While developing software, most companies often don’t take into account the security of the application and how to protect their user’s data. With the growth in digital payments and IoT, application security is now even more crucial for software companies. This is where security testing comes in. Security testing services basically refer to the entire spectrum of services that ensure the flawless functioning of the app in an environment where all the potential vulnerabilities have been evaluated, identified, and mitigated. These services are now provided by the security testing company as well, which dedicatedly aim at the evaluation of vulnerability, integrity, authenticity, confidentiality, and safety of the data.
Over a period of time, things have changed and evolved. With the arrival of the latest technologies and learnings in security testing, black hat hackers have also evolved at an equivalent pace. It is thus more important for our modern-day security tester and security testing companies to stay ahead in this never-ending race to optimal security.
In this article, we will look into some of the security testing trends in 2020
1- Payment Card Industry Security
Almost all of the software companies have payment methods integrated into the application. The companies that accept cards as payment modes have to follow strict compliances. These organizations have to follow a few guidelines which include:
Software testers or software testing companies make sure that the software program has a strong security network by doing vulnerability scanning and penetration testing services. These prevent black-hat hackers from accessing the control system, therefore minimizing the risk of data theft.
Vulnerability testing simply defines the process of detecting those vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers. They detect issues with web servers, email clients, POS, and web browsers. This makes sure that the sensitive data of cards is secure and doesn’t get stolen.
2- Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to Prevent Security Threats
Artificial Intelligence enables a machine to learn from its own experience, implement the learnings, and perform those tasks which require extensive human effort and processing large amounts of data. Machine learning, on the other hand, is a subset of AI and it enables the system to learn, identify, and make decisions.
AI & ML are now used extensively in vulnerability and penetration testing by the software testing companies. Software testing companies are using both to achieve better testing results.
It must be taken into account that AI cannot replace human intervention. It can massively impact certain phases of penetration testing and the data gathered can be used to make the software more robust and reliable.
3- Cloud Security Testing
It is now 2020 and the usage of cloud platforms is now inevitable, which makes it necessary to do cloud-based security testing. By using cloud services, companies can minimize high maintenance costs and can manage the use of resources according to their needs. This comes at the cost of threats like a data breach, data loss, insecure third-party plugins, or APIs. To make sure that the cloud-based platform is secure, software testing companies use a number of testing methods to make sure that the platform is free of vulnerabilities.
4- Internet of Things Security
The internet of Things is a network of connected devices, each with a unique identifier that automatically collects and exchanges data over a network. IoT devices are now being used in multiple sectors and industries, including consumer applications, business applications, and governmental applications. These applications are now in billions. The increased number of these devices has led to increased scrutiny of the inherent security issues.
These devices have vast amounts of data and if they are improperly secured, the data is vulnerable to theft. The data contains much personal information. What’s more, vulnerable devices can be used as gateways to other areas of the network they are deployed on, allowing for more sensitive data to be extracted.
Software companies need to do rigorous testing to make sure that there is no loophole in the software that is being run on IoT devices.
Conclusion:
With the increase in technology, the need to do security testing has also increased. Security testing is one space that stays in a constant state of flux, one method trying to outrun the other. No one rule can keep the software safe and protected, you need to keep it updated and keep your security testing in-sync with the latest technologies. If you don’t have the resources or the budget, you can always hire a professional security company to do the job.