Why Is Application Penetration Testing An Important Consideration for Businesses?

In an increasingly interconnected world, businesses face a constant barrage of cyber threats that can wreak havoc on their operations and reputation. From data breaches to service disruptions, the consequences of a successful cyberattack can be devastating.

According to a recent study, Cyberattacks come under the top 5 major risks in the world and it is expected to grow twice as much in the coming years.

Hackers are leaning more towards sophistication and subtlety, which makes it all the more difficult to detect. It is absolutely important for you to take guided steps to shield and safeguard your organisation’s applications and sensitive data.

One powerful security measure that can help you identify and alleviate these vulnerabilities is Application Penetration Testing. By simulating real-world attacks, application penetration testing allows you to uncover potential weaknesses in your business’s applications and implement the necessary remediation.

This article explores the significance of application penetration testing, the various vulnerabilities it helps address, and why it should be an important consideration in your business’s VAPT approach.

Understanding application penetration testing

In order to gain insight into potential risks and prepare your organisation to fend off potential attacks, it is crucial to gain hands-on experience with such attacks. This is where application penetration testing proves invaluable, as it involves the realistic simulation of actual cyberattacks.

You, as a decision-maker in your organisation, can hire ethical hackers or penetration testers who play a vital role in this process, employing diverse techniques and tools to attempt unauthorised entry into your applications or websites. Their objective is to identify vulnerabilities, entry points, and weaknesses within the system that could be exploited by malicious hackers. This proactive approach helps uncover flaws, loopholes, and misconfigurations that attackers could leverage to gain unauthorised access, compromise sensitive data, or disrupt system operations.

Here are a few examples of such attacks:

1. SQL (structured query language) injection : When a hacker administers malicious code in your application’s existing codes to view/modify them.
2. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): Cross-site scripting attack is when a hacker injects malicious script of codes in your website’s/application’s existing codes to malign them.
3. Remote Code Execution (RCE): RCE is when an attacker runs a command or executes a code in your intended application or website.
4. Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks: DoS attack means, when a hijacker completely takes over your website/application and makes it next to impossible for you to use them any further.
5. Session hijacking: Session hijacking, also known as cookie hijacking is when an attacker takes over the session gains access to your accounts or records.

Importance and benefits of application penetration testing

Application Penetration Testing, also known as app pentest, is a critical component of your organisation’s security infrastructure. It plays a crucial role in avoiding potential threats and vulnerabilities that can lead to a system-wide failure. By identifying and addressing weaknesses in your applications, app pen testing helps protect you against exploitation and ensures regulatory compliance, especially in industries like finance and healthcare (GDPR and CCPA).

Benefits of Application Penetration Testing

Application penetration testing evaluates the effectiveness of security measures such as authorisation, authentication, encryption, and access controls. It provides valuable insights into your application’s flexibility and resilience against security breaches, allowing you to minimise the impact of an attack and facilitate a faster recovery. By implementing app pen testing, you can also save costs while maintaining the loyalty and trust of your customers, thereby safeguarding your reputation and integrity.

Application 

1. Protection against exploitation.
2. Identification of unnoticed vulnerabilities.
3. Meeting regulatory compliance.
4. Assessment of existing security measures.
5. Detection and prioritisation of security risks.
6. Insights into your application’s flexibility and resilience.
7. Minimisation of attack impact and faster recovery.
8. Cost-cutting and savings.
9. Maintenance of customer loyalty and trust.
10. Preservation of your organisation’s reputation and integrity.

Best Practices to ensure overall security of your business applications

IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020 revealed that the average cost of a data breach was $3.86 million, with application-related incidents being one of the most expensive.

To avoid spending an exorbitant amount of money in rectifying and getting over a cyber attack, it is better to take some extra steps to ensure that your applications are adequately secured.

Conduct regular and comprehensive testing

Regularly schedule and perform thorough application penetration testing to ensure ongoing security and identify vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.

Utilise both automated and manual testing

Combine automated scanning tools with manual testing by experienced security professionals to maximise coverage and identify complex vulnerabilities that automated tools may miss.

Follow a systematic methodology

Adopt a structured and well-defined methodology for application penetration testing, such as the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) Testing Guide, to ensure a comprehensive and consistent approach.

Test from both inside and outside perspectives

Test your application from both internal and external perspectives to evaluate its security measures against different types of threats and potential attack vectors.

Prioritise vulnerabilities based on risk and impact

Analyse and prioritise identified vulnerabilities based on their potential impact on your application’s security and your organisation’s overall risk profile.

Stay up-to-date with industry trends and emerging threats

Continuously monitor and stay informed about new attack techniques, vulnerabilities, and industry best practices to adapt testing methodologies accordingly.

In conclusion, Application Penetration Testing emerges as an indispensable and critical practice for your organisation. Wide-ranging implementation of this testing methodology is imperative to uphold security standards, ensure compliance with regulations, and drive continuous improvement. In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, Application Penetration Testing transcends being a mere option; it becomes an absolute necessity for organisations determined to flourish within a secure environment. By prioritising this practice, you can fortify your defence, safeguard customer trust, and thrive in an increasingly interconnected world.