Web application security testing is a critical part of any business's digital strategy. It helps businesses maintain a high level of customer trust and ensures that their business operations don't suffer a loss of accessibility or unexpected downtime due to cyber attacks.

It also protects against regulatory compliance penalties. Regular assessments identify potential flaws and help businesses avoid costly repairs or replacements that can be the result of a data breach.

1. URL Manipulation

Web application security testing is essential to secure sensitive data & protect your business. Without security testing, a vulnerable web application could be compromised leading to cyber attacks or data breaches.

URL Manipulation is a common form of attack that hackers use to probe a website for vulnerabilities. Hackers alter a website’s URL query string to try to get access to information such as usernames and passwords, or to carry out malicious actions on a browser.

It’s also a common method for hackers to redirect users without their knowledge or “trap” them in a certain website. Other popular URL manipulation techniques include directory traversal, where the attacker modifies the path in a URL to force a server to deliver content that is not normally available.

2. Cross-Site Scripting (XSS)

Cross-site scripting (XSS) is one of the most common vulnerabilities in web applications. XSS is ranked number 3 on the Open Web Application Security Project’s list of top 10 most prevalent vulnerabilities, and it continues to be a serious concern for website owners and developers.

In most cases, XSS is the result of user input being passed through a web-server or web application without proper escaping and validation. This can happen at any point where the application receives user input and processes it to display output.

There are several types of XSS vulnerabilities, including reflected XSS and stored XSS. Reflected XSS is most commonly found in HTML form fields, such as search fields and comment threads. Stored XSS is more prevalent in web-based applications, such as WordPress and Joomla.

3. SQL Injection

SQL Injection is one of the most common and potentially harmful attacks against web applications. It allows hackers to read, modify, or delete sensitive information from a database.

Moreover, it allows hackers to perform administrative operations on a database such as voiding transactions and deleting records. This can cause significant impact to the application’s operation.

SQL injection vulnerabilities are a major concern for web application security testing. They can affect any web application that uses a SQL-based database.

4. Secure Data Storage

Data security is a key component of web application security testing. It requires diligently enforcing user roles and rights, making sure that only authorized users can access or utilize data they are allowed to.

It also requires encrypting sensitive data prior to storing it in a database or elsewhere. This is to protect against unauthorized access and theft of personal information or sensitive business data.

A comprehensive data storage security strategy is essential for a business to ensure that all of its on-premises, external data centers and cloud infrastructure and the data that it stores are secure against accidental or deliberate damage, destruction, or unauthorized access. The best data storage security solutions incorporate a wide range of safeguards including traffic profiling, monitoring and reporting, user and entity behavior analysis (UEBA), and strong encryption algorithms.

5. Secure Data Transfer

Secure Data Transfer is an important feature of a web application, as it ensures the safety of sensitive data. It also helps to avoid security breaches.

One way to secure data is through SSL encryption. It works by encrypting the data as it travels through a network, using the latest TLS 1.2 protocol.

Another technique is to encrypt the data before it is transferred. This ensures that it cannot be viewed by anyone but the person with the correct credentials.

SQL injection vulnerabilities are a major concern for web applications. These flaws allow attackers to gain access to the server database and steal sensitive information.