Guide to Software Security Testing
As cyberattacks grow in popularity, security testing is quickly becoming one of the most critical pieces of software development. But what does it actually involve, what advantages can you expect to gain from implementing it, and how can you improve existing security testing for even more benefit? Keep reading to learn more.
What is Security Testing?
Software security testing is used to identify, prevent, and mitigate vulnerabilities in a system’s defenses. The primary focus is to protect against cybersecurity threats, but it also extends to data confidentiality and regulatory standards as well. We’ll cover the specific types of security testing below, but they all involve comprehensive analysis that evaluates the defenses of various factors, from the planning stage and architectural flaws to the actual code and APIs.
Objectives of Security Testing
The goal of security testing is to protect against threats to the software and its data, whether external (attacks) or internal (accidental). Protection can come from early identification and mitigation, active protection measures like encryption, or reactive processes to limit the damage of a breach. Regardless, all of these work to increase a system’s resilience so that user data is protected and expensive consequences are limited.
Security Testing Tool Categories
Security testing tools generally adhere to one of a few different methodologies in how they progress toward the objective discussed above:
- Static Application Security Testing (SAST): Focuses on evaluating source code without executing the application, which is particularly effective early in the development lifecycle.
- Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST): Analyzes the program as it’s running, simulating attacks on the live system to find issues that wouldn’t be apparent in status testing.
- Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST): A hybrid of static and dynamic testing, these tools often integrate with runtime environments (RTEs) to identify vulnerabilities in specific code paths and configurations as the program is running.
Types of Software Security Testing
Even beyond SAST, DAST, and IAST, security testing can come in a variety of forms. These different types cover all areas of an application that could potentially be exploited:
Vulnerability Scanning
A proactive measure to surface security vulnerabilities before they become problems, this may involve checking for out-of-date software, weak credentials, or misconfigurations that leave the door open to breaches. Vulnerability scanning tools automatically and continuously search systems for these weaknesses. This extends beyond just the application itself and checks networks, endpoints, APIs, and more.
Risk Assessments
Another anticipatory method of security testing, risk assessments aim to identify, assess, and prioritize security risks based on their potential impact and likelihood. This prioritization helps the team better manage resources to mitigate each (and not spend too much time on risks that are low-likelihood and low-impact).
The end result of a risk assessment should be an actionable plan with concrete recommendations to enhance application security.
Learn more about software risk management and assessments here.
Security Auditing
As the name suggests, security auditing is a comprehensive and systematic review of an organization’s security controls, policies, and procedures. The goal is to evaluate their effectiveness and compliance with standards and regulations. Security audits are sometimes done internally by people within the organization and sometimes handled by independent third parties to recommend improvements for strengthening these defenses.
Penetration Testing
Also known as “pen testing,” this is a more active form of security testing that simulates attacks on the system to learn about vulnerabilities that real-world attackers might use. This kind of testing typically relies on the identification stage to already be complete, and then exploits these identified weaknesses to gain more information on their potential impact and solutions. Because of its value in preventing future attacks, penetration testing is one of the most well-known types of security testing.
API Security Testing
Applications are often interconnected with many other systems and modules (databases, third-party services, etc.), meaning that testing needs to cover both vulnerabilities within the application, but also its integrations. Integration functionality relies on APIs, but cyberattacks can also exploit this access point. Ideally, the API is an easy doorway between the application and other systems for authorized users, without acting as a potential entry point for unauthorized users.
Learn more about API testing here.
Mobile App Security Testing
The last two types of security testing we’ll cover are focused on covering platform-specific vulnerabilities. Mobile app security testing focuses on potential weaknesses in Android, iOS, and other mobile operating systems. As users are increasingly using phones for tasks like banking and healthcare, the importance of this category of security testing increases — as does the accuracy of simulating these systems on software testing tools like SpiraTest.
Web App Security Testing
On the other hand, it’s still absolutely critical to test for security flaws on web applications as well. Examples of vulnerabilities here could include cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and session hijacking. It’s important to not only check client-side components but also server-side factors as well. Because of the differences between mobile and web applications, modern software development needs to account for both.
