How to Set up and Manage Secure Application Security Testing (AST) Procedures

Setting up and managing secure Application Security Testing (AST) procedures is essential for identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities in software applications. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you establish and maintain effective AST procedures:

1. Define AST Objectives and Scope

• Identify Goals: Determine the primary objectives of your AST program, such as identifying and prioritizing vulnerabilities, ensuring compliance with security standards, and improving overall application security posture.
• Scope Definition: Clearly define the scope of AST activities, including the types of applications to be tested (web applications, mobile apps, APIs, etc.), testing methodologies (static analysis, dynamic analysis, interactive testing), and the frequency of testing.

2. Select AST Tools and Technologies

• Research AST Tools: Evaluate and select appropriate AST tools and technologies based on your organization's requirements, budget, and technical expertise.
• Consideration Factors: Consider factors such as supported programming languages and frameworks, integration capabilities with existing development and CI/CD pipelines, reporting features, and scalability.

3. Integrate AST into the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)

• Shift Left Approach: Implement a "shift-left" approach by integrating AST activities early in the SDLC, starting from the requirements and design phase through development, testing, and deployment.
• Automated Testing: Automate AST processes as much as possible to streamline testing workflows and ensure consistent coverage across applications and code changes.
• Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Pipeline Integration: Integrate AST tools into CI/CD pipelines to perform automated security scans as part of the build and deployment process.

4. Establish Testing Policies and Procedures

• Create Testing Policies: Develop AST policies and procedures that outline roles and responsibilities, testing methodologies, testing frequency, vulnerability classification criteria, remediation timelines, and escalation processes.
• Standardize Testing Practices: Standardize AST practices across development teams to ensure consistency and adherence to security standards and best practices.

5. Conduct Regular AST Activities

• Static Analysis: Perform static analysis (SAST) to identify security vulnerabilities in the application's source code and dependencies. Analyze code for common issues such as injection flaws, insecure authentication, and access control vulnerabilities.
• Dynamic Analysis: Conduct dynamic analysis (DAST) to assess the security of running applications by simulating real-world attacks. Test for vulnerabilities such as injection flaws, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insecure direct object references.
• Interactive Testing: Employ interactive testing (IAST) techniques to analyze applications in real-time during runtime. Monitor application behavior for security vulnerabilities and provide actionable insights to developers.
• Manual Testing: Supplement automated testing with manual testing conducted by skilled security professionals to identify complex security issues and business logic vulnerabilities that automated tools may miss.

6. Prioritize and Remediate Vulnerabilities

• Vulnerability Prioritization: Prioritize identified vulnerabilities based on their severity, exploitability, and potential impact on the application and organization.
• Remediation Planning: Develop remediation plans for addressing identified vulnerabilities, including assigning ownership, setting deadlines, and implementing necessary fixes.
• Collaboration with Development Teams: Foster collaboration between security teams and development teams to ensure timely and effective remediation of security issues.

7. Monitor and Improve AST Program

• Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor AST activities and metrics to track progress, identify trends, and measure the effectiveness of security controls.
• Incident Response: Establish incident response procedures to promptly address security incidents or breaches identified through AST activities.
• Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and update AST policies, procedures, and tools to adapt to evolving threats, technologies, and business requirements.

By following these steps and best practices, you can establish and manage secure Application Security Testing (AST) procedures to proactively identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities in software applications, thereby enhancing overall security posture and reducing the risk of security breaches.