Web application penetration testing are performed primarily to maintain secure software code development throughout its lifecycle. Coding mistakes, specific requirements, or lack of knowledge in cyber attack vectors are the main purpose of performing this type of penetration test.
Web application Penetration test refers to the process of staging a hacker-style attack on your web app to detect and analyze security vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit. The entire process of web app penetration testing is focused on helping you get a better understanding of your web app’s security posture – its strength and resilience against cyberattacks. It is an essential health check of a system that informs testers whether remediation and security measures are needed.
Due to the enormous expansion of web applications, more and more internet resources are being spent on developing the software as well as configuring the applications to work properly on this new landscape.
This newfound frontier has however opened up another vector of attack that malicious hackers can use for their personal gains. Considering that some web applications hold sensitive data, it is important to keep them secure at all times, especially since a lot of them are publicly exposed to the internet.
Performing the web app penetration testing as part of your Software Development Life Cycle would be the best and most cost-effective strategy in fighting off web application vulnerabilities.
Of all sites were vulnerable to at least one serious exploitable vulnerability throughout 2021
Retail web apps were targeted of all attack campaigns
Issues were found in the application code itself
Web apps have some known defects
There are several key benefits to incorporating web application penetration testing into a security program.
Pen testing is explicitly required in some industries, and performing web application pen testing helps meet this requirement.
Infrastructure, like firewalls and DNS servers, is public-facing. Any changes made to the infrastructure can make a system vulnerable. Web application pen testing helps identify real-world attacks that could succeed at accessing these systems.
Web application pen testing identifies loopholes in applications or vulnerable routes in infrastructure—before an attacker does.
Web application pen testing assesses existing security policies for any weaknesses.
Penetration testing should be performed on a regular basis to ensure more consistent IT and network security management. In addition to regularly scheduled analysis and assessments required by regulatory mandates, tests should also be run whenever:
Your organization will grow and change over time. Factors such as a change in staff members, business lines, processes, and technology are good reasons to conduct a penetration test. We advise you to perform penetration tests of your business regularly to ensure that your systems are up to date and your employees have been properly trained
Cybersecurity is ever-evolving because cybercriminals are always innovating new ways to intrude networks and exploit vulnerabilities. Hence, it is important to perform penetration testing whenever there is a major change in the environment.
Often, regulatory bodies like PCI DSS and HIPAA encourage penetration testing to comply with regulations.
