#security testing strategy

In the digitally connected online environment of today, individuals and enterprises leverage software applications (backed by dedicated hardware systems) to communicate and execute sundry activities. Since such software applications contain sensitive personal and business information, they are prone to abuse and misuse. The rising graph of cybercrime is a testament to this menace where criminals siphon off money, data and information from vulnerable customer touchpoints or business enterprises. The unfortunate part of the whole episode is that cyber criminals seem to be one step ahead of the efforts to plug the vulnerabilities. Despite a flurry of incidents related to cybercrime, security testing remains a work in progress in many organizations.

According to statistics, around 70 percent of global businesses had experienced some form of cybersecurity threats in 2018 alone (Source: betanews.com). Also, the menace of ransomware is likely to cost businesses a whopping $11.5 billion in 2019 (Source: Berkley). The major threats from cybercrime are aimed at IoT and cloud-based software architecture and comprise ransomware and phishing to name a few. However, the silver lining to the whole episode is about a growing realization among enterprises of the threats and their own vulnerabilities. As a result, the cyber security market is expected to grow exponentially to reach $170 billion by 2022 (Source: Market Research Engine.)

To cite a few examples as to how the menace of cybercrime has enveloped all and sundry, even pioneering digital entities like Google and Yahoo have come together to build an encrypted email system. The salient feature of this email system is that even the companies themselves cannot decrypt it. As cloud-based attacks have risen by 300 percent (Source: Microsoft,) businesses need to adopt next-gen security solutions for the cloud.

Even though business enterprises and organizations deploy advanced firewalls, SSL encryption or robust policies, often they cannot escape the wrath of cyber criminals. Cyberattacks have the potential to disrupt businesses, undermine customer confidence, and wreak financial damage. And even when the realization of sensitive personal or business information being stolen dawns upon businesses, it is often belated and leaves too little room to take remedial measures. The remedy is to make security testing an integral part of the SDLC wherein inherent vulnerabilities are identified using penetration testing.

Integrating web and application security testing in the SDLC: Strange it may appear, a sizeable number of enterprises are persisting with bypassing the software security testing at the altar of speed, cost savings, and timely delivery. However, the growing incidences of cybercrime shall see more such companies incorporate a robust security testing approach in their SDLC. This way, companies can identify the vulnerabilities lurking between the codes and apply correctives to pre-empt cyber criminals from striking. Conducting periodic penetration testing is arguably the best and effective way to identify vulnerabilities.

How can penetrating testing help?

Penetration testing includes an in-depth assessment of security leading to the identification of security loopholes. These loopholes may be present, both in the applications and infrastructure, as a result of erroneous coding, the presence of weak design elements, improper or non-implementation of security regulations, or an improper configuration management. Remember, a vulnerable application or system can be exploited by cyber criminals to attack the connected architecture to secure higher privileges for themselves. Thereupon, the privileges can be exploited further to gain access to sensitive data or information. The loss of sensitive data or information can sound the death knell for customer confidence and revenue generation.

Strict compliance with security regulations: Even though it sounds cliched, not all companies follow the security regulations or guidelines. These guidelines and regulations are there for a reason, for they help companies put up layers of security at various customer touchpoints. These industry standards going by the names of ISO 27001, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI DSS, NIST, HIPAA, and the latest GDPR, besides strengthening the IT security architecture of companies, prevent them from being penalized for noncompliance. Complying with these regulations underlines the commitment of companies in providing a robust security architecture to the users.

Automate software application security testing: Today, the presence of myriad touchpoints to access a software application or system can leave the entire security architecture vulnerable to cyberattacks. To plug such vulnerabilities the security testing approach should validate each component, module and touchpoints using test automation. The security test automation process can comprise functional security tests related to password creation and authentication, non-functional tests to check system or application vulnerabilities and tests to validate the application logic. However, testers should choose the right tools or framework to automate the tests, either developed in-house or by provisioning them from the market.

Implement DevSecOps: To address the inherent security vulnerabilities of complex software applications, businesses should embrace DevSecOps. Here, the strengths of DevOps such as Continuous Improvement and Delivery (CI/CD) are merged with security testing and automation. Since DevOps is all about enabling the development teams in deploying and monitoring the application along with the operations team, adding security to the whole architecture can help create a security culture in the organization. DevSecOps would bring all the departments of an organization on an even keel as far as managing IT security and automation testing is concerned.

