Application security assessment: five key steps

An app security assessment is a determining factor that shows how careful and responsible you are regarding data protection. Contrary to popular belief, an application security assessment is an ongoing process, not something you need to do annually. Nor should it be done as a mere formality.

Why is application security assessment necessary for businesses?

Mobile app security is, first and foremost, about protecting personal data. Users store photos, videos, audio recordings, account and payment card data, movement history, and other critical information on mobile devices. So, efforts should be made to prevent attackers from gaining access to all of this. This is critical to the operation of any business and company.

Ongoing application security assessments provide actionable information about current vulnerabilities. The need to verify the security of any asset is required for its productive use. Companies should take a responsible approach to the issue of the security of their applications. Such checks give users more confidence in the safety of their data.

Security is the backbone of any business. To get better, you should also be aware of your weaknesses. An application security assessment will allow you to test your security settings. Ensuring the security of sensitive data is the first thing a user pays attention to before downloading. This is why application security assessments are so crucial to any business.

Five steps to assess application security

More and more users prefer mobile versions of applications instead of classic web applications. The requirements for security and reliability are getting higher all the time. To meet them, they need to be evaluated and tested regularly.

While there can't be a complete guide to app security evaluation that covers all aspects, there are five steps that you need to implement to qualitatively evaluate the security of your apps.

Step 1: Determine the scope of work

The goal of an application security assessment is to identify all vulnerabilities in the infrastructure, and it is not necessary to fix them. The remediation decision will depend on your goals, objectives, and scope in your business security policies and methodologies.

Ask yourself some questions concerning the testing of your application: where the vulnerabilities may exist, what needs to be tested first, etc. The answers to these questions will help you determine the scope of work and build a clear plan for evaluating the security of your application.

Step 2: Identify potential threats

Proactive threat identification is one of the essential parts of any application security assessment.

The threat landscape is constantly changing, and businesses must know all potential vulnerabilities. Only then can the company prepare an effective probability of potential threats and determine the potential impact.

To do this effectively, you need to supplement your security tools with the latest threat data from around the world, existing and potentially dangerous.

Step 3: Test application security

Continuous assessment of flaws, loopholes, vulnerabilities, and security weaknesses is cardinal to web application security. This assessment should cover the application, third-party components, code, and other resources.

Testing allows enterprises to determine the degree of security breach associated with a particular vulnerability. This will help classify high-, medium- or low-intensity threats, and the business can develop an appropriate remediation strategy.

Step 4: Conduct analytics on the findings

Analysing the results of a security assessment is very important.

All steps in the application security assessment process should be recorded, and detailed reports should be generated. These reports serve as a guide for business owners in making important security decisions.

Quality analytics will allow you to fully identify the extent of vulnerabilities and make a clear plan to address them. You can either try to study the test materials yourself or contact a security professional.

Step 5: Remove found vulnerabilities

Once you have completed all the previous steps, eliminate the threats you find. Prioritise any problems and calculate how much time and money you will need.

Usually, security issues are handled by specific companies. You can go to them for help or do it yourself.

Fixing vulnerabilities is the most extensive part of the entire process. Take the time to do this carefully and hire experts if possible. This way, the threats you find will be eliminated quickly and efficiently.

Conclusions

Application security assessments should be part of the software development lifecycle. Remember that whether you improve your applications' security, hackers also improve their methods of attack.

Get in the habit of evaluating the security of your application from time to time. Use these five steps to make the testing process as easy as possible for you.