What is a Web Application Security Audit?
A web application security audit is a comprehensive assessment of your web applications and their associated infrastructure. This can be anything from a website to business intranet systems, APIs or E-Commerce systems. Any component of the web comes under this umbrella.
The first step in performing a web application security audit is to understand the scope of your web applications. This includes identifying all web-facing systems and determining which systems contain sensitive data.
What is the objective when carrying out a Web Application Security Audit?
The aim of the web application security audit is to identify any security vulnerabilities that may exist and recommend remediation steps to mitigate the risks.
If a company believes unauthorised users have access to information they shouldn’t have, or have permission to carry out unauthorised actions on company management systems (taking control of web servers etc.), then carrying out an audit should be a priority.
The benefits of carrying out a Web Application Security Audit
Helps to identify all vulnerabilities in your web applications
The most significant advantage of comprehensive web application security auditing is that it reveals all potential vulnerabilities and flaws in the program(s). Web app security auditing has become an important phase in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC), encouraging developers to be conscious of security during the development of applications.
Enables you to comply with security and privacy laws
Across the globe, data security and privacy laws have been applied and businesses are having to alter how they collect and store their customer and stakeholder data. The GDPR regulations implemented across the EU are an example of the toughest privacy and security laws in the world. These laws apply to web applications too.
For many industries, it is now mandatory for web application security audits to take place on a regular basis to help protect the interests of users and the industries themselves. The financial industry is a prime example of this.
Not only should business owners and CEOs/directors place importance on carrying out regular web application security audits, but developers who are creating web applications also need to ensure web app audits take place on a regular basis. Otherwise, they too run the risk of not complying with security and privacy laws for their particular jurisdiction.
Helps give you an overview of your current web app security
A thorough web application security audit also examines your current security procedures and any flaws that may exist within them. For example, many companies utilise firewalls, however, they may not realise that these can be vulnerable to attacks too.
A comprehensive web application security audit will notify you of any vulnerabilities that exist within your existing security measures, giving you the opportunity to fix them before they become an even bigger problem.
Identify any breaches or strange behaviour
A thorough web application security audit will identify security breaches or strange behaviour on your applications, from a hacker for example.
Ransomware attacks or data breaches involve huge undetected dwell times. A recent IBM study found the average time to detect and contain a data breach is 287 days (212 to detect, 75 to contain).
As the attackers are sitting undetected for so long, when the time for attack does eventually arrive, the damage is instant and can be painful for the victim.
Regular web application security audits help detect and eradicate any security breaches or potential hacker behaviour, potentially saving your business vital time and money.
The findings can help form your new security plan
An audit’s outcomes will help you plan and prioritise your security when trying to prevent future breaches or hacks from happening. Every business will have different needs and priorities for its security plan after an audit.
The audit will also help you to plan your incident response procedure if a hack or breach was to take place.
Are you interested in a web application security audit for your business?
Schedule a meeting with us today to discuss how LoughTec can help you.
Schedule a Meeting
LoughTec is committed to preventing threats and zero-day attacks for secure data transfer across your network, applications, and customer operations.
With almost two decades of experience in securing critical infrastructure systems, our technologies integrate advanced malware protection and detection into your IT solutions and applications.
MetaDefender – our advanced threat prevention solution for file uploads is used by organisations that require the highest level of security, including critical infrastructure, government agencies, and financial institutions.
Use a web application security solution that works – schedule a meeting with one of our Technical experts today and explore how we can help you protect your infrastructure from advanced sophisticated threats. Let us help you implement good web application security for your organisation.
Call us on +44 (0) 28 8225 2445 or email our team at info@loughtec.com.
Check out our other resources regarding Web Application Security here:
Guide to developing a web application security policy
10 Web Application Security Risks
Web Application Security Checklist
8 Web Application Security Threats
Web Application Security Solutions from LoughTec
