While the specifics for security testing vary for applications, web applications, and APIs, a holistic and proactive applications security strategy is essential for all three types. There are six core types of testing that every security professional should know about to secure their applications, regardless of what phase they are in in development or deployment.
In this article, we will explore these six types of application security testing methods essential to keep your software secure from potential threats while meeting your business and operational requirements. These include:
Before we review the six main types of application security testing, organizations often want to understand the difference between these methods and penetration testing. Each of these methods has distinct characteristics and objectives, differing from traditional pentesting in various ways. Here’s a quick breakdown of each method compared to pentesting; however, these methods are often integrated or overlap with penetration testing and all are part of a proactive approach to application security testing at different stages of the development lifecycle.
DAST:
Pentesting:
SAST:
Pentesting:
IAST:
Pentesting:
Fuzz Testing:
Pentesting:
APSM:
Pentesting:
There is no doubt that pentesting is a crucial aspect of security testing, but often is a point-in-time assessment that simulates attacks to identify vulnerabilities. In contrast, the other methods mentioned above are more integrated into the application development and maintenance processes, providing continuous or more frequent pentesting and scanning assessments, focusing on different aspects of the application lifecycle, and using various automated and manual techniques.
Penetration integrated into the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) involves conducting security assessments at various stages of the development process. This ensures vulnerabilities are identified and mitigated early, before the application is deployed. Pentesting can be done during design, coding, testing, and deployment phases to continuously assess the security posture of the application.
Top Three Benefits:
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) is a type of security testing that analyzes a running application from the outside to identify vulnerabilities. It simulates external attacks to discover security flaws in the application’s runtime environment without accessing the source code.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) involves analyzing an application’s source code, bytecode, or binary code for security vulnerabilities without executing the program. It helps identify issues like insecure coding practices and code-level vulnerabilities early in the development process.
Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST) combines elements of both SAST and DAST by analyzing an application’s code and monitoring its behavior during runtime. IAST provides real-time feedback on security issues as the application is exercised, offering a comprehensive assessment of both code and runtime vulnerabilities.
Fuzz Testing, or Fuzzing, for APIs involves sending random, malformed, or unexpected data to an API to identify vulnerabilities, crashes, or unexpected behaviors. It helps uncover issues that might not be found through traditional testing methods.
Application Security Posture Management (APSM) focuses on continuously managing and maintaining the security posture of applications throughout their lifecycle. It involves monitoring, vulnerability management, policy enforcement, and compliance checks to ensure ongoing security and adherence to industry standards.
Application security testing is a critical component of modern software development, ensuring that applications are robust and resilient against malicious attacks. As cyber threats continue to evolve in complexity and frequency, the need to integrate comprehensive security measures throughout the SDLC has never been more essential. Traditional pentesting provides a crucial snapshot of an application’s security posture, but when integrated across the SDLC, it allows for early detection and mitigation of vulnerabilities, reducing the risk of costly post-deployment fixes and enhancing overall security. Each testing method outlined addresses specific aspects of the application’s security, creating a multilayers offensive security approach.
The six types of application security testing methods are not isolated practices; rather, they complement and reinforce each other to provide a comprehensive security assessment. DAST evaluates the application in its running state, identifying runtime vulnerabilities, while SAST analyzes the source code to catch security issues early in development. IAST combines these approaches, offering real-time insights during runtime and code analysis, making it a powerful tool for continuous security assessment. Fuzz Testing for APIs focuses on ensuring API robustness against unexpected inputs, while APSM provides ongoing management and monitoring of the application’s security posture, ensuring compliance and proactive risk mitigation. Together, these methods create a robust security framework that can adapt to the dynamic nature of software development and the evolving threat landscape.
In conclusion, the integration of diverse application security testing methods is vital for developing secure, resilient applications. Each method addresses unique security challenges, and their combined use ensures comprehensive coverage, early detection, and continuous improvement. By leveraging the strengths of all of security methods, security professionals and their organizations can build a proactive AppSec security approach that complement one another, secure your applications against current threats but also adapts to future risks.
To read more about application security testing, download the 2024 Guide to Application Security Testing authored by BreachLock, a leader in offensive security solutions including manual, human-driven and continuous pentesting for applications, web applications, APIs, network, mobile apps, Thick Client, Cloud, DevOps, Internet of Things (IoT), and social engineering services.
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