Conclusion 

The menacing run of cybercrime across the globe has made organizations, their stakeholders and end customers vulnerable. It is only through following a robust and comprehensive automated security testing methodology that organizations can address the prevailing crisis.

In the digitally connected online environment of today, individuals and enterprises leverage software applications (backed by dedicated hardware systems) to communicate and execute sundry activities. Since such software applications contain sensitive personal and business information, they are prone to abuse and misuse. The rising graph of cybercrime is a testament to this menace where criminals siphon off money, data and information from vulnerable customer touchpoints or business enterprises. The unfortunate part of the whole episode is that cyber criminals seem to be one step ahead of the efforts to plug the vulnerabilities. Despite a flurry of incidents related to cybercrime, security testing remains a work in progress in many organizations.

According to statistics, around 70 percent of global businesses had experienced some form of cybersecurity threats in 2018 alone (Source: betanews.com). Also, the menace of ransomware is likely to cost businesses a whopping $11.5 billion in 2019 (Source: Berkley). The major threats from cybercrime are aimed at IoT and cloud-based software architecture and comprise ransomware and phishing to name a few. However, the silver lining to the whole episode is about a growing realization among enterprises of the threats and their own vulnerabilities. As a result, the cyber security market is expected to grow exponentially to reach $170 billion by 2022 (Source: Market Research Engine.)

To cite a few examples as to how the menace of cybercrime has enveloped all and sundry, even pioneering digital entities like Google and Yahoo have come together to build an encrypted email system. The salient feature of this email system is that even the companies themselves cannot decrypt it. As cloud-based attacks have risen by 300 percent (Source: Microsoft,) businesses need to adopt next-gen security solutions for the cloud.

Even though business enterprises and organizations deploy advanced firewalls, SSL encryption or robust policies, often they cannot escape the wrath of cyber criminals. Cyberattacks have the potential to disrupt businesses, undermine customer confidence, and wreak financial damage. And even when the realization of sensitive personal or business information being stolen dawns upon businesses, it is often belated and leaves too little room to take remedial measures. The remedy is to make security testing an integral part of the SDLC wherein inherent vulnerabilities are identified using penetration testing.

Integrating web and application security testing in the SDLC: Strange it may appear, a sizeable number of enterprises are persisting with bypassing the software security testing at the altar of speed, cost savings, and timely delivery. However, the growing incidences of cybercrime shall see more such companies incorporate a robust security testing approach in their SDLC. This way, companies can identify the vulnerabilities lurking between the codes and apply correctives to pre-empt cyber criminals from striking. Conducting periodic penetration testing is arguably the best and effective way to identify vulnerabilities.

How can penetrating testing help?

Penetration testing includes an in-depth assessment of security leading to the identification of security loopholes. These loopholes may be present, both in the applications and infrastructure, as a result of erroneous coding, the presence of weak design elements, improper or non-implementation of security regulations, or an improper configuration management. Remember, a vulnerable application or system can be exploited by cyber criminals to attack the connected architecture to secure higher privileges for themselves. Thereupon, the privileges can be exploited further to gain access to sensitive data or information. The loss of sensitive data or information can sound the death knell for customer confidence and revenue generation.

Strict compliance with security regulations: Even though it sounds cliched, not all companies follow the security regulations or guidelines. These guidelines and regulations are there for a reason, for they help companies put up layers of security at various customer touchpoints. These industry standards going by the names of ISO 27001, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI DSS, NIST, HIPAA, and the latest GDPR, besides strengthening the IT security architecture of companies, prevent them from being penalized for noncompliance. Complying with these regulations underlines the commitment of companies in providing a robust security architecture to the users.

Automate software application security testing: Today, the presence of myriad touchpoints to access a software application or system can leave the entire security architecture vulnerable to cyberattacks. To plug such vulnerabilities the security testing approach should validate each component, module and touchpoints using test automation. The security test automation process can comprise functional security tests related to password creation and authentication, non-functional tests to check system or application vulnerabilities and tests to validate the application logic. However, testers should choose the right tools or framework to automate the tests, either developed in-house or by provisioning them from the market.

Implement DevSecOps: To address the inherent security vulnerabilities of complex software applications, businesses should embrace DevSecOps. Here, the strengths of DevOps such as Continuous Improvement and Delivery (CI/CD) are merged with security testing and automation. Since DevOps is all about enabling the development teams in deploying and monitoring the application along with the operations team, adding security to the whole architecture can help create a security culture in the organization. DevSecOps would bring all the departments of an organization on an even keel as far as managing IT security and automation testing is concerned.

