Finding an App Testing Provider: Top Questions You Need to Ask

Does your company deploy applications? Do you test them? Did you know that you should? App testing is not new, but many companies don’t do it. Here’s what you should know before you deploy and after every upgrade.

What Is It?

Penetration testing, or “pen testing,” is an attempt to defeat you application’s security features. During a pen test, testers will employ several methods to defeat your app’s security features and defences. Testers may bring in special hardware, use software, or use social engineering to test your company’s, and your app’s, ability to resist various forms of attack.

There are many tutorials out there online to help you to learn how to identify potential threats, but the only way to actually “battle test” your app is to have someone try to hack it.

Hardware may include computer systems with special hardware or software installed. When social engineering is employed, the white hat attacker may try to gain access to app security by courting employees, trying to gain access to various areas within the company, get codes, usernames, and passwords so that no “brute force” or sophisticated hacking strategies are necessary.

For example, a social engineering tactic might involve the white hat attacker posing as IT personnel, showing up to perform a routine maintenance job.

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Employees will be tested on their ability to resist outside individuals from gaining access to in-house data centers, employees’ computers, and sensitive company information that could allow an app to be compromised.

Before you hire a service provider, however, you should be ready to ask some tough questions.

What Type Of Test Do You Do?

The right vendor will understand your testing needs and will only use testing that’s appropriate for your goals. For example, if your goal is to test the security of your application, the tester won’t focus on gaining access to other parts of the business.

So, if you have any vulnerabilities in your network, but those wouldn’t affect your app, the tester would leave those alone and not test them.

When Will I Find Out About The Vulnerabilities And How To Fix Them?

It’s not enough to find problems. You want to know what your service provider will do to fix those issues.

Classic application testing involves simply running tests and handing out reports. But, security-focused companies will go one step further. They will help you fix any vulnerabilities they find.

How Easy Is It To Run Tests?

Dig into the nitty-gritty details of the tests to be performed.

Coordinate with your tester beforehand to confirm testing resources. Specify which applications you want tested and the type of tests that will be run on each. Also confirm how many people can request tests for your company or organization.

As your business grows, you may need to test more applications or have tests run more frequently – especially if your apps store customer data like credit card information.

Ask how well the company’s testing process scales and whether potential future testing needs can be met.