The Role of Automation in Security Testing

When automation is used in security testing, it helps in understanding to find out the specific security controls that are already present in the software product, application, website etc. These controls are then tested to know how they can get affected by input data and execution flow. Issues such as performance-hindering issues, input bugs, memory bugs etc., are identified and fixed by automated security tests. In this article, you will get to know the role of automation in security testing.

The tactical relevance between automation and security testing:

Carrying out automation in security testing is considered to be a strategic and wise move. Automation can be carried out for different security tests that may be conducted during the product development process. For example, a Static Code Analysis (SCA) mechanism can be integrated into the development environment directly, through which bug detection can be automated as code is written.

The code that has gone through additions and changes is analyzed automatically, so that potential security issues can be quickly identified by developers. There might be a slight delay (not always) in addressing problems. The only purpose of a developer when automation in security testing is being carried out is to verify the code and schedule a build. Of course, there may be instances where a developer might be needed for other scenarios.

Following are a few key points that depict the significance of automation in security testing:

• Production-ready applications for vulnerabilities are being scanned
• Security features such as authorization, authentication and auditing mechanisms are being verified
• Known security behaviors and weaknesses in code, such as weak encryption ciphers, are verified.

The strategic value of automated testing:

When the team is able to properly implement automated security testing, then in turn, it will help development organizations by identifying performance-hindering issues and unexpected software behaviors and detecting common bugs and fixing them. There are quite a few organizations that have incorporated DevOps practices and thus have already automated security testing throughout the software development process.

Development organizations need not worry about security aspects as it has been automated. Each product cannot be manually reviewed by development teams as they are overutilized, understaffed and also because a huge amount of code needs to be pumped out. Hence, the best option would be to align the security aspect with the automated workflows.

Benefits of automated security testing:

1. Enhanced quality lifecycle management: Product quality is becoming the foremost factor for determining the market value and sustainability of a product. All facets of reliability and quality are managed by teams efficiently through the tactical use of automated security testing. Hence, this test design that has a unified approach through continuous change management provides a way for accelerated quality testing.

2. Improved scalability: Businesses should be able to handle fluctuating market demands and should also be agile. Deployments can be made at a faster pace with automated security tools and are also considered to be extremely intuitive. Testing and development happen in tandem and hence the growing needs of the business can be met by the team adequately and tactfully.

Automated security testing best practices:

• A software audit is conducted to ascertain if there are any significant risks in the product. Security automation can be integrated into current workflows easily
• Integration of automation in security testing in the earlier stages of the development process will help in detecting and correcting bugs while the code is being written
• Every task cannot be identified. Hence, only those tasks that can be truly automated for optimal results need to be considered.

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing security testing for your specific software development project, then do get connected with a premium software testing company in United Kingdom that will provide you with feasible testing solutions along with tactical advice that is in line with your project specific requirements.