/sql-injection-attacks-and-how-developers-can-prevent-them-2n71>SQL injections</a> are often used to fetch information from the web application's database. Attackers can use SQL statements as user inputs to fetch vital and confidential information related to your web app. Check for the piece of codes in your codebase where you execute direct MySQL queries by accepting user inputs to discover SQL injection entry points.

<b>Closing remarks</b>

If your web application has millions of users and deals with sensitive information, it is mandatory to have web app security testing for your app regularly. The earlier a web app is tested for security issues, the faster is the bug fix or the mitigation process, and the lesser is the loss caused due to the cyberattacks. It would help if you tried to comprehend the significance of web app security testing and encompass it in the Software Development Life Cycle. 

Once you get the web app security testing results, always keep your developers prepared to fix the issues on priority to prevent security breaches.

Cybersecurity is often misunderstood by the development and management teams of an organization that makes it necessary to consult a professional to assist you with all the security-related issues of your web app. It is a good practice to consult cybersecurity experts.