web app penetration testing is a professional assessment that uses the perspective of an attacker to find web app security vulnerabilities or misconfigurations in a web application and its underlying infrastructure. During the web app penetration testing process, our team of ethical hacking experts aim to break into the web application using methods a real-world hacker might use. After a penetration test, technicians can use insights to fix errors and prevent cyber attackers from accessing private systems and sensitive data.
When you purchase a web app penetration test, you’ll meet with your designated project manager and security engineers to set the goals and scope of the project. Once expectations are established, the assessment begins with the engineers completing the tasks on the following list:
Browse the application as an authenticated user to locate unintentional vulnerabilities or access points
Isolate sensitive items and begin automated scans
Evaluate and manually verify the results of the automated scans
Use fuzzing of application functions and additional manual testing to find hidden vulnerabilities
Confirm all discovered vulnerabilities and leverage them to gain control over the system or access restricted data
Each step follows what real cyber criminals would do if they wanted to corrupt your site. After the web application penetration test, it is critical that the client apply the remediation recommendations to secure their site against malicious actors online.
Web app penetration testing engineers and ethical hackers leverage time-tested attack strategies and the most common vulnerabilities to check the security of your system. The following sections will provide more detail about the specific benefits of web app penetration testing.
Identify Cybersecurity Weaknesses
Cybersecurity weaknesses can range from outdated software to weak admin passwords. They can create unauthorized entry points for malicious actors to gain access. Being able to see those holes is the first step to mending them. Technical risks, like unpatched software and loose access permissions, will be identified during a penetration test. Non-technical risks, like poor user awareness training or lack of an incident response plan, would be identified during a cybersecurity risk assessment. Each of these engagements focuses on revealing and remediating vulnerabilities in the environment, but they focus on different controls, technical and operational.
Validate Cybersecurity Policies
Cybersecurity policies and controls are great ways to document and maintain a culture of security, but they need to work properly to be effective. Websites need to have secure input validation rules to keep the backend working correctly. Web App engineers can validate the efficacy of these rules.
Test Digital Infrastructure
Although smaller websites and older websites are more prone to security vulnerabilities, all websites have some level of risk. If it has been a while since your website has been evaluated for security, it might be time for a check-up.
Ensure Cybersecurity Is Compliant
Many industries are tied to compliance standards that require specific security controls. Websites are also subject to compliance, and they need to be verified and documented as safe in order to manage liability.