Web Application Security Testing: A Comprehensive Checklist

Anything that lives on the internet must be protected from hacking attempts by hackers and other nefarious elements. The same holds for web apps; in fact, it has become more critical than ever because instead the vulnerabilities keep on growing instead of, you know, being reduced to a satisfactory level. Don’t believe us? Perhaps you will consider the 2019 Imperva Report that revealed that experts discovered 23 percent more vulnerabilities in 2018 than they did in the preceding year. For all the continued and sustained evolution of technology, the world continues to struggle with ensuring security for their web apps.

So, it is only understandable that more and more time and effort is being pursued to make sure that web apps are as secure as possible. And the best and most important way to do that is by testing the web app. It helps companies make sure that their apps have no fatal flaws, thus making sure that all the data they collect and store through their web apps are not vulnerable. The best way to make sure that your web app testing process covers all the basics and critical elements. To ensure that your procedure doesn’t miss out on anything, here is a checklist that you can refer to.
1. What? The company must ensure it has clarity about exactly which code, apps, and network system it needs to test. And don’t stop there; also ensure you know the testing process you will use, what the expectations are, and more.
2. Make a list of the tools you will need: Even if your web app testing process is somewhat necessary for nature, there are some tools that you can’t do without, such as a web vulnerability scanner. However, if you are planning to undertake authenticated testing, you will need things like an HTTP proxy, and more. There’s also a source code analysis method but proceed with caution with this one since it is costly in general.
3. Categorize your tests: Instead of repeatedly developing a list for every single test, you are better off putting them into different categories. And the most important one then will be vulnerability scans, wherein you must ensure that the scanners look for vital things like file inclusion, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting among others.
4. Supplementary manual checks: After you ratify the scanner’s findings, there are some additional tasks you will need to take manually. It will include evaluating the login mechanism, password policy exploitation, app logic vulnerabilities, flaws, with functionality, and more.
5. Share the knowledge: Instead of getting done with the process after it has served your requirements, it is imperative that you document the process and findings, turn it into a formal report, and share it with others in the ecosystem.

A custom web app development is incomplete without formal and rigorous testing for security because, in the absence of this step, the app can fall prey to hackers very easily. It, in turn, can render it unusable. So, our advice is that you integrate the pointers above in your testing to ensure the app offers the highest level of security demanded by customers today.