Web Application Penetration Testing – Types, Steps & Benefits

Introduction

Did you know over 95% of website apps could be vulnerable to cyber-attacks? Or that, over 25% of cyber breaches constitute web app breaches? Scary, right? Well, websites, big or small, are one of the favourite targets of cyber attackers. But these attacks can be prevented only if you are careful enough to conduct security testing in advance. This is where web application penetration testing takes centre stage.

Overview of web application penetration testing

Web application pentesting aims to safeguard the website from cyber threats by detecting and mitigating existing app vulnerabilities. The process projects a simulated attack into web applications to assess and exploit the potential loopholes to gauge the threat risks. It follows up with addressing the sensitive areas and also provides recommendations to enhance the security posture of the web apps.
The goal of penetration testing on web application is to fix the security gaps, implement preventive measures, and bolster the overall security status.

Types of web application pentesting

The process of web application security testing can be classified into two types:
External Penetration Testing: Put simply, external penetration testing refers to remote pentesting by a third-party service provider. The pentesting firm conducts a thorough assessment of the web apps to gauge the overall security status, following by simulated attack into the vulnerabilities. External pentesters fix the vulnerabilities detected and also provide recommendations for preventive measures.
The external penetration testing includes simulating attack on web applications or websites and is done by the third party provider of penetration testing. During external pentesting the list of domains and IP address of the organization is gathered and the pen tester tries to compromise targets like the behavior of a malicious hacker. This provides a comprehensive overview about the effectiveness of the security controls of the application and the controls that are exposed such as firewalls and testing servers.
Internal Penetration Testing: The internal pen testing is done on the web applications for tracking and identification of the lateral moh2vement of hackers. As the name suggests, this procedure is not conducted by a 3rd party service provider but the organisation’s in-house security team. Internal pentesting also facilitates the prevention of the attack as a result of exploitation of vulnerabilities that exist within corporate firewalls.

Steps of Web Application Penetration Testing

• Planning
The Planning phase defines the scope of the project, the timeline, and the personnel to be involved in the process. The planning phase also specifies the testing areas of the app and decides on whether to go for internal or external website penetration testing. Besides, this phase underlines the security controls that must be maintained to strengthen the web applications' overall defense.

• Pre-attack
The Pre-attack phase is the reconnaissance phase (information gathering) of the penetration testing, which includes the use of OSINT tools. This stage carries out port scanning for vulnerability assessment and service identification using various tools like Google Dorks, Shodan, and Nmap.

• Attack
The Attack stage launches a simulated attack into the apps to exploit the different vulnerabilities that are identified in the pre-attack phase. The attack helps the tester to get into the internal structure of the web application and compromise the host. This stage also includes breaching of physical security and carrying out social engineering attacks.

• Post-attack
In the post-attack stage, the tester provides a detailed report of the entire penetration testing project and the types of testing being carried out. This also includes providing a report on the list of vulnerabilities, a detailed analysis of findings, and necessary recommendations. This is also the stage where the tester restores the network configuration in the system to the original state.

Benefits of web application penetration testing

Some of the benefits of web application penetration testing are as follows:

• Vulnerability Assessment
The pentesting procedure conducts a thorough assessment of the vulnerabilities existing in the web applications. The assessment process warns the organisation about existing threats so that remediation measures could be taken before it’s too late.

• Early Detection of Threats
Early detection of threats leads to faster mitigation of security gaps. It eventually improves the security posture and also guides the organisation on preventive measures- providing a formidable line of defense agaisnt future cyber attacks. This is in turn ensures stronger protection for the integrity, availability and confidentiality of data.

• Precision
Web application pentesting follows an extremely meticulous approach that enables it to attain most accurate possible results. It does not encounter any sort of noise regarding false vulnerabilities and assures a highly credible detection.

• Security Awareness
The pentesting report provides detailed explanation of the threat risks, mitigations, and preventive measures. The report helps the concerned organisations- especially the administrators and development teams- to have an updated understanding of the current security posture.

• Increased security
The pentesting procedure fixes the security gaps in web apps and also provides safety recommendations which eventually bolster the overall security structure.

Conclusion

Regular execution of web application testing is crucial to maintain safe cyber hygiene and prevent future attacks on web apps. A safe cyber protocol will ensure better protection of both company and client data, thereby boosting the credibility quotient of the organisation. The increasing popularity of web pentesting has also led to rising demand for pentesting professionals. If you too aspire to be a skilled pentester, you can join our web application penetration testing course. Added to theoretical training, we also provide practical training to help our students develop hands-on skills for real-world pentesting scenarios.