According to a recent Forrester Research survey, 42 percent of organizations blamed discovered security holes on insecure applications. Of these, hackers most commonly targeted web applications. Altogether, the survey respondents said that flawed environments or buggy source code accounted for more external security problems than any other single issue.
To protect themselves from these threats, organizations develop application security testing programs. These programs provide a process that businesses can use to assess and address threats continually. They also help companies to acquire the information they need to balance risk levels against resources to prioritize tasks to remediate problems. See what it takes to develop an effective security testing program to keep applications secure.
Not only will an effective testing program help spot security weaknesses, but it can also provide the information needed to reduce the risk of exposure to threats before they occur. A practical application security testing program should include:
An in-depth security program may also include human-led penetration testing. Pen tests consist of highly skilled security experts who try to breach systems by using the same methods that even the most advanced hackers rely upon. These tests will offer further assurance that an organization's security can stay ahead of online criminals, provide an action plan, and help assess various risk levels to prioritize addressing them.
Security teams need to work with user departments and third-party providers to develop, implement, and maintain their security testing program. Everybody involved needs to prioritize security as a non-negotiable functional requirement at the start of a project. Just as important, stakeholders need to ensure they maintain their vigilance through the project's lifetime. A business that has already relied upon an application for years doesn't offer assurance against new security threats.