Security Testing

Security testing is the process of checking whether a given software is vulnerable to cyberattacks and further tests consequences of unexpected or malicious inputs on its operational processes. It provides evidence that software systems and data are safe and reliable and that it does not accept invalid and unauthorized inputs. The purpose of security testing is to identify all potential loopholes and vulnerabilities of the software system that may cause loss of data and reputational damage for an organization. Furthermore, it aims to uncover vulnerabilities, security threats, and risks in a software system and prevents malicious cyberattacks from threat actors.

Security testing is conducted to identify security threats in the software system and evaluates potential vulnerabilities so that the security threats can be found earlier before the threat actors exploit them and stop it from functioning properly. In addition,  its helps in detecting and preventing potential security risks in the software system and further helps software developers to fix the security threats and vulnerabilities that may occur throughout the entire lifecycle of the software development.

The security testing endeavor should be considered in the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC) instead of retrofitting it after implementation and deployment phases. Because, it is added after the SDLC phases, for one thing, it will be too costly and for a second thing, it will be less effective in minimizing and mitigating security threats. This mean, the earlier the security testing the better in safeguarding the data and the system.

Security testing is performed primarily with the objective of achieving the following pillars of information security:

• Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Authentication
• Authorization
• Availability
• Non-repudiation

There are many security testing categories that developers and security testers can take into consideration when developing software systems. Some of the security testing types may include the following:

• Vulnerability scanning
• Security scanning
• Risk assessment
• Penetration testing
• Security auditing
• Security assessment
• Ethical hacking
• Posture assessment

Some benefits of security testing mat include  the following:

• Meet compliance requirements
• Uncover and detect vulnerabilities
• Identify security threats proactively
• More

Security testing can accomplished through manual or automated mechanisms. Some of the common tools that are used in security testing include the following:

• Wireshark
• W3af
• OWASP
• Acunetix
• Intruder
• More