subject: Penetration Tests Are Essential Interventions To Maintain Application Security [print this page] World Wide Web is the base for Information technology, particularly for online operations in education, research, entertainment and more particularly in business & commerce, including banking services. Everyone using the Net endeavors to keep one"s Application Security intact because the operational efficiency, if not functionality, is important at every moment of life and it is also a fact that intentional and unintentional threats do occur for the security of Websites, Web applications and other web services.
Penetration testing is a process of making an entry to the system application by the testing agency, which may not be authorized to interfere with the system, mainly to test if the system has vulnerabilities where an outsider can enter and exploit and the security issues uncovered through these tests are presented to the system user, for taking appropriate action to establish application security in the system.
Penetration testing services render very valuable contribution to Application Security for several reasons, prime of it is to alert the system owner of the vulnerabilities that the system requires to be rectified.
Penetration testing services accomplish the following functions:
"Through Penetration test, the service provider is able to determine the feasibility of the particular set of attack vectors entering the application
"The test identifies the growth of vulnerabilities that were originally insignificant but in due time exploited and increased to severe risks
"Through these tests, the application manager is able to understand the magnitude of the potential dangers to business and operational security matters
"These tests also enable the network defenders successfully detect and manage the attacks
Penetration testing services are genuine and authorized processes in various security audit standard initiatives, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCIDSS).
Web designers and Web architects do develop a number of basic counter measures to combat vulnerabilities and threats to Web Application Security and these counter measures are taken right from the design stage to moment to moment monitoring initiatives taken by Web application users.
Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) and Web Application Security Consortium (WASC) are important initiatives through which the Web World is highly benefited in recognizing the System attack events through a data base and to have an open source for best practice documents relating to Application Security.
Whilst every effort is taken for maintaining Application Security from the Designers" end to the System Users" end, Penetration testing services do operate particularly to assist audit function relating to Application security and functionality.