Conclusion 

The menacing run of cybercrime across the globe has made organizations, their stakeholders and end customers vulnerable. It is only through following a robust and comprehensive automated security testing methodology that organizations can address the prevailing crisis.

The role of software applications has become critical in today’s digital ecosystem. They help us communicate, interact, and carry out myriad activities, be it in the personal or professional sphere. Moreover, the complexities and challenges associated with such applications have grown manifold thanks to the advent of cutting edge technologies. These include Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), Predictive Analysis, Blockchain, Big Data, and Cloud Computing among others. Undoubtedly, these applications have given ease, connectivity, and convenience an altogether new meaning. In fact, activities that were in the realm of imagination in the not so distant past have become commonplace now.

Does this mean everything is hunky dory and everyone should go about their business nonchalantly? The answer is NO, for with the advent of technology, there comes a challenge in the form of cyber threats. Since these applications contain personal and business critical information, any loophole or vulnerability can be exploited by cyber criminals. The growing incidences of cybercrime the world over are a testimony to this menace. If we go by statistics, then cybercrime is said to result in a loss of $600 billion (or 1% of the global GDP) annually (Source: McAfee and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.)

In view of the above, the traditional approach towards ensuring the quality of an application has necessitated the inclusion of security testing in the SDLC. The cost of overlooking the security loopholes by businesses and individuals can lead to losing customer trust, brand reputation, or/and face crippling financial damages. Moreover, businesses have to ensure that the software applications developed and run by them adhere to the international security protocols and regulations such as GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001 & 27002, CISQ, NIST, RFC 2196, ANSI/ISA etc. If traditionally, businesses looked at building and delivering applications quickly in order to be in the reckoning for adoption by users, the threat of cyber criminals has forced them to change track. Now, in addition to carrying out a range of quality testing activities viz., performance, usability, integration, regression etc in the Agile-DevOps environment, businesses have perforce brought in security testing.

Elements of software security testing

Software applications can get compromised and subsequently prised open by hackers when there are inherent vulnerabilities. It is only by adopting a comprehensive application testing methodology that such vulnerabilities are identified and plugged. The elements of such an application testing methodology comprise firewalls, SSL encryption and implementation of secure policies. A business, in order to stave off attempts by hackers to gain entry into its systems, should exercise penetration testing. This way, testers can find out the vulnerable portions in the system owing to issues such as improper configuration and weak coding and design elements.

However, this needs to be done in the early stages of software development to identify vulnerabilities in the system architecture. Achieving this would need the reorientation of a business’s testing strategy, that is, by integrating security in the DevOps scheme of things. Thus, if DevOps is about developing a quality culture to ensure Continuous Integration and Delivery, then DevSecOps would help in creating a security culture in the organisation. A security culture would involve everyone to be cognizant of the security threats and drive them towards following the established security protocols.

Why is application security testing critical?

Pre-empts and prevents hackers: By employing a robust security testing strategy, the vulnerabilities present in the software application and its interface with various platforms, frameworks, browsers, and networks are identified. Once these vulnerabilities are plugged, hackers will find it difficult to gain entry into the system.

Restores brand reputation: A compromised software application can lead to the siphoning of critical business and personal information by hackers or cyber criminals. When customers end up on the losing side for no fault of theirs, the brand reputation of the software development company takes a beating. In a highly competitive world where staying in the good books of customers is the holy grail of business, the breaking of customer trust can prove to be disastrous.

Ensuring compatibility of software: Today, customers use devices of varying make and resolution. Thus, a software application needs to be compatible with each and every device platform not to speak of a multitude of browsers, operating systems, frameworks, and networks. To test whether the APIs do not contain glitches and interact seamlessly with various elements of the digital environment, a proper application security testing methodology has become essential.

Conclusion

The rising spectre of cyber-crime across the business landscape needs the strict implementation of security testing. In a world increasingly driven by connected devices interfacing with a multitude of software applications, ensuring their security has become business critical.

Technology has changed the way businesses operate, institutions function, and individuals carry out their activities. It has made our lives simpler and convenient, be it while paying utility bills, buying train/bus/plane tickets, booking cabs, shopping from eCommerce stores, or doing office work from remote locations etc. If there has been a proliferation of devices, platforms, frameworks, and networks to choose, businesses have a flurry of technologies to implement in order to provide the best customer experience. These technologies include Blockchain, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Internet of Things, and Cloud Computing to name a few.

