With the growing number of online security threats and evolving nature of data breaches, the challenges involved in maintaining website security parameters keep advancing as well. For instance, if you download, run and install a product from a website and expect to get a report highlighting its vulnerabilities, you are probably wrong.

The right automated application security testing tools should be able to let you play around with the configurations so that you can adjust them for your website.

Here are some of the common challenges faced by application security testing tools:

Script Parsing

Flash, XML and JavaScript, all have come a long way since they were first introduced. They continue to become complicated, presenting a set of unique challenges when it comes to testing them for security.

Code isn’t as simple anymore. It now contains conditional behavior based on user preferences, website environments, dynamic links, etc. The download code is likely to change frequently depending on the function performed and the order of those functions as well.

Logical Flow

There are many websites that still require users to navigate in a certain order before enabling them to use a function. The right example would be the checkout page across most ecommerce websites.

Many websites still rely on crawlers that fetch a page, identify links and fetch them without the idea of actually filling a cart before checking out. These websites bring a set of unique challenges when it comes to testing them for security.

Sessions State Management

Perhaps some of the most complicated problems are faced in session state management. Websites use cookies and different tracking mechanisms to track user identity and activity. For vendors, this can be quite difficult considering that developers implement session tracking systems in their own way.

One common problem automated application security testing tools face is staying logged onto the website. When an attack is sent against application parameters it may end up logging out the tool. Another problem is when multiple requests for sharing a session token are sent simultaneously. They often invalidate themselves and you need to send them manually. The drawback of sending one request at a time takes up a lot of effort and might not be practical in some cases.

As the leading web application security and penetration testing service provider in Australia, we understand all of these challenges and work our way around them proactively.

Over the past years, we have helped countless number of clients stay vigilant, and safeguarded them from hacks and breaches. Get in touch with us to discuss your needs and find out how we can help.