Application Security

Your employees use a variety of shared documents and applications on a daily basis, whether that be from the office, their home or remotely. Ensuring vital data and communication is protected at any time, from anywhere, is our top priority.

What is application security?

Application security is the process of testing, developing, and adding security features to applications to prevent potential security risks and threats. Application security may include both hardware and software procedures that identify or minimise security vulnerabilities on an ongoing basis.

Although applications are tested rigorously throughout the development stage, it’s increasingly important to ensure they remain secure after they are deployed.

Types of application security

1Authentication - Authentication is a security technique that is used to verify and confirm a person is who they say they are.
2Authorisation - Authorisation determines whether, or not, a user is allowed access to the information or data they are requesting.
3Encryption - Once a user has been authenticated and can use the application, there are other security measures that can be put in place to protect sensitive data from being seen or used. For cloud-based applications, traffic containing sensitive data can travel between the end-user and the cloud. This traffic can be encrypted in order to make sure it’s kept safe.
4Ensure your employees are aware of phishing - Now that more people are working remotely, unfortunately, there’s a greater chance of being hit by a phishing scam. It’s crucial that you check the sender’s email address and the subject line and even the contents of the email for things like spelling mistakes - if there are any external links in the email and they don’t take you to the provider’s official site then it’s more than likely a scam.

Why is application security important?

Application security is increasingly important now that most organisations need to access documents, software and various applications from anywhere, at any time. As a result, more cloud-based solutions are being used which subsequently increases vulnerabilities to security threats and breaches. Now more than ever there is increasing pressure to not only ensure security at the network level but also within applications themselves.

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Static testing analyses code at fixed points, which typically occurs during the development phase. This type of analysis can detect defects such as numerical errors, input validation, path traversals, pointers, references and more.

Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST)

Dynamic testing can simulate attacks on production systems. Consequently, it can reveal more complex attack patterns and identify security counteract solutions.

Interactive Testing

This form of testing combines both static testing (SAST) and dynamic testing (DAST).

Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST)

MAST is designed specifically for mobile environments; it examines how a potential attacker can leverage the mobile OS and other apps running on them in order to pose a threat.