What is the Difference between WAPT and VAPT?
Cybersecurity is important for all organizations as cyber threats are relentlessly evolving and becoming more sophisticated. Different businesses cover up digital assets, for instance, they perform Web Application Penetration Testing (WAPT) and Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT). Both methodologies try to find and eliminate security vulnerabilities with different aims, scopes, and executions. Qualysec Technologies is here to discuss what are the differences between WAPT and VAPT, their methods, benefits, and what is the role of VAPT and WAPT in a secure cyber system. What is WAPT and VAPT? VAPT (Vulnerability Assessment & Penetration Testing) is a Cyber security process that is used to evaluate the level of security of an organization’s entire IT infrastructure. Vulnerability scanning and pen testing are part of it to identify and eliminate threats on the networks, applications, and systems. VAPT in turn includes WAPT (Web Application Penetration Testing) for web applications to spot vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, XSS, and CSRF. VAPT does a wider security analysis that only WAPT is tailored for web security. WAPT (Web Application Penetration Testing) Web Application Penetration Testing (WAPT) is a specialty in the security assessment area to find the vulnerabilities in web applications. Web Applications are almost prime targets for hackers and WAPT seeks to find flaws that would allow the hacker to get sensitive data, disrupt services, or access data without authorization. Important Points for WAPT (Web Application Penetration Testing) Web Application Penetration Testing (WAPT) is a security testing methodology which is used to evaluate the vulnerabilities in a web application. Since web applications are being pursued as a priority target by cyber criminals, WAPT envisages the position of utmost crucial tool in conception of security and data privacy. Below are the main items from WAPT: Scope WAPT has a singular focus on web applications, which are websites, web portals, web API, and virtual web services. While wider security evaluation, WAPT does not evaluate networks, servers, or mobile apps. This tool is primarily designed to locate security vulnerabilities in web-based systems that hackers could breach even when they are applied on your business. Testing Methodology WAPT utilizes structured methodology which covers automated & manual web application security testing techniques to identify web vulnerabilities. The testing methodology typically includes: Common Vulnerabilities Identified WAPT can automatically discover most known security vulnerabilities such as: Tools Used for WAPT Several specialized tools assist the security practitioner in successfully conducting WAPT. Some of the frequently used WAPT tools are: Compliance and Regulatory Requirements Why Businesses Need Both WAPT and VAPT The digital world is scary for several reasons – among them are more sophisticated cybersecurity threats. Many security assessments are needed by businesses, two among which are Web Application Penetration Testing (WAPT) and Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT). The two approaches differ in their purpose of identifying security weaknesses, and yet both of these approaches target to identify security weaknesses. Combined use of WAPT and VAPT will keep a company’s security posture strong, provide for compliance requirements and will prevent financial losses resulting from cyber threats. Comprehensive Security Coverage WAPT is focused on web applications providing us with a way to find security flaws like SQL injection, Cross Site Scripting (XSS), Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF), etc, and also misconfigurations. However, cyber threats are not limited to cyber threats related to web applications. Network vulnerabilities, system misconfiguration, open ports, weak authentication mechanisms, and unpatched software are all used by attackers to gain unauthorized access into the network. Whereas VAPT broadens the security assessment compared to web application security, it also includes assessing security in the networks, mobile applications, servers, cloud infrastructure, among other things. Running both WAPT and VAPT combined helps businesses to assess all possible attack vectors and reduce the security risks to the maximum, and assure the business. Strengthened Compliance and Regulatory Adherence In industries like finance, healthcare, e-commerce, SaaS, the businesses must obey strict security regulations such as PCI DSS, GDPR, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and SOC 2. Companies are made to test for regular security testing such as vulnerability assessments and penetration testing under regulatory frameworks. However, WAPT is required in order to meet compliance for web application security (e.g. OWASP Top 10). It is essential to comply with broader network, server and system security standards, VAPT has passed thorough levels for industry regulations. So businesses can better implement compliance requirements without penalties, legal issues and damage to their reputation by implementing both WAPT and VAPT. Enhanced Threat Detection and Prevention Attacks involve advanced techniques as cybercriminals are prone to find, exploit and cause losses for businesses, which is why businesses must actively detect and eliminate vulnerabilities before attackers recognize them. VAPT on the other hand detects system-wide risks such as – By combining both of them, the chance of data breaches and service disruptions is also minimized as even the most hidden security flaws are identified and mitigated. Improved Incident Response and Risk Mitigation It is no longer an option for a reactive cybersecurity approach – how it takes place if an attack occurs. To prevent and advise how to act in case of an incident, businesses have to be proactive. WAPT assists security teams to patch web app security testing before they are exploited. With VAPT, an organization gets a complete picture of its security posture and knows what the high risk vulnerabilities are and can prioritize to address them. Once both assessments are put in place in most businesses, they can now develop effective risk mitigation plans that help minimize the financial and operational impact of cyberattacks. Maintaining Brand Reputation and Trust of the Customer Losing a customer’s trust, or one significant loss may cause big losses in terms of money, future of the business, and the reputation. It is frustrating when businesses fail to protect customers’ data, as they expect businesses to keep their data secure and failing to protect their data will bring erosion to their brand and loss of business opportunities. Businesses integrating both WAPT and VAPT into their cybersecurity
