The Definitive Guide to Application Security Testing Types

Application vulnerabilities have become the #1 vector for crippling data breaches and cyber attacks. Testing application security is essential for organizations to get ahead of rapidly evolving threats targeting their software infrastructure. This comprehensive guide examines the key types of app sec testing technology leaders need to secure critical business applications.

The Growing Threat Landscape for Applications

Applications have increasingly become ground zero for malicious hacker activity as large volumes of valuable data and transactions flow through software:

• 70% of attacked targets are applications, per a 2022 DevSecOps survey from GitLab
• Attacks on web apps grew by 232% year-over-year according to a 2021 WatchGuard report
• 44% of breaches involved application vulnerabilities per Verizon‘s 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report
• Open source libraries account for 90% of codebases but also introduce 74% of security flaws according to a Sonatype report

These sobering statistics indicate just how aggressively adversaries are exploiting vulnerabilities unique to applications with dangerous outcomes:

The risks extend beyond stolen data. Application outages from denial of service attacks carry a typical cost of $100,000 per hour. Code exploits also often have cascading impacts enabling access to backends like databases and cloud services.

These numbers make a compelling case for organizations to identify and resolve application security defects through continuous testing.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

SAST refers to analyzing application source code, binaries, and dependencies for coding flaws before software gets deployed. Reviewing architectures, designs, code repositories, and pipelines aids in uncovering issues early.

SAST tools automatically scan programming languages like JavaScript, Python, C#, PHP, and Java using predefined rules specific to common weaknesses:

Engineers also visually inspect business logic for application-specific defects. Manual code reviews provide human perspective but don‘t scale well. Automating SAST via CI/CD integration provides rapid feedback to developers during sprint cycles.

Popular SAST tools include Checkmarx, Synopsys, Micro Focus Fortify, Contrast Security, SonarQube, and WhiteSource. Cloud-based SAST solutions like LGTM and Codescene are also gaining adoption.

Uncovering Flaws Early is Key

The importance of static testing stems from finding and fixing flaws when they are simplest and least expensive to address:

SAST prevents relatively minor coding issues from becoming major liabilities down the road after software gets embedded into production landscapes and supply chains. Addressing vulnerabilities earlier in CI/CD pipelines reduces risk exponentially.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

DAST analyzes applications while in active execution to uncover risks from continuously evolving threats in production environments. DAST solutions crawl sites and APIs automatically manipulating data, workflows, and headers to mimic attacks:

The goal is confirming whether security controls and safeguards work as intended at runtime. Browser extensions like Wappalyzer also passively analyze technologies and dependencies websites rely on.

Top DAST solutions include Burp Suite, IBM AppScan, Micro Focus WebInspect, Bugcrowd, ImmuniWeb, and Acunetix. DAST complements SAST analysis to provide comprehensive testing coverage.

Why Testing Running Software Matters

While architects focus on building secure frameworks upfront, real-world operating conditions introduce additional exposures:

Dynamic tests after launch provide assurance that defenses stand up to automated attacks attempting to exploit subtle defects only visible at runtime. DAST also helps confirm controls remain effective with new features, configurations, traffic loads, and system changes.

Interactive Application Security Testing (IAST)

IAST combines static and dynamic approaches to analyze application attack surfaces in real-time. Testing runs while code executes augmenting SAST signals with runtime data to boost detection rates.

Engineers can manipulate test scenarios during active assaults adding attack vectors on the fly. For example, speculating what would occur if an app experienced a sudden surge in SQL injection attempts. This level of insight exposes vulnerabilities traditional static or dynamic testing alone could miss.

Some IAST advantages over individual SAST and DAST include:

• Observes apps behavior under load with runtime adaptable threat models
• API testing protections including OAuth, JWT, and business logic flows
• Accelerated results by integrating directly into CI/CD pipelines
• Detailed reporting with replayable attack data to enhance remediation
• Higher accuracy rates and few false positives reductions

Prominent IAST solutions include Contrast Security, Appvance, ShiftLeft, Synopsys, and Checkmarx. Adoption continues expanding driven by DevOps initiatives and cloud-native architectures requiring runtime app visibility.

According to Gartner, the IAST market is forecasted to reach nearly $2 billion by 2025. Integrating IAST into development pipelines provides comprehensive testing coverage across the entire app lifecycle.

Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST)

MAST focuses on securing apps running on mobile platforms like iOS and Android. Nearly all enterprise organizations today support internal mobile apps along with partner and customer facing mobile offerings.

However, the unique coding languages (Swift, Kotlin), gesture based UX, device hardware access, flawed TLS settings, and integration of device sensors like GPS introduce exclusive security challenges for mobile apps vs. web apps:

Specialized MAST tools like NowSecure, Kryptowire and Appknox validate device firewall settings, apps permissions andCONFIRM open wireless connections don‘t expose data in transit. MAST also examines integration with camera, microphone, clipboard and contacts which could enable eavesdropping or location tracking if compromised.

Given the influx of mobile users and amount of time consumers spend in apps, MAST plays an integral role in blocking threats unique to mobile platforms.

Penetration Testing

Penetration testing represents authorized simulated attacks against application infrastructure to evaluate how security controls respond under adverse conditions. The goal is compromising networks and systems to determine potential business impact like data theft or service disruption.

