Why is Web App and API Security Testing So Critical?
Tags: webdev, security, cybersecurity, learning
Published: 2024-02-02 13:30:00

When you search for the most common causes of cyberattacks; phishing and unpatched vulnerabilities will top the list. Hackers mostly exploit inherent vulnerabilities in APIs and web apps to gain unauthorized access and steal data. However, sad but true that [OWASP Top 10 report](https://owasp.org/Top10/A03_2021-Injection/) states that 94% of the applications they tested were vulnerable to injection attacks.

So, why do vulnerabilities become a security challenge? This happens due to complete negligence of API and web app security testing or not using effective measures for this. Unfortunately, many times organizations fail to understand the importance of security testing.

Thus, such organizations suffer significant losses. In 2023, the [data breach cost was $4.45 million](https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach) on average. This shows how disastrous vulnerabilities can be.

## A Brief Note on Web App and API Security Testing
The aim of security testing is to evaluate if a web app or API is susceptible to hacking. It involves performing various tests and seeking responses to detect unexpected behavior. Professional security testers use automated and/or manual procedures to perform these tests. Any vulnerability is like a chink in your Armour that will cause destruction. Finding and removing them is vital to fortify your digital landscape. Hence, API and web application security testing is essential.

## Why is API and Web App Security Testing So Important?
There is one thing that one can find common in every web app and API is they all handle data. Being a valuable asset to a business, data must be handled and protected efficiently. However, security loopholes in your API or web app can result in data breaches that will impact your business. Finding and fixing vulnerabilities that can compromise security helps to protect these assets.
Let’s check its importance as follows.

**1. Data Security**
Data protection is important to secure it from theft, unauthorized access, and corruption. Organizations must protect their data for various ethical and legal reasons. For example, GDPR is a well-known data protection law that safeguards data of EU citizens. Organizations failing to comply with this law must face heavy penalties.

Vulnerabilities in web apps and APIs can cause data breaches that will violate laws and risk confidential information. However, you can prevent such scenarios by testing the applications and APIs for security issues and addressing them before they get exploited. For example, a quick web app vulnerability scan with an automated tool can reveal weaknesses related to data safety.

**2. Reputation**
Security breaches result in financial and reputational damage for organizations. Many customers will stop doing business with you, which will affect your sales and future growth. Further, many of them will also share their experiences with others through verbal communication or on social media.

To avoid this nightmare, you need to work on the root cause of this problem and that’s the vulnerabilities. With security testing, you can discover potential vulnerabilities like OWASP Top 10 that cause security breaches and protect your web apps and APIs.

**3. Customer Confidence**
Trust is the reason that customers are ready to share their personal or financial information when using various applications. However, security breaches can erode customer trust and regaining their confidence will be extremely challenging. They are likely to choose competitors after this.

Moreover, you can maintain customer trust by better protecting their information. API and web app security testing plays a critical role here. You can find weaknesses in the application and API that will help to strengthen their security.

**4. Smooth Business Operations**
Another advantage of API and web application testing is avoiding disruptions in your business. Business operations are affected after a security issue as hackers can cause service downtime with attacks like DDoS. They can make your web application unavailable to users or damage the system to stop it from running.

You can perform an automated web app or API vulnerability scan to find vulnerabilities that cause DDoS and similar attacks to avoid disruptions. It also helps you build a strong response plan to allow users to continue using the application even in case of a cyberattack.

**5. Compliance Requirements**
Adhering to legal compliances and standards is another benefit you get with thorough security testing. There are many automated vulnerability scanning tools that not only detect application weaknesses but also highlight compliance issues. Hence with web app security testing, you can ensure that it complies with standards like HIPAA, ISO27001, PCI DSS, SOC2, and more.

## Different Methods of Web App and API Security Testing
While security testing is crucial for web apps and APIs without any doubt, choosing the right method is equally important. The following are the different approaches to application testing you can choose from.

**Black-Box Testing**
In this type of testing method, a tester hunts for security issues without knowing the internal details of the application or API. The tester performs tests “outside in” with simulated attacks just like a hacker from the front-end.

**White-Box Testing**
The tester knows the internal details of an application or API and checks the source code to detect potential security issues. It is a static code analysis method also known as “inside-out” testing.

**Gray-Box Testing**
It is a combination of both and allows a tester to identify issues with improper use or design of the application or API. Having partial knowledge of the application’s implementation, the tester checks the target both inside-out and outside-in.

## Final Note
As cyberattacks are growing in number and complexity, keeping your systems, applications, and APIs secure becomes more challenging. Security testing tools like [ZeroThreat](https://zerothreat.ai/) helps you evaluate your APIs and applications to find flaws and weaknesses that allow cyberattacks. The tests help to pinpoint the issues and their reasons to effectively resolve them and mitigate security risks.