You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to know that the world of application security is changing at an alarming pace. The tools and techniques that attackers use are becoming more sophisticated, and it’s difficult for even the most well-resourced organizations to keep up with them.
The good news is that you can automate dynamic application security testing so you’re not left trying to play catch up with every new technique as soon as they come out. Let us explore 5 reasons why you should automate your dynamic application security testing today!
What is Application Security Testing?
Application security testing is a form of application testing that simulates real-world attacks in order to identify vulnerabilities. These tests are executed manually or automatically against applications with another aim being to determine whether these systems can be compromised and how easily it would be done so. Application security testing is commonly performed using SAST, DAST and/or IAST methods and tools.
Static Application Security Testing (SAST) is a process of analyzing source code and binaries to identify potential vulnerabilities. Static analysis tools are fairly cheap and easy to use, but they only work on code that has been analyzed in advance. They also cannot identify issues that may arise when the software is run in a live environment.
Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) refers to the process of automatically executing your API, web, or mobile application and simulating attacks against it to find vulnerabilities. Manual penetration testing is out of date, tedious, and slow; you can only test the security posture of your web applications using dynamic scanning if they’re actually running. It Involves actually running the software against real-world data inputs and seeing how it reacts. This can identify vulnerabilities that may not be found through static analysis.
In this blog, we will only discuss DAST, it’s importance, and how you can automate your DAST to test your web applications.
Why Should You Automate DAST?
There are several advantages to automating your dynamic application security testing. For instance:
- It’s Faster: One of the main benefits of automated dynamic application security testing is that it’s much faster than manual testing. With automated testing, you can find security flaws much more quickly than with manual testing.
- Increases Accuracy: Another benefit is that automated dynamic application security testing is more accurate than manual testing. Automated tools can often find vulnerabilities that human testers may miss.
- Highly Efficient: Automating your dynamic application security testing also results in greater efficiency. With automated tools, you can ensure the same vulnerabilities are tested consistently and repeatedly.
- It’s More Comprehensive: Finally, automated dynamic application security testing is more comprehensive than manual testing. Automated tools can test a wider range of potential vulnerabilities than human testers can.
- It’s super easy: All you have to do is set up the parameters once and let an automated DAST tool carry out its work on it’s own without any further input. This makes automation ideal for those who are not security experts and want to ensure the safety of their applications without having to learn how to use complicated tools.
What are the tools required?
Finally, let’s take a quick look at what you need to get started with automated dynamic application security testing. In order to automate your dynamic application security testing, you’ll need:
- A scanning tool that can automatically test applications for vulnerabilities. There are many different options available, you can choose one that fulfills your requirements.
- A vulnerability management system to track and manage the vulnerabilities that are identified by the scanning tool. This will help you prioritize and fix the most important vulnerabilities first.
- A penetration testing tool to simulate attacks against your applications. This will allow you to see how well your security controls hold up under real-world attack scenarios.
All of these tools are readily available, and there are plenty of resources online to help you get started. One such highly recommended tool is Astra Pentest.
Automation of Dynamic Application Security Testing is a need of the hour. Astra Pentest is a well-developed penetration testing platform that delivers great results using the best penetration testing methodologies. Astra Pentest offers manual and automated DAST, vulnerability scanning, vulnerability management, and much more.
Conclusion
So there you have it – five reasons why you should automate your dynamic application security testing today! If you’re not yet using automated tools, now is the time to start. They can help increase accuracy, efficiency, and comprehensiveness while helping you stay ahead of the curve in terms of cybersecurity.