Skilled practitioners perform penetration tests using techniques that real-world hackers employ:

Tests combine automated tools plus tacit hacking expertise to fully validate system protections – essentially legal cyber attacks. Cloud platforms have driven more penetration testing use cases validating serverless, containers, Kubernetes and virtualized infrastructure.

Top providers include Rapid7, Synopsys, Checkmarx, Rhino Security Labs and WhiteHat Security. While labor intensive, pen testing delivers the most comprehensive vulnerability assessment short of actual black hat attacks.

Validating Controls from an Attacker‘s Viewpoint

The sheer volume of software vulnerabilities often enables threats to creep in from overlooked areas:

While developers build apps securely, actual usage patterns introduce risk. Dedicated penetration testers provide human validation of system protections from hacker perspectives missed by automated approaches. This outside-in viewpoint uncovers oversights developers can‘t reasonably anticipate.

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

The vast majority of today‘s applications now integrate open source components from third-parties like utilities, widgets, libraries, SDKs and frameworks. Libraries now provide over 137 billion lines of reusable code accelerating release velocity. However, they also introduce substantial risk:

Software composition analysis (SCA) evaluates all third-party open source within codebases for license compliance, quality flaws and component provenance issues that lead to exploits.

SCA scans build pipelines and repositories continuously matching imported libraries against curated vulnerability databases flagging outdated modules needing patches. This prevents inheriting vulnerabilities from externally sourced components.

Prominent SCA tools include Snyk, Black Duck, WhiteSource, Sonatype and JFrog Xray. Forrester Research estimates open source vulnerabilities will grow by 450% over the next three years further elevating SCA importance.

Achieving Comprehensive Testing Coverage

While each testing type serves specific needs, integrating multiple methods provides fully layered security:

Perform SAST early to catch coding defects – Use static analysis during development to identify weaknesses with minimal cost to repair. This prevents proliferation across future iterations.

DAST post-release to confirm runtime protections – Dynamic scanning during UAT stages and after launch provides production readiness assurance accounting for modern DevOps velocities.

Leverage IAST for comprehensive assessment – Interactive testing combining SAST and DAST techniques throughout pipelines spotted the highest percentage of critical defects per a recent study.

Validate with pen testing under duress – Authorized penetration attacks uncover oversights by stress testing infrastructure from an adversarial perspective.

Monitor open source with continuous SCA – Ongoing software composition analysis prevents importing vulnerable libraries that evade functional testing.

Integrating application security testing tools across the entirety of software delivery lifecycles ensures maximal risk coverage.

A Platform Approach Accelerates Scaling

Managing multiple app sec tools chain can burden security teams operationally. Integrating scanning technologies onto a single cloud platform streamlines scaling test coverage:

Platforms like Contrast, Checkmarx, Synopsys, and Micro Focus Fortify centralize multiple testing capabilities including SAST, DAST, IAST, SCA, and patching. Integrations with infrastructure as code solutions and orchestrators (Terraform, Kubernetes, CloudFormation) further streamline automation.

Consolidating scans onto cloud-based platforms accelerates time-to-remediation while providing unified visibility across organizational attack surfaces.

Best Practices for Application Security Testing

Operationalizing application security testing as code progresses from development stages into production involves several key initiatives:

Integrate Security into Development – Train developers on secure coding practices and enable security gating via policy enforcement within IDEs and pipelines versus separate testing activities. This shifts security left.

Standardize on Centralized Tools – Consolidate testing solutions onto unified platforms supporting a consistent methodology across hybrid infrastructure. Integrate with threat intelligence feeds to customize rules and signatures.

Focus on Application Risk Profiles – Quantify and model risk scenarios via threat models mapping business logic flows and ranking datasensitivity. Tailor testing to focus on highly exposed components and Funder flows.

Promote Shared Responsibility – Foster a culture emphasizing app security as everyone‘s responsibility across technical and business roles from product managers to UX designers into IT operations.

Incentivize Remediations – Set goals for fast vulnerability resolution reinforced through security champion programs and hackathons to instill internal competition around mitigations.

Continuously Validate Controls – Schedule testing cadences after major releases, feature launches and infrastructure changes to confirm controls at regular intervals. This truly shifts security left.

Attack Yourself Before Adversaries Attempt – Leverage budget for authorized red team exercises modelling external threats via penetration testing. Table top risk scenarios to determine potential business impact.

Unify Visibility Into All Findings – Aggregate identified risks, defects and remediations through AppSec platforms to quantify progress via security KPI dashboard reporting for executive stakeholders.

The Bottom Line

Testing application security controls should receive equal priority as functionality testing – applications and data run mission critical business operations making cyber risks everyone‘s responsibility.

Taking an offensive approach using multiple testing techniques at each development stage leaves fewer vulnerabilities for real-world adversaries to target. Integrating security analytically via automation ensures more leak-proof apps enter production by eliminating preventable exposures and weaknesses early.

With cyber attacks growing in frequency and impact at alarming rates annually, the need to implement robust application security programs has become paramount. Proactively securing apps using a toolkit of complimentary testing technologies offers the best defense against intensifying threats targeting the application layer.