Owing to the ubiquity, ease of access, cost effectiveness and provision of service, the Web Application has emerged as a driving force of adoption. With the advent of web 2.0 and web 3.0 technologies, web application has evolved to be more advanced, quicker in response times. Today Web Applications are more functional and flexible, which increases their value to business operations. It is this wide acceptability and adaptability of web applications that make them an enticing target for malicious users. The increasing complexity and use of new technologies has opened doors to greater and more devastating security risks. To address these security threats and to prevent the associated negative consequences, companies need frequent and thorough web application penetration testing.

Web Application Penetration Testing (WAPT) is a legally authorized, non-functional assessment of a given web application, carried out to identify loopholes or weaknesses, otherwise known as vulnerabilities. WAPT should be carried out in a phased manner, like Information Gathering phase, Planning and Analysis phase, Vulnerability Assessment phase, Attack/ Penetration phase, and Reporting phase. This approach to testing helps ensure optimum coverage and at the same time simulate the fluid actions of a real time hacker.

In light of the growing numbers of web applications, advancements in technology employed by web applications, the constant evolution of features in web applications, and the frequent discovery of new vulnerabilities, the preferred way of ensuring security in web applications is to include security testing as part of the SDLC. However, the reality is that the ease of developing a web application and the focus on functionality and user interface has pushed security testing to the background if it happens at all. Nonetheless, Web Application Penetration Testing should be an integral part of the roll-out and life cycle of every web application.

Performance Failures = Lost Revenue

The appalling news of performance failure leading to loss of revenue, emerging every now and then creates a chill in the spine. The reason, in a single word is ‘negligence’.  The reluctance to define performance requirements usually comes from: lack of understanding the performance requirements, time constraints, limited budget, non-existent or incomplete performance specifications and ownership of systems which is not understood. All that we need to do at this juncture is, curb these.

Performance Goals and their importance

The first step in this regard is to realize the Performance Goals and their importance. To achieve the goals we need to describe considerations for a systems performance, break down performance goals into tasks and then emphasize the importance of making performance goals part of the IT software requirements definition.

Planning the performance goals should be the second move. In this stratum we need to realize the performance requirements in terms of Consumer Requirements, Data, Traffic and Business, plan the Requirements Phases and Responsibilities, and assign the roles and responsibilities accordingly.

Inter team communication is the third move, wherein the objectives should be set and requirements defined,  but sometimes the business needs change. Note that the key to successful implementation of performance testing is continual communication among team members – manage change accordingly, because an effective mechanism of communication and collaboration allows the team to make good performance related decisions, whilst changes are easy to make. The methods you use to communicate plans, priorities and changes are not that important as long as you are able to adapt those changes without requiring significant re-work.

But before sorting out anything, we need to have an anatomy of the process- the performance testing process, which includes, Requirements, Discovery, Test Planning, Automation, Testing, Measurements, Analysis and Tuning and Re-Testing.

With this skeletal in the planning schedule, both the product and the process emerge as flawless, hence giving a breath of relaxation.