Advantages of Security Testing
- Enhanced Protection: Identifies and mitigates vulnerabilities, reducing the risk of data breaches, unauthorized access, and other cyberattacks.
- Improved Compliance: Helps meet regulatory requirements (e.g. GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS) by verifying adherence to industry security standards.
- Increased User Trust: Strengthens customer confidence by establishing the safety of sensitive data and the overall reliability of the application.
- Cost Savings: Detects and addresses security issues early in the development lifecycle, preventing costly fixes or reputational damage later.
- Proactive Risk Management: Provides insight into potential threats, enabling the organization to anticipate and counteract risks effectively.
- Continuous Improvement: Encourages secure coding practices and better security awareness among development teams, resulting in higher-quality software.
- Resilience to Real-World Attacks: Techniques like penetration testing simulate real-world threats, offering actionable insights for improving defenses.
- Integration with Agile and DevSecOps: Aligns well with modern development practices, supporting continuous delivery without compromising security.
Disadvantages & Challenges
- Time-Consuming: Thorough security testing can be time-intensive, potentially slower development cycles and timelines.
- Limited by Tool Accuracy: Less reputable automated tools may generate false positives or false negatives, requiring additional manual verification.
- Incomplete Coverage: Security testing may fail to identify zero-day vulnerabilities or subtle logic flaws that are specific to the application.
- Overreliance on Tools: Dependence on automated tools without proper expertise may lead to missed vulnerabilities or ineffective remediation strategies.
- Evolving Threat Landscape: New attack vectors can emerge faster than security testing tools and methodologies can keep up, leaving gaps.
Best Practices in Security Testing
To get the most out of your security testing, we recommend following some of these best practices and guidelines:
Integrate Security in Planning
Security should be a foundational element of development, starting in the planning phase. This approach, often referred to as "shift-left" security, ensures that protection considerations are embedded within design and architecture decisions from the beginning rather than treated as add-ons on top of the application. By doing this, organizations can identify potential risks, define security requirements, and establish a roadmap for addressing vulnerabilities throughout the development lifecycle.
Emphasize Secure Coding Practices
It should go without saying, but developers need to follow secure coding guidelines, like those outlined by OWASP, to prevent common vulnerabilities (like SQL injection, XSS, and insecure authentication). Regular training and awareness programs help developers stay informed about evolving threats and best practices. Code reviews, paired with automated analysis, further help enforce secure development standards.
Incorporate DevSecOps Principles
Security should be a shared responsibility across the development, security, and operations teams (DevSecOps). This methodology integrates security tools and practices directly into the CI/CD pipeline, enabling automated security checks at every stage of development.
Automated tools streamline the process, allowing teams to identify and address vulnerabilities without slowing development.
Leverage Threat Modeling
Threat modeling is a structured process for identifying, analyzing, and mitigating potential security concerns during the design phase. It involves mapping the application's architecture, identifying critical assets, and analyzing how attackers might target them. By anticipating potential attack vectors, developers can implement effective countermeasures before vulnerabilities are introduced.
Perform Regular Penetration Testing
Pen testing should be a routine part of security analysis, offering frequent real-world insights into an application’s vulnerabilities. By simulating actual attack scenarios, penetration testers can uncover issues that automated tools might miss like logic errors or weaknesses in custom-built functionality.
To maximize effectiveness, this should be conducted both before release and periodically after release, especially after major updates or changes.
Automate & Standardize
Automation is crucial for maintaining consistency and scalability in your security testing. Automated tools for SAST, DAST, and IAST can rapidly scan codebases and evaluate applications for vulnerabilities. Standardizing these tests and scans across different teams makes sure that critical vulnerabilities (injection flaws, weak authentication mechanisms, etc.) are consistently identified and addressed.
Test in Different Environments
Security testing should cover all environments, including development, staging, and production. Each environment may have unique configurations or integrations that introduce vulnerabilities. Testing across each of them keeps the application secure under different conditions and setups, minimizing risks when moving from development to production.
Comprehensive Software Testing for Regulated Industries
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