Currently, there are lots of existing applications that make people’s lives easier and more interesting. With these apps, people can pay bills and shop online hassle-free, chat with relatives and friends, and communicate with other people across the globe.
But as technology advances, the threat of being hacked is becoming more prevalent. Hackers invent new hacking methods that may either be for fun or money. This is where app security testing comes into play. One of the primary purposes of security testing is to determine how defenseless apps can be. It can also be used to find out whether your resources and data are safe from intruders.
Nevertheless, if you want to protect your apps against threats and hackers, here are the reasons you should consider application security testing.
1. Launch Apps Without Any Problem
Once you launch your app, after years or even months of development, the last thing you’d want to experience is your application being hacked. It is very stressful to find out that unauthorized users have gained access to your system and destroy the potential of your application before it even gets traction. Some hackers are experts when it comes to stealing personal information, SQL injection attacks, cross-site scripting, and unvalidated redirects.
Thus, if you want to launch your app without any problems, security testing is a worthy investment. In fact, there are now several service providers like For All Secure that offer timely and reliable security testing solutions.
2. Guarantee Customer Satisfaction
These days, the standards of customers are quite high when it comes to app security, and that’s understandable. When conducting security testing, you will often come across some bugs and problems that will make the app more susceptible to attacks. Keep in mind that this is not a minor issue, more particularly if the application is handling sensitive and crucial data.
When it comes to the security of an application, determining while correcting various security vulnerabilities can make a big difference. It is worth noting that with so many applications being launched, it is not enough for them to be only secure, but they should also be able to meet the customers’ standards in general.
People would want to use an app that functions correctly without causing any system slowdown, retains data securely, and doesn’t have system vulnerabilities.
Keep in mind that app security involves people and their information. So, if you don’t focus on the security and needs of customers, you will lose them sooner or later. As mentioned, hackers won’t stop looking for innovative ways to exploit system weaknesses. As your application becomes popular with more upgraded features, it will become a major target for many hackers.
3. Diagnose Serious Vulnerabilities Ahead Of Time
With security vulnerabilities, hackers can find their way into your app. While some of these vulnerabilities may exist most of the time or not at all, security testing will allow you to determine severe security holes. For instance, penetration testing is a kind of security testing that can help in finding holes not only in the app but on networks too. A penetration test, however, is mostly done by an independent security tester. However, your own employee can perform this test if possible.
Nevertheless, aside from penetration testing, there are other types of security testing such as SQL injection, database testing, client-side testing, network testing, and brute force attacks testing. Always remember that with security testing, your team can find and solve security threats before releasing your app.
4. Assess The Awareness of Your IT Team
If you have decided to adopt application security testing as part of your development process, you’ll also be able to assess the awareness of your security team. You’ll be able to check the accuracy of their reaction to an issue, timeliness of responses, and even the quality of responses. In case your team does not react properly, this is an indication that you need to increase their awareness about certain issues and provide them solutions to specific problems that may arise.
5. Know When To Enhance The App’s Security
Before going live, it’s always advisable to conduct app security testing. By doing this, you will find out if you need to make some improvements to system security before launching. If you don’t, unexpected issues may arise after the launch that may severely affect your app’s functionality.
Before the launch, security testing will free your app of vulnerabilities. However, remember that a small change in the app or the addition of features can make it susceptible to security breaches. With that in mind, routine testing is always a must. This may include black-box testing, vulnerability testing, OWASP adherence, and penetration testing.
With routine security testing, your workflow will operate better along with constant integration and delivery techniques. Also, feedback loops can help make routine changes after detecting risks and other existing problems.
On the other hand, app developers should spend some time investigating and analyzing third-party additions, software, or systems in an app to make sure that the codes are secure.
6. Meet The Standards And Guidelines Of The Industry
Standards and guidelines have been established by the industry to regulate security among existing applications. If you don’t follow the best practices of the industry, your app becomes more vulnerable. Thus, to ensure that your app meets the industry’s standards and guidelines, you will need to conduct threat assessments, manage privileges, secure user data, clean user input, and implement reinforcing protocols.
When the development team takes into account the guidelines and standards when creating an app, this will help keep the app safer and reduce the risks of user information breaches. To avoid risks and overhead, you must take security-centric approaches to app development from the beginning.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that it will only take one vulnerability to open an application to hackers and their devious methods. In fact, even the biggest technology companies have been the main target of hackers. In order to protect your app, don’t hesitate to consider testing its security and strength to overcome these vulnerabilities.
