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Web applications are now a sophisticated way of how organizations do business and communicate with consumers in modern society. Corporate websites, online banking, e-commerce – the list of web applications goes on and on as they underlie numerous services. However, with this increased reliance comes a growing risk: cyber threats. The Third Factor of Innovation that affects the organization is the risk of cyber-attacks. This is where web application penetration testing comes into play; it offers detailed information on the probability of a vulnerability being exploited by an attacker. But what exactly is it, and why is it so vital for your online properties? Here in this article, we are getting into the details of web application penetration testing and understand why it is necessary and how a company like Prancer can support you.
To put it in more plain language, web application penetration testing is essentially a type of hacking exercise on your web application. The goal? To determine areas that can be manipulated or attacked by hackers. You could look at it as preventive maintenance, in that you’re trying to identify points of weakness in a system before the hackers do. Web application testing is something that is very crucial to any business organization regardless of its size, be it a new start up or a well-established company.
However, one might ask, why is Web application penetration testing so relevant, or necessary? There is a wealth of perils online and they range from cyber criminals seeking to access sensitive information and corrupt programs that are aimed at crippling your business. Lacking security measures, your web application could easily become one of the targets. This is where penetration testing comes in—it assists an organization to be one step ahead of attackers by proactively highlighting and fixing the weaknesses.
Let’s consider your web application as a house. You would not leave the doors and the windows open, would you? The same applies to your web application. As much as burglars appear to be on the lookout for soft targets, so do hackers for websites with weak web applications. If hackers gain access, they can easily steal your data, mess up your website or even bring IT down.
This is why security of web applications is important. A single security breach is disastrous in that it results in financial loss, tarnish of your company’s image and legal consequences. At times, a breach could lead to lawsuits that could potentially close your business. This way to buy web application penetration testing guarantees its owner the protection of the latter’s online assets and customers’ data.
Penetration testing, commonly abbreviated as pen testing, is one of the methods used by security practitioners in assessing web applications’ security. In this process, the tester directly tries to attack the application with the view to identifying holes that can be exploited by a hacker. Penetration testing is of various types, which targets different aspects of security. For instance, network penetration testing is aimed at the examination of the security of your network while web application penetration testing targets your web application.
The primary aim of penetration testing is to find out the various flaws in a system and its security to prevent them from being exploited in future. Such a measure keeps one ahead of any possible attack and makes your web application as secure as possible.
When it comes to web application penetration testing, there are two main approaches: This is by manual testing and tool generated penetration testing. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses, and the most suitable one would always require a blend of the two.
This method involves a security professional who tests the vulnerabilities in the web application manually. This approach is more effective since the tester can look for more sophisticated problems that might not be detected by the automated tools. While this kind of testing is time consuming and costly.
White-box testing is the process of trying to penetrate the web application through specific software tools. Automated testing is less time-consuming and cheaper in comparison with manual testing and can point at popular types of problems, such as SQL injection and XSS. However, automated tools are not as effective at capturing more subtle problems, they can cause more problems than solved, and each problem must be manually checked.
It must be noted that at Prancer, we value both the manual and the automated types of penetration testing. That is why we provide a range of testing services that include the advantage of both camps in a single package. Using our automated tools, we can fast identify most of the threats that may be present in your web application, whereas our professional testers will go through your application more meticulously to find out more complex threats.
Prancer is vital for business improvement and the provision of the most suitable web application penetration testing services. Using manual and computerized approaches, skilled security personnel perform penetration testing and give the client comprehensive details on the security weaknesses and solutions to the problem encountered.
It is perhaps this aspect that is why Prancer’s approach to penetration testing is more than just the pure process of finding the flaws. Our approach is fully consultative thus we seek to understand the needs of the clients to provide the right testing services. From one Web application to the portfolio of Web applications, Prancer can provide the needed help and tools.
Besides the penetration testing services, Prancer also provides several other security products that are ready to assist business organizations in the prevention of these threats. Here we offer the means and knowledge regarding vulnerability management as well as threat intelligence.
Take the next step in securing your web applications—book a demo with Prancer today!
Thus, new threats emerge as the application of technology progresses, and web applications are no exception to this rule. The threat actors are not waiting and are creating new strategies and methods to attack the systems that are in place, so the main goal must be always on top.
Another new trend in web application security is that more and more automated penetration testing tools are being used. In general, such tools are increasingly complex and can detect more threats and risks in comparison with previous periods. But they cannot replace the knowledge of a professional in the sphere of security.
Thus, at Prancer, we do our best to remain leaders in the sphere of web application security. Our penetration testing tools and approaches are constantly refreshed so that our clients can benefit from the best and most efficient penetration testing services. No matter whether you need to encrypt an individual web application or the whole infrastructure, now you have Prancer for that.
Web applications security is a crucial aspect, especially in the contemporary world where business activities are conducted online. Web application Penetration testing is an important asset that is often used to assess vulnerabilities that could be used later by hackers. This way you can defend your virtual property, your customers’ information, and guarantee the prosperity of your commercial venture.
Prancer is committed to assisting companies big and small protect their web applications with its web application penetration testing services. This way, manual and automated penetration testing allow us to eliminate the possibility of leaving any loophole unchecked. If you’re ready to move to the next level in defense of your web application, Prancer is ready to assist you.
