Everything to know about Penetration Testing

Advancements in technology have taken over the world. One can experience the changes bought by technological innovation in almost every sphere of life. Everything around is influenced by technology. It has made our life easier and convenient. One such technological innovation that has benefitted both the business as well as the customer is the development of the mobile app.

Now almost every business uses the app for providing its various products and services to its customer. It has become a vital component in surviving today’s dynamic conditions. Mobile apps have helped the business in its growth. This is because mobile apps have resulted in greater accessibility thus widening the customer base of the enterprise. The businesses are now in a better place in bringing in more revenue than before. Mobile apps have changed the way businesses were earlier conducted. It has provided a convenient solution to the customer as they can avail of the services or buy products online via these mobile apps. These mobile apps also keep them updated with all the new information that otherwise they might miss. Thus it all leads to improved customer engagement and ultimately helps the businesses in building strong customer relations that go in the long run for the business. Also now businesses can cater to the needs of a large number of the customer thus helping them in grabbing all the opportunities. The benefits of mobile app development are a never-ending list. This is all thanks to the technical advancements. But these advancements can also be used to harm these mobile apps as well. The more advanced technologies are being used for security breaches and other unethical purposes.

Many businesses suffer on account of security breaches. This is because these apps consist of valuable information about the business as well as the customer which on the wrong hand can cause huge damages to both parties. Developing a mobile app is not the only task that the business must focus on. Businesses need to ensure that their mobile app is strong and secure enough to handle various vulnerabilities and other technical issues as well. Many businesses fail to recognize this issue on time and by the time when they realized it, it is already too late. One needs to protect its business from attacks. They need a foolproof plan to counter the hacker attacks. Penetration Testing is an important key to ensure that your mobile app can withstand various issues.

Penetration testing implies checking various vulnerabilities that a mobile app may incur that make it security breaches and another malicious attack possible. Therefore its basic purpose is to check the flaws in your mobile app that can cause severe to the business if not fixed on time. Penetration testing is run with the help of efficient software that helps in disclosing what is wrong with the mobile app and also checks how your mobile app will behave in different conditions. To do so, it is vital that the penetration testing acts as a hacker as then only it will able to see how secure the business mobile app is. It will give the true picture of the functioning of the mobile app. They need to think out of the box as only then one can find vulnerabilities that otherwise will go unnoticed but in long run can adversely impact the business.

Penetration testing involves four stages. These stages help to understand the methodology behind the penetration testing. These stages are discovery, assessment, exploitation, and finally reporting. These are explained as below:

• Discovery: Under the discovery stage the efforts are made by the penetration tester in understanding the events that can lead to the exploitation of the mobile apps. Here the hidden cues are looked at by understanding the business mobile app operations etc. for finding the existing vulnerabilities in the mobile apps.
• Assessment: This stage involves undergoing various mobile codes that will help the tester to locate various weak points of the mobile apps that can be taken advantage of by hackers. The tester checks the application before as well as after the installation to get all the required detail.
• Exploitation: This stage where all the information gathered and vulnerabilities identified in the first two stages are taken advantage of to find out how the mobile app responds. This involves exploiting the mobile apps at their weakest points in the same way some other hacker might do so. This is the crucial step as it discloses how secure one’s business mobile app is.
• Reporting: This is the final stage in the penetration testing methodology. Under this tester reports their finding in the best possible way to the business that makes it easier for them to understand the issues related to the mobile app. A complete discussion takes place to find the best possible solutions to secure the mobile app.

These 4 stages complete the whole process of penetration testing. This involves a high level of advanced tools and expertise to perform this testing otherwise one may never find where their mobile app is lacking in terms of security protocols. Penetration testing is therefore something one cannot ignore. It is a must for every business developing a mobile app. There are various benefits of this testing. Some of these include:

• Prevents Attacks: Penetration testing min aim is to find out the flaws with mobile apps soon enough so that corrective actions are taken on time. This ensures the safety and security of mobile apps from future attacks. It helps the business to predict future attacks effectively thus help in preparing mobile apps to tackle such issues.
• No Worry: By implementing such testing, the business can go ahead with its mobile apps without any worry. This is because it is one of the essential tests that mobile apps are required to pass to ensure security. With this stress, businesses can stop worrying about the fear of malicious attacks.
• Builds Confidence: The penetration testing also helps in building the confidence of various parties in the business. This is because one tends to trust those businesses where they are sure of the security and safety of valuable information. And by penetration testing, one can ensure and also work on the security concerns of their apps.

These are some of the benefits that help in explaining the importance of penetration testing.