Web Application Testing

In the age of digital transformation, web applications are vital to businesses across all industries. These applications power everything from e-commerce platforms to online banking and customer portals. However, the rise in cyber threats has made web application security a top priority for organisations seeking to protect their sensitive data and customer trust. This is where web application testing comes into play, a crucial practice in ensuring the robustness of your online assets.

What is Web Application Testing?

Web application testing is the systematic process of evaluating the security of web applications. It aims to identify vulnerabilities, weaknesses, and potential threats that could be exploited by malicious actors. Unlike traditional network security, which focuses on safeguarding the perimeter, web application testing delves into the application layer to uncover vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches, unauthorised access, and other security incidents.

There are several types of web application testing, such as static testing, that analyses the source code without executing it, and dynamic testing, that evaluates the application in a running state, simulating real-world attacks. Ultimately, a web application test aims to identify security vulnerabilities due to insecure development practices during design, coding and deployment of a web application. After a test, any vulnerabilities found are presented in relation to the level of risk, giving your business an opportunity to take action. 
 

When Do You Need Web Application Security Testing?

Web application testing is vital for any web application and especially those that store sensitive customer information such as credit card details. Web application testing is essential in various scenarios, including:

• Development Phase - it should be integrated into the software development life cycle to catch vulnerabilities early, reducing the cost and effort required for remediation.
• Before Deployment - conduct web application testing before launching a web application to ensure it's secure from day one.
• Regularly and Periodically - regular assessments are crucial as web applications evolve over time and new vulnerabilities emerge.
• After Significant Changes - whenever there are significant updates or changes to the application, a security assessment should be performed to catch any new vulnerabilities introduced.

Ultimately, if you’re responsible for a web application, you should ask yourself whether there is a chance it could be exploited to gain access to your network, your identity credentials could be hacked and your API is secure. If any of these could happen and you process or store payment details or personally identifiable information, you should consider web application testing. 

The Business Benefits of Web Application Security Testing

Web application testing is indispensable; it plays a pivotal role in evaluating the overall security stance of the entire web application ecosystem, encompassing the database, back-end network, and more. What’s more, it provides actionable insights on how to strengthen these areas. In this way, investing in web application testing yields several tangible business benefits:

• Detecting Vulnerabilities - uncover and assess security weaknesses within web applications.
• Validate Security Measures - evaluate the effectiveness of existing security policies and controls to ensure they adequately safeguard the application.
• Compliance Assurance - confirm compliance with regulatory standards such as PCI DSS and HIPAA, demonstrating a commitment to safeguarding sensitive data.
• Configuration Analysis - scrutinise the configuration and robustness of components exposed to the public, including firewalls, to identify potential entry points for attackers.

With web application testing, you can uncover the weaknesses hiding in your web applications and underlying infrastructure. Moreover, you can take the necessary steps to ensure the security of those web applications and their sensitive data.