Application Security (AppSec)
In 2022, "Web Applications and Email are the top two vectors for breaches", with web applications responsible for nearly 50% of breaches and roughly 70% of incident vectors.
- Verizon 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report
Web application penetration testing is the process of testing the security of your web applications and APIs. This is done by simulating an attack from the outside, and testing the effectiveness of your security controls.
Web applications and APIs are often the most common attack vector for an attacker, and are often the most common source of vulnerabilities. Our team utilise a mix of automated and manual testing techniques to identify both common and harder to spot, 'exotic' vulnerabilities.
Testing can be performed using two approaches:
- This is the most efficient and cost-effective method of testing web applications and APIs and combines the detail of Secure Code Review with the assurance of a practical 'hands on' test. It is colloquially referred to as 'white-box' testing as the consultant will have a vew of the internal workings of the application.
- The consultant will conduct the penetration test using the source code as a guide, inspecting the underlying logic of key functionality, increasing their ability to efficiently identify otherwise hard to spot vulnerabilities.
- Less time is spent in speculative testing and the tester can get right to the core issues and provide remediation advice in far greater detail with code samples and examples that exactly match your language and framework
- NOTE: Commissioning a CAPT typically results in a reduced scope (read, cheaper for you) due to the greater efficiency of evaluating an application with source coe available.
- This type of test differs from full Secure Code Review in that the consultant will not be reviewing the entire code base, but will instead be focusing on the key areas of the application that are most likely to be exploited by an attacker. Reporting will be tailored towards OWASP vulnerabilities and less emphasis will be placed on code quality and best practices.
- This is the 'standard' method of application testing where the consultant will assess the application with no knowledge of the internal workings.
- Whilst this is an effective method of testing, it lacks the efficiency of a code assisted test, and can often miss vulnerabilities that are only present when the application is used in a specific way.
- This reduction is efficiency is a result of the tester performing speculative testing and manually and iteratively attempting to understand much of the application logic and functionality.
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