Key Insights About Dynamic Application Security Testing

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May 26, 2022 Business

If you are deploying a newly created web application in a completely new environment, you should know that it may be exposed to various types of attacks. Certain misconfigurations of the app or incorrect assumptions about some security controls are often not visible from the source code.

The practice of dynamic application security testing (DAST) is popular among the latest security technology trends. It involves the examination of applications for certain vulnerabilities in deployed environments. DAST works through simulations – it simulates attaches on an application and mimics a malicious attacker. The main goal is to detect specific outcomes or results that were unexpected and could be used by attackers to compromise the web app.

In this context, automated test management plays a crucial role in efficiently examining applications for vulnerabilities in newly deployed environments. By automating the setup, execution, and analysis of scans on the web application, organizations can achieve greater test coverage and proactively detect hidden security issues. Integrating automated test management ensures the application remains resilient against potential cyber threats.

Dynamic Application Security Tools & How They Work

Most of the common DAST tools don’t work with internal information about the application or its source code. Instead, they attack in similar ways to external hackers, their knowledge about the application and their common practices.

The good thing is that there are various types of DAST solutions, ranging from more traditional tools for dynamic scanning as well as modern and innovative solutions that combine the use of API scanning, fuzz testing, pen testing, and a lot more. As of lately, certain next-gen technology tools such as interactive application security testing (IAST) have also emerged on the market, showing the full potential of DAST in different environments.

While there are many ways to use DAST tools, the best practice is by integrating them into the software development lifecycle (SDLC), where you can shift security and test applications as they evolve. Doing that would also let you detect and remediate risks before they become serious.

DAST Vs. Other Application Security Testing Tools

Application security testing tools, or ASTs, are particularly effective in detecting known vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Let’s explore some of the common testing methods and see how they stack up against the practice of dynamic testing.

Static application security testing (SAST)

With static application security testing (SAST), developers can focus on the inverse approach to DAST, where they would see the application from the inside out without full knowledge of its internal elements such as source code, binaries, etc. During static testing, the application is not running – SAST reviews its data and control paths, identifying potential security weaknesses.

Because of this, SAST is a practice that is generally used early in software development in modern DevOps models. Here, developers would create segments of code for an application that would be integrated and deployed afterward. The analysis of results can also detect potential vulnerabilities in code, making it easy for developers to fix the software while coding.

Interactive application security testing (IAST)

In the interactive application security testing (IAST) model, code is examined while the app is running. The tests can be automated or manual and run by developers. Unlike DAST and SAST, IAST works inside the application and analyzes its source code in detail.

As a result, IAST doesn’t require the entire codebase or access to the entire app – it only needs certain elements of an application used during functional testing. Also, this practice is normally deployed within a Q&A environment where functional tests can run.

Pen testing

Penetration testing often referred to as pen testing, is a practice that simulates cyberattacks to detect vulnerabilities. It is very similar to DAST in the way it uncovers these vulnerabilities – the main difference is the way it tests goals and capabilities.

While DAST automated identification and reporting of the potential vulnerabilities, pen-testing uses actual physical attempts by human testers to exploit if there is a detected vulnerability and determine whether it’s a potential threat.

Runtime application self-protection (RASP)

With runtime application self-protection (RASP), you can detect and protect infrastructure from attacks made on an application in real-time. This type of AppSec solution runs on the server side while the app is running, and can analyze the app’s behavior to identify attacks and support immediate attack remediation. The RASP tool works by taking commands of the application and potentially mitigating the issue.

The Benefits Of Each Application Security Testing Tool

If you are looking to include the practice of DAST on our business cyber security checklist but need to know more about its benefits, this part is for you. One of the main strengths of DAST is the fact that it can identify runtime issues, as well as weaknesses that would otherwise be undiscoverable until the app starts running.

Additionally, doing dynamic application security testing is good because it can examine how the application commonly responds to an attack and provide helpful insights into its potential vulnerabilities. Once everything is prepared and ready, the app can proceed to the next phase of quality assurance.

As we mentioned above, SAST is a great practice if you are looking to identify vulnerabilities while code is being written. It can help detect the exact location of coding issues, allowing the team of developers to fix the vulnerability on time.

On the other hand, IAST is a great practice operating under DAST principles because of its DevSecOps focus. It allows for continuous testing, monitoring, assessment, and proper validation of the results in real-time. With it, you can get immediate alerts on key critical risks defined by your business goals and app security needs. On top of that, it will also leverage existing tests done during the testing phase, allowing for verification of an identified vulnerability. For instance, you can test password entries and detect if there are vulnerabilities hackers could use to their advantage.

Summary

The methodology of dynamic application security testing (DAST) and its various solutions can help and protect against many web application vulnerabilities. Examples of these include cross-site scripting (XSS), external XML entities (XXE), SQL injection, and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). Even though these practices can scan the source code and detect vulnerabilities, the best way to do that is by determining whether those vulnerabilities can be exploited by an external hacker when the full app is running along with all of its components.