Security Testing Tools and Techniques: Choosing the Right Solutions for Your Organization

Serena Gray
3 min readJul 13, 2023

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The IT infrastructure, software products and applications can be protected against software vulnerabilities and malicious attacks through the tactical implementation of security testing tools. Network assets can be automatically detected by many platforms so that developers and security professionals can stay ahead of cyber threats.

The security testing strategy should be well prepared and security testing tools should be properly prioritized in order to effectively implement the security testing practices. In this article, you will get to know about the various tools and techniques of security testing.

What is security testing?

It is a testing method that verifies whether a software product, application, system or network has security-related weaknesses or vulnerabilities present in it. It identifies those issues and vulnerabilities and then fixes them. The platform of security testing tools can be leveraged to scale up the efficiency of security testing activities.

Security testing tools:

1. NMAP: The expansion of NMAP is “Network Mapper.” It is an open-source utility tool for network discovery, security auditing and network exploration. Large networks were rapidly scanned, although it works against single hosts. It is considered one of the best security testing tools.

2. Nikto: It is an open-source penetration testing software through which detailed tests on web servers can be easily conducted and it is capable of identifying approximately 7000 malicious applications and files.

3. Metasploit: It provides specific information about security vulnerabilities and aids in IDS signature development and penetration testing. Information about security vulnerabilities that are being used by penetration testers is provided by the project. The correct configuration of the network’s devices is also ensured.

4. OpenVAS: It is a vulnerability scanner through which the network infrastructure’s complete vulnerability scan is performed. It is available in free and paid versions. It can quickly and efficiently conduct automated vulnerability scanning and it can be constantly updated.

5. Zed Attack Proxy: It is an open-source penetration testing tool through which a variety of vulnerabilities can be detected within web apps. The user interface of this tool can be easily navigated.

Security testing techniques:

1. Risk assessment: The security risks that are aligned with various assets within a network or an application is identified and mitigated.

2. Secure code review: An application’s source code is tested for security flaws that are associated with style guidelines, spec implementation, logic and other activities. The team can opt for a manual code review or an automated code review. A combined approach can also be used in certain scenarios wherein both manual and automated code reviews are incorporated.

3. Security audit: This technique combines manual penetration testing and automated vulnerability scanning to create an in-detail report depicting the hidden vulnerabilities in the network, application or site. Structured information about vulnerabilities and their possible business impact is provided in the form of a detailed report.

4. Security posture assessment: The network’s security posture ascertains its resilience in the event of cyber security threats. It describes how well-equipped your network, app or website is to defend itself. All the different security testing methodologies are combined by the cyber security posture assessment to conduct a comprehensive assessment of your network.

5. Vulnerability scanning: It is a specific automated process that is used by security engineers so that the vulnerabilities in a network, application or website are properly identified. Intrusive vulnerability scan, non-intrusive vulnerability scan, internal vulnerability scan and external vulnerability scan are some of the important aspects of vulnerability scanning.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing security testing for your specific project, then do get connected with a premium software testing services in uk that will provide you with a viable testing strategy that is precisely in line with your project specific requirements.

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Serena Gray
Serena Gray

Written by Serena Gray

I work as a Senior Testing Specialist at TestingXperts. I am a testing professional accustomed to working in a complex, project-based environment.

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