Many industries have regulatory requirements that mandate regular security assessments to help safeguard sensitive data. Penetration tests are key in this regard. These assessments not only identify and address vulnerabilities, but also help companies strengthen their overall security posture, reduce the risk of cyberattacks, and data breaches while demonstrating compliance with relevant regulations.
Conducting penetration tests of Application Programing Interfaces (API) security and web applications are both important in safeguarding systems, data, and user privacy in the ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. However, over the past few years, I have noticed increasing confusion when it comes to scoping out a proper web application assessment. Many assume a simple web application assessment needs to be conducted although the web application mainly consists of API calls and very little parameters and input on the web applications.
Below we’ll explore how to look at web application and API security in a different way so they can be scoped appropriately and discuss ways to test APIs so you can take advantage of web applications.
API security testing
API security testing involves looking at vulnerabilities that could be exploited by cyber attackers. Conducting security assessments helps uncover weaknesses in the API implementation, API endpoints, configuration, authentication mechanisms, data validation processes or communication protocols that could lead to data breaches, unauthorized access, interruption of services or other security incidents and vulnerabilities.
Since APIs often handle sensitive data and perform crucial functions, they are attractive targets for malicious actors, making it critical to conduct security testing of APIs. They are crucial in web applications as they allow different software systems to communicate with each other. APIs define the methods and data formats that applications use to exchange information, and enable developers to access specific data from a web application without needing to understand its internal workings.
Web application testing
Web application penetration tests are essential for companies to identify and mitigate potential security vulnerabilities in their web applications. Penetration tests help companies uncover security weaknesses in their web applications that could be exploited by malicious actors. Web applications often handle sensitive data such as customer information, financial data, and intellectual property. This helps ensure this data is adequately protected from unauthorized access or data breaches.
Web application testing involves analyzing application code and configurations to identify potential vulnerabilities to help safeguard against attacks and strengthen the application’s defenses against cyber threats. This type of testing focuses on the security of the web application itself, including its front-end and back-end components, databases, and server configurations.
Penetration testing of web applications is necessary to proactively identify and address security vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. Penetration testers can uncover weaknesses in the application code, configuration, or architecture that may not be apparent throughout traditional security assessments or security designs.
Both of these methods help organizations understand their security posture, prioritize remediation efforts, and strengthen their defenses against potential threats. Security assessments also help companies comply with regulatory requirements, build customer trust, and safeguard sensitive data from unauthorized access or manipulation.
The CyberOne team looks at API testing as an independent form of penetrating testing and unique skill set. It includes a similar methodology as a typical web application penetration test but differs in tools used as well as understanding the application and functionality of APIs. Our typical approach is to gather as much information about the API, its functionality, and expected use with the development teams and test all the functionality as a normal user unauthenticated as well as authenticated with proper API tokens and documentation.
APIs do not behave as normal web application parameters and require the pentester to understand what the correct parameters and data it expects to receive. A lot of common web application fuzzing tools will not work effectively or at all as most APIs require proper authentication tokens as well as JSON data sent in the requests to properly get the API to make a successful request.
CyberOne’s proven methodology effectively uncovers common API vulnerabilities such as excessive data exposures and misconfigured authentication mechanisms. Modern enterprises dependencies on REST API’s mandate their inclusion in risk assessment and testing rate limiting, Access Control issues, misconfigured authentication mechanisms and just to name a few. To conduct assessments on your security environment, contact us today.
About the Author
Rey Nieves, Sr. Adversarial Engineer
