What is Web Application Penetration Testing and How Does it Work?
Web applications are an integral part of digital businesses. If you want to grow and keep your business successful, you need to keep your web apps safe from malicious actors or hackers. Web application penetration testing ensures that you know about the weaknesses before cybercriminals take advantage of them. This builds trust among your clients/customers and gives you an edge over your competitors. As per IT Governance’s research of January 2024, there were 4,645 publicly disclosed cyber security incidents and 29,530,829,012 records were known to be breached. As per Statista, there was a massive Yahoo data breach in the United States that impacted over 3 billion online users in the same month. In this blog, we will focus on web application penetration testing, its benefits, and its methodologies. What is Web Application Penetration Testing? Web application penetration testing is a cybersecurity practice that involves simulating real attacks on web apps to identify and fix vulnerabilities. Pen testers, also called “ethical hackers”, use automated tools and manual techniques to go deep within the app to uncover complex security weaknesses. This is because hackers can use these weaknesses to get unauthorized access and perform illegal actions like data breaches and payment manipulation. What is the Purpose of Web Application Penetration Testing Technology is always changing and improving, and your cyber defenses that worked yesterday might not work tomorrow. More people are developing software that hackers can use to breach a website or web application. Additionally, as web applications often store sensitive data, people target it for their gain. Web app penetration testing detects network vulnerabilities so that businesses take necessary steps to patch those flaws and prevent risks to their information. However, without regular pen tests, your business data can be accessed by cybercriminals, putting your organization and your clients at risk. 1. Identify Security Weaknesses Discover vulnerabilities in the website or web application’s design and implementation that could range from simple misconfigurations to complex logical flaws. 2. Evaluate Security Controls Assess the effectiveness of the cyber security measures implemented within the web application, including how well the application resists attacks and protects sensitive data. 3. Comply with Industry Standards Website penetration testing can help ensure the application adheres to industry frameworks and regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, etc., which are vital for maintaining trust and compliance requirements. 4. Get Actionable Remediation Plans The web application penetration testing results have detailed findings and recommendations for developers to fix all the vulnerabilities effectively. 5. Maintain Client Trust and Brand Integrity A company’s business and reputation can get severely damaged through a data breach. Regular penetration testing makes the website and web application secure. Additionally, it demonstrates trust and protects the brand’s reputation. Do you want to secure your website and web applications from cyberattacks? Qualysec Technologies follows a hybrid approach of web app penetration testing that offers in-depth and accurate results. Use our services to find weaknesses in your web apps and fix them immediately. Click below now! Talk to our Cybersecurity Expert to discuss your specific needs and how we can help your business. Schedule a Call Common Web Application Security Risks There are various types of vulnerabilities that can harm a web application inside out, significantly hampering your business. Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP), a non-profit foundation that supports organizations in improving their security of web applications, has provided these top 10 security risks. OWASP’s Top 10 Web Application Security Risks: Security misconfigurations Broken access control Authentication issues Cryptographic failure Injection flaws Vulnerable and outdated components Identification and authentication failures Insecure design Security logging and monitoring failures Software and data integrity failures Different Types of Web Application Penetration Testing There are basically three types of web app penetration testing that can be opted by businesses as per requirement. These are black box testing, white box testing, and grey box testing. The approach is determined through the level of information provided by the client to the pentester. Let’s discuss each of them in detail. 1. Black Box Penetration Testing In Black Box penesting, the pentesters have no prior knowledge of the architecture, source code, or internal workings of the web application. This approach simulates how a hacker with no inside information would attempt to attack the application. In this process, the testers focus on discovering the vulnerabilities by interacting with the application, investigating inputs, and analyzing the responses. 2. White Box Penetration Testing With White Box Pentesting approach, the pentesters are given complete access to the source code, internal architecture, and database schema of the web application. They can use various processes such as code review, architecture analysis, and design review to discover vulnerabilities. As pentesters have all the access, they can pinpoint the exact location of the vulnerabilities and the impact they can potentially have. 3. Grey Box Penetration Testing Grey Box Pentesting is probably the most used and best approach for web application penetration testing. This is where the pentesters have limited information about the application, including a combination of some internal insights and external knowledge. As the testers have very limited but crucial information about the application, they focus on areas that are more likely to be vulnerable and offer a more realistic assessment. Web Application Penetration Testing Methodology Web app penetration tests focus on the web app environment by gathering information about the app from the client or using public web pages. Then they test the application with appropriate tools and techniques. The results of the pen tests are documented and sent to the client for further action. Generally, cybersecurity companies follow an industry-standard Web app pentest methodology based on the OWASP Application Security Verification Standard (ASVS) and Testing Guide. However, some penetration testing firms modify these steps to offer more in-depth and accurate results. 1. Gathering Information: The 1st stage of web application penetration testing is to gather as much information about the application as possible. This is where the company provides the necessary information to the penetration testing team. Additionally,
