Why Is Security Testing Tools For Web Applications Required? 6 Threats You Should Know About!

The mobile network has enabled its users to perform almost all their business, financial, social operations, etc. Hence nearly all companies have launched their mobile applications. These applications are remarkably effective, and they promote our day to day transactions. But there always remains a huge concern about their data safety and security. 

Did trading happen on a 3G or 4G network, thereby creating 100% possibility for hackers to steal personal data on your Facebook credentials or your bank account credentials.

Security testing tools for web applications are the go-to essential component for the business of any company. This intent brings the need for Security testing tools for web applications and hence is supposed to be important web services penetration testing that is carried out by testers. So let’s find out how to do security testing for web applications and mobile applications?

Overview of security testing

Just like functionality and requirement testing, security testing also requires an in-depth analysis of the app and a well-defined policy for carrying out actual testing.

1. Challenges faced by us for security testing tools for a web application.
2. During the initial release of an application, a QA is required to perform in-depth security testing of the app on a general level, the knowledge collection of the app’s nature, the operating system features, and the phone features perform a vital role in designing a complete web services penetration testing plan.
3. There is plenty to test, and hence it is important for analyzing the application and about all required to be tested.

Threats

Some of the threats are mentioned below:

Threat analysis and modeling

We need to study the following points when we are performing the threat analysis:

• When we download an application from the Google play store and install it, a log is generated for the same. When we download an application and install it, confirmation of the Google or iTunes account is done. Thus the risk of your credentials is arriving in the hands of hackers.
• If the user’s login credentials are saved, then the apps dealing with login credentials also require threat analysis. As a user, we will not tolerate if someone uses our account if we log in and someone else’s information is shown in our store.
• The data provided in the app is the most important threat that is required to be analyzed and secured. Imagine what will happen if we log into our bank app and a hacker there hack it for our account is used for posting an anti-social post and that in turn could land us in serious trouble.

Vulnerability analysis

We are required to scan website security loopholes, the effectiveness of the countermeasures, and how useful the measures are in reality under vulnerability analysis.

Before commencing with vulnerability analysis, we should make sure that the whole team is ready and prepared with a list of most important security threats, the resolution for handling the risk, and a published working app with the list of bugs or issues found in previous releases.

On a broad level, we should perform an analysis of the network, phone, or OS resources that could be utilized by the app with the importance of resources. We should also analyze what are the most essential for high-level threads for protecting against the same.

Topmost scan website security threats for apps

Various website security threats for apps are given below:

• Improper platform usage: Maltreat of phone functions or giving app permissions for accessing contacts, galleries, etc., beyond the need.
• Superfluous data storage: storing unwanted data in the app.
• Xposed authentication: failing to identify the user, failure to maintain the user’s identity, and failure in keeping the user session.
• Insecure communication: Failure in keeping a correct SSL session.
• Malicious third-party code: Writing a third-party code that is not needed or not removing useless regulations.
• Failure to apply server-side controls: The server will automatically authorize the data required to be shown in the app automatically.
• Client-side injection: This could result in the infusion of spiteful code in the app.
• Lack of data protection in transit: failure in encrypting the data while sending or receiving via Web services.

The security threat from hackers

Some of the first and stalking hacks, even after attaining the highest possible security, have been experienced worldwide. In December 2016, the sports entertainment association, which is considered the largest video game platform, inform its players of a security breach when they found that sensitive data like name, email address, address, phone number, login credentials, Xbox ID, etc. Have been hacked.

There is no special way to deal with hacks because hacking and application depend upon app to app. So to avoid hacking, we should try getting into the hacker’s shoes to see what we can’t see as a developer or a QA.

Security threats from rooted and jailbroken phones

Here the first term that applies to Android, and the second term applies to iOS. In a phone, not all operations are accessible, as the user overwriting system files, upgrading the operating system to an abnormal available version. Some procedures require an admin to access the phone. Hence people try to run software available in the market for attaining full admin access. Test website security threats could be experienced by rooting or jailbreaking poses are:

Installation of some different applications on the phone

The code utilized for root or jailbreaking may have constable code that poses a threat of getting hacked.

Companies never test website security, and there is a possibility that they could behave in unpredictable ways. Some banking apps disable the features for rooted phones.

The security threat from app permissions

Formations data offer to an app also pretend as a security threat. these are some of the highly trained permissions that hackers use:

• Network base location: Apps like the location of check-in required permission for accessing the network location. Hackers utilize this permission for accessing the site of the user for launching location-based attacks or malware.
• View the Wi-Fi state: The majority of apps are permitted for accessing the Wi-Fi, and hackers use the phone bugs for accessing the Wi-Fi credentials.
• Retrieving running apps: Apps like battery savers and security apps required permission for accessing the currently running apps, and hackers could use these application permissions for killing security apps.
• Full internet access: Almost all apps need this permission for accessing the internet, which could be used by hackers for communicating and inserting the commands for downloading malware or malicious apps on the phone.

Is security threat different for Android and IOS?

When analyzing the security testing tools for web application, we have to consider the difference between Android and IOS in terms of security. The answer to that question is a big gas that the security threat is distinct for Android and IOS. So as an answer to how to do security testing for web applications and mobile applications?

iOS is less sensitive to security threats when compared to Android. The only reason behind this is Apple’s closed system, as it has some very strict rules for app distribution on the iTunes store. Hence the opportunity of malware or malicious apps entering the eye store is reduced. In contrast, Android is an open system with no strict rules and regulations for posting an app on the Google play store.