A report by Markets and Markets projected that the penetration testing sector will nearly double in size, from $1.4 billion in 2022 to $2.7 billion by 2027. This underscores the importance of web application security assessments to pinpoint and remediate vulnerabilities proactively. penetration testing.
As the defacto face of your company, these applications are typically data-driven client-server software that helps businesses establish a dominant online presence, provide stellar customer service, and achieve a competitive edge over their market rivals. Web apps accomplish this by leveraging the information they collect through the large volume of user interactions with the application.
This is why regularly assessing their cybersecurity posture should be a business’s utmost priority to protect sensitive information such as their users’ personal, medical, and credit card information. But how does penetration testing come into the picture, and what does web application penetration testing have to do with it? Well, keep reading to gain an in-depth understanding of how cybersecurity plays an important role in uplifting businesses globally.
The primary objective of this article is to equip you with valuable insights into the various aspects of web application penetration testing, including methodology and best practices for carrying it out effectively within your organization.
What is Web Application Pentesting
Web application penetration testing is a vital element of web app security, which aids in identifying potential threats or vulnerabilities to assess system security. This simulates hack-style attacks to determine whether unauthorized access to sensitive data is possible on the web app attack surface.
Penetration tests or pen tests are a widely used security assessment technique where a cyber security professional performs a self-inflicted simulated attack on an application’s internal and external networks to weed out underlying flaws, threats, and vulnerabilities.
The objective of web application penetration testing is to uncover and address security risks to improve the application’s overall security posture so that no malicious actor could take undue advantage of the security lapse. This ensures the safety and security of crucial data while also building trust in your brand among customers. In addition, it helps organizations meet security standards like PCI-DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, etc.
Regular penetration testing is also helpful in fixing misconfigurations, bugs, and flaws present early in their web application development cycle before a public launch. These assessments are essential to proactively combat emerging attack vectors and threats that the increasingly sophisticated cybercriminal’s may employ to target your business.
Web Application Penetration Testing Methodology
The web application penetration testing methodology uses a structured approach to identify vulnerabilities in the web app security environment:
1. Information Gathering:
This phase involves collecting information about the target, such as web application URLs, descriptions of application logic, and other critical functions.
