Every day more companies are concerned about the security of their applications, which is why they have resorted to new and better options such as a Application Vulnerability Assessment. After the pandemic became one of the great breaking points, being one of the years with the most cyberattacks for Mexico and Latin America. An AVA is an assessment process to identify and assess security vulnerabilities in a computer application and the potential risks that can arise from these weaknesses.
An AVA can be a great solution for application securityBecause even if you frequently change passwords, lock devices, and keep software up-to-date, the apps themselves are vulnerable to various threats that are best prevented. Coding errors, server configuration issues, and application design flaws are all vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can exploit to gain access to sensitive data, such as databases and servers, for ransomware attacks and scams. online.
A large percentage of data breaches are due to issues related to the security of web applications. It is essential that you adopt good practices and appropriate tools to protect the information stored in your web application. This article will help us understand what it is, how it works and 5 advantages of carrying out an Application Vulnerability Assessment. If your company is planning to expand, you need to take this into account.
What is an Application Vulnerability Assessment?
Taking into account that 43 % of data leaks are caused by application vulnerabilities, adopting the best practices and the right tools is essential to mitigate the risks and strengthen the security of web applications.
As we mentioned, a Application Vulnerability Assessment is a comprehensive analysis of the security risks of an application. This involves examining the application for potential vulnerabilities such as open ports, misconfiguration, insecure data usage, etc. This allows these vulnerabilities to be identified and fixed before they are exploited by an attacker. To achieve this, they are performed with two key tests.
DAST analysis
DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) analysis of an Application Vulnerability Assessment are penetration testing tools that provide an external assessment of application security. These tests are performed from the point of view of an attacker who is trying to compromise the application.
This is done by sending requests to the application from the outside to see how it responds. These simulate real activities such as those of a traditional user or those that a hacker would carry out in order to violate your data. Some of the vulnerabilities that a DAST scan can find are code injection, password dictionary, authentication bypass, etc.
The results are reported to the person responsible for application security so that they can take the necessary measures to fix potential bugs that hackers might find in your app.
SAST analysis
SAST (Static Application Security Testing) analysis of an Application Vulnerability Assessment serve as a security test that focuses on the internal evaluation of the security of the application. Before it's even published. In fact, these are done without running the application, allowing a network administrator to identify potential security vulnerabilities before they are exploited. In this way, both your clients and your collaborators will work in a safe environment.
A SAST analysis is an automated test that look for security vulnerabilities in the code source before an application is deployed. This is a software test that examines the source code to identify bugs, vulnerabilities, and other security issues. At the end of the test, a test results report is generated, detailing what issues were found and describing potential associated risks that hackers can exploit to steal your sensitive information.
SAST analysis can be applied to any programming language, from high-level languages like Java and C# to low-level languages like C and Assembly. For this reason, it can be a great advantage for most development teams, because regardless of their environment, you will be able to find the best way to implement it.
5 advantages of carrying out an Application Vulnerability Assessment:
Prevent data breaches
An Application Vulnerability Assessment can help developers find and fix potential vulnerabilities before an attacker can exploit them. With the SAST model, you can know how to safeguard the information of your clients and collaborators before your application is ready.
This can help prevent data breaches and prevent security-related damage. Like identity cloning, card theft or fraud.
Identify potential risks
An Application Vulnerability Assessment helps developers identify potential security weaknesses that may allow attackers to access or modify application data. This means that you will protect the code of your application to avoid unwanted modifications that violate your clients.
This can help developers take steps to fix vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them. Correct the changes in the code that are necessary and safeguard the protection of your users.
Improve application security
An Application Vulnerability Assessment helps developers assess and improve application security. This includes the use of security best practices, such as the use of strong passwords, the implementation of appropriate security measures, and the adoption of advanced security tools.
This can allow your organization comply with the statutes of good practices, as well as the regulations and laws in force in your country. A problem that is increasingly important for companies to continue working.
Optimize application performance
The results of an Application Vulnerability Assessment can help developers identify and fix performance issues that may affect the performance of the application.
This can help improve the general technical side of the application. Which is always a benefit that customers appreciate.
Improve customer trust
An application vulnerability assessment can help developers gain the trust of customers. When customers know that the application is free of vulnerabilities, they are more likely to trust the application and recommend it to others.
In conclusion, an application vulnerability assessment is a useful tool to ensure the security of your application. By identifying and resolving vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them, you can improve the security of your application, optimize its performance, and gain the trust of your customers.
When developing a web application, it is important to ensure its security from the beginning and not after you have released your application to the market. To discover vulnerabilities, developers must constantly perform security tests such as an Application Vulnerability Assessment, including DAST and SAST and implement various types of protection controls, such as application firewalls and content security policies.
This will help them detect and fix any vulnerabilities before they can be exploited and will help improve user confidence and industry security standards.
Web application security is even more important when dealing with confidential and sensitive information. By performing an Application Vulnerability Assessment, you can prevent and fix application flaws, loopholes, and vulnerabilities. web application security, it also significantly decreases the risks associated with a data breach carried out by cybersecurity bad actors.
In Codster, we can be your ally in application security and implement an Application Vulnerability Assessment as Veracode Partners to exploit the potential of your company, creating security technology solutions tailored to your needs. If you want to know more, do not hesitate to contact us.