On the other hand, if Information Technology has made the world a global village and facilitated the interchange of information through a range of device platforms, it has also brought with it the spectre of cybersecurity issues as well. According to statistics, the worldwide spending on tackling cybersecurity issues is expected to reach $96 billion by the end of 2018 (Source: Gartner.)

Consequences of cybersecurity issues

Cyber criminals are on a prowl worldwide looking for vulnerable systems and entities to steal sensitive assets. The threat is even more ominous when two thirds of organizations believe that they are vulnerable to security threats from viruses, trojans, malware, ransomware etc. Should these vulnerabilities are not plugged in time and safety measures not implemented, the consequences can be dire, both for the companies and individuals.

Sensitive information, be it of businesses, clients or customers can be stolen either by cyber criminals working independently or business rivals. The theft can drive the customers, clients and other stakeholders to lose trust in the concerned business.

Businesses can face costly lawsuits from customers and clients seeking compensation.

Businesses can fall foul of the regulatory authorities for not plugging their vulnerabilities or not carrying out the security testing of their products or systems.

Businesses can face stiff penalties from regulatory authorities or courts. These can hit at their bottom lines leading to the loss of competitive edge.

Major cybersecurity issues plaguing businesses

Lack of awareness among stakeholders: Even though the budget for shoring up cybersecurity measures is increasing, a majority of businesses across the world have not yet woken up to the challenge. The prevailing line of thinking is ‘it will not affect us,’ until it is too late. The management, in a majority of companies, seems to be focused on increasing the number of products in the market to stay competitive instead of considering security testing to be an option. In most cases, security testing services are not given enough resources to identify security vulnerabilities let alone plugging them.

Lack of tools: The increasing threat to cybersecurity from newer strands of viruses, trojans, and malware needs better firewalls and the implementation of strict Risk and Compliance protocols. However, companies running on margins and aiming at maximizing the ROI, do not invest in cutting edge firewall solutions.

Lack of expertise: There is a shortage of security testing experts across industry verticals who are adept at devising a robust security testing strategy to make the products security compliant.

How to deal with cybersecurity issues?

Implementing DevSecOps: The challenge to stay competitive and improve the customer experience has led businesses to implement Agile-DevOps methodology to develop, test, integrate, and deploy applications. This has led to the setting up of a seamless CI/CD pipeline wherein customer feedbacks are acted upon instantly and the product quality is enhanced to address the shifting market dynamics. Although this has led to the success of digital transformation initiatives, the security aspect has remained unchallenged.

To tackle the growing threat from cyber criminals and elements like malware etc, software application security testing should be made an integral part of DevOps leading to DevSecOps. According to DevSecOps, in addition to creating a quality culture, each and every stakeholder should be taken on board when it comes to executing application security testing. In fact, ensuring security should become everyone’s responsibility.

Selecting a security standard and devising a suitable security testing strategy: A business should implement an industry recognised security standard such as IEC, CSC20, or NERC CIP NIST among others after analyzing its pros and cons. To meet the standard, a proper security testing strategy should be devised by using relevant tools, processes and techniques.

Set up a budget to upgrade cybersecurity measures: Since a lapse in security preparedness can derail an organization, CFOs in consultation with CIOs should set up a budget to hire the best security testing experts and execute cutting edge cybersecurity testing.

Conclusion

Cybersecurity poses an existential threat to businesses with scores of viruses, trojans, malware, and ransomware wreaking havoc and leading to dire consequences. The best possible way to deal with cybersecurity issues is to integrate the strategies, methods, protocols, tools, and techniques concerning cybersecurity testing across verticals and departments of businesses.

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Gallop's security testing services deliver a combination of business situation with test expertise across verticals during which time accelerating the assessments, reporting and retesting. <\p>

Why colocated testing is crucial against stronger security? <\p>

Security has become such a possessing concern for IT systems that major corporations have bounties for reporting security vulnerability. This bounty system shows the extent of the threat that the vulnerabilities pose on the IT copernican universe and the organization. <\p>

How does colocated testing improve test coverage of vulnerabilities?<\p>

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Gallop's security proving services cleanse away a combination as for business orientation with test aesthetics across verticals while accelerating the assessments, reporting and retesting. <\p>