QA testing VS Penetration testing

• Pabitra Kumar Sahoo
• August 07, 2021
• No Comments

In the field of testing, both QA and penetration tests hold their own importance. However, they also have evident differences. Right from the purpose to methodologies, they differ. In this blog let us look at what these testing processes achieve and how they are different from each other.

Definition – QA testing vs Penetration testing processes

Quality plays an integral role in the world of technology, without a doubt. QA is way of preventing mistakes and defects in manufactured products. And avoiding problems when delivering products or services to customers. Hence, it is a critical step in the software development process. It makes sure that the quality of the product or project is no short of excellent.

Penetration Testing is a type of security testing used to uncover vulnerabilities, threats and risks that an attacker could exploit in software applications, networks or web applications. The goal is to identify and test all possible security vulnerabilities that are present in the software application. It’s a given that it is quite important for website and app development.

What are the differences between QA tests and pen tests?

1. Focus area

QA tests focus on setting up adequate processes, introducing the standards of quality to prevent error and flaws in the product. Bottom line is that QA testing mainly focuses on processes.

Pen testing is solely security oriented and hence its main focus would be coding structures as to detect any loopholes.  Using penetration testing tools to expose holes in security layer allows testers to address any shortcomings. Before they become critical liabilities, that is.

To sum it up, quality testing team will do software quality testing to check if it meets quality standard prescribed by organization or any standard it follows. It will assess whether software meets business requirement given by stakeholders. Whereas penetration testing team will assess technical flaws in the application whether all validations are applied or not, whether any attacker can circumvent the logical flow of software.

2. Time

Testing is a very important part of a development process. It allows to achieve the level of quality. Which in turn, enables the product to be released commercially. However, thoroughly going through every potential risk and covering it with test cases can take a long time.

Although time varies depending on the complexity of the test case, as a rule of thumb, it takes a QA specialist approximately five minutes on average to execute one.

The length of the penetration testing engagement depends on the type of testing, the type and number of systems and any engagement constraints. Typical engagements have an average testing time of 1-3 weeks.

3. Types

Some of the QA testing types are as followed:

• Unit Testing
• Integration Testing
• System Testing
• Regression Testing
• Beta/Acceptance Testing
• Performance Testing
• Load Testing
• Stress Testing

Some of the pen testing types are as followed:

• Black box testing
• White box testing
• Gray box testing 

Conclusion

We at Qualysec here perform penetration tests and QA tests with our highly qualified and experienced team with the use of latest technology tools. Contact us for more on this.