Technology

7 Stages of Application Testing: How to Automate for Continuous Security

With cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated, organizations are increasingly aware of protecting their web applications.

With cyberattacks becoming more sophisticated, organizations are increasingly aware of the importance of protecting their web applications against security vulnerabilities. A common way to identify security vulnerabilities is through penetration testing or Pentesting.

Penetration testing (Pentest) allows organizations to simulate an attack on their web application, identifying areas of weakness that could be exploited by a malicious attacker. When done correctly, penetration testing is an effective way to detect and fix security vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

The Seven Phases of Application Penetration Testing

There are seven main stages of a complex Pentesting process that must be followed to effectively assess an application's security posture:

Pre-engagement: Before starting the actual penetration testing process, it is important to properly prepare the environment and define the objectives. This includes gathering information about the target application, analyzing existing security policies, and determining the types of tests to perform. The pre-engagement phase involves scoping the project, defining objectives, and obtaining appropriate authorization to conduct testing.

Data collect: Penetration testers collect information about the target application, including architecture, technologies used, possible entry points, and user roles. This stage involves identifying all the components of your web application and creating a comprehensive inventory. This includes web pages, databases, APIs and other server-side components, network mapping, service identification and fingerprinting. The goal is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the application's security posture. Once the application and all of its components have been identified, it is important to configure it for testing by defining appropriate user accounts and access control lists (ACL). This ensures that only authorized users have access to sensitive areas of the application.

Discovery Scan: Pentesters perform active scanning and reconnaissance to discover vulnerabilities. This is where Pentest begins in earnest. During this phase, testers will run a series of scans to look for possible vulnerabilities. This includes scanning for common security issues such as SQL injection and XSS (cross-site scripting).

Vulnerability assessment: The pen testing team tries to exploit the vulnerabilities it discovered. They employ various tools and techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of existing security measures and determine potential entry points. This involves testing authentication, input validation, and access control mechanisms. During this phase of testing, testers will also attempt to gain privileged access as a way to further explore the application architecture and identify potential weaknesses.

Exploration: Once access is gained, this stage helps the penetration tester determine what additional damage an attacker can do to the application. Here, testers can analyze the extent to which an attacker can compromise the system and maintain control. This includes identifying potential avenues for data exfiltration, such as using web shells or other malicious code execution methods.

Risk reporting and analysis: After testing is complete, testers will generate a full report of their findings. This includes documenting what was discovered during testing and providing an assessment of the application's security posture. The report can then be used to prioritize remediation efforts, along with recommendations to improve overall security.

The Need for Penetration Testing as a Service (PTaaS)

Traditional penetration testing delivery typically takes weeks to set up and results are timely. With the rise of DevOps and cloud technology, traditional once-a-year penetration testing is no longer sufficient to ensure ongoing security.

To protect against emerging threats and vulnerabilities, organizations need to perform continuous assessments: continuous Pentesting of applications.

Pen Testing as a Service (PTaaS) offers a more efficient process of proactive and continuous security compared to traditional pentesting approaches.

Organizations can access a real-time view of vulnerability discovery through a portal that displays all relevant data to analyze vulnerabilities and verify the effectiveness of a fix as soon as vulnerabilities are discovered.

Moving to PTaaS simplifies the testing process and offers ongoing security assessments while providing:

Efficiency and automation: Leverage automation tools and frameworks to streamline the penetration testing process. Automated scans and tests are performed regularly, ensuring continuous monitoring of web applications for vulnerabilities. This approach eliminates the need for manual intervention in each testing cycle, saving time and resources.

Seamless integration: Integrates seamlessly into the development lifecycle, eliminating interruptions and delays. It works closely with the development team, allowing vulnerabilities to be identified and addressed early in the software development process. By providing one-click fixes for common issues, PTaaS simplifies the remediation process, allowing developers to quickly resolve vulnerabilities without the need for extensive security expertise.

Continuous security monitoring: Maintains continuous security monitoring of web applications. Regular scans and assessments ensure that vulnerabilities are discovered immediately, minimizing the window of opportunity for attackers. This proactive approach allows organizations to resolve vulnerabilities before they disrupt release schedules or lead to greater security risks.

Scalability and flexibility: Provides scalability to handle multiple applications and environments simultaneously. Whether an organization has a single web application or a complex infrastructure, PTaaS can adapt to meet its requirements.

Experience and support: Gain access to a team of qualified security professionals who specialize in penetration testing. These experts have in-depth knowledge of the latest attack techniques and methodologies. Their experience ensures that they perform comprehensive testing, accurately identify vulnerabilities, and provide actionable recommendations for remediation.

Compliance and reporting: Gain robust reporting capabilities, providing detailed insights into the security posture of web applications. Compliance reports can be generated to meet regulatory requirements, making it easier for organizations to demonstrate their commitment to security standards and conformity.

PTaaS offers scalability and flexibility, enabling organizations to securely monitor multiple applications across multiple environments, ensuring vulnerabilities are identified and resolved before they can be exploited by attackers.

With Outpost24's PTaaS, organizations can benefit from continuous security monitoring, proactive vulnerability detection, and streamlined remediation processes.

Launch a more efficient and effective approach to web application testing with proactive, continuous security.

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