here are a few questions to consider if you’re in the market for an application penetration test.
What is the primary objective of the penetration test?
Are you concerned about specific vulnerabilities (e.g., OWASP Top 10), regulatory compliance (e.g., GDPR, PCI DSS), or general security hygiene? This information would help us tailor the scope of the test.
What type of application do you want to test?
Whether your application is mobile, desktop, web- or cloud-based, each require a different testing methodologies, tools and expertise. Knowing the type of application would help us prepare the right approach and resources for your pentest.
Is the application live, in development or in a staging environment?
Testing on live production environments may require extra caution to avoid disrupting business operations, while development or staging environments may allow more aggressive testing techniques.
Do you have any specific compliance requirements or industry regulations to meet?
Some industries, like healthcare, finance, or e-commerce, have specific regulatory standards (e.g., HIPAA, PCI DSS). Understanding the requirements would be helpful for determining the necessary depth and scope of the test.
What are the critical features or assets of the application?
Identifying critical areas, such as payment processing, user authentication, or sensitive data handling, would allow our testers to determine what to prioritize in the penetration testing process.
How many user roles exist, and what types of access to do they have?
Different user roles (e.g., admin, standard user, guest) often have different permissions. Testing for role-based access control (RBAC) vulnerabilities can reveal privilege escalation or unauthorized access risks.
Are there any known vulnerabilities or previous security incidents?
Understanding past issues helps focus on areas that may have been problematic before and ensures any previously identified vulnerabilities are retested to verify if they have been properly remediated.
What third-party integrations or external APIs does your application rely on?
Third-party services or APIs can introduce vulnerabilities into an otherwise secure application. Testing their security is crucial, especially if they handle sensitive data or critical functionality.
What level of access will you provide to the testers?
Different penetration testing approaches affect the depth and type of testing. Black-box access: The tester is provided with no knowledge. Gray-box access: The tester is provided with partial knowledge. White-box access: The tester has full access. The choice impacts the duration, complexity, and outcomes of the test.
Do you have any specific security controls or technologies already in place (e.g., firewalls, WAFs, encryption)?
Understanding existing security measures, like firewalls, WAFS and encryption, helps tailor the test to avoid false positives and determine which controls to bypass or test more thoroughly. For example, one could test if encryption is properly implemented or if the WAF can be bypassed).
Bonus Questions
What is your anticipated timeline for the test and reporting?
A timeline would help us align expectations for how long the test will take, when results are needed, and if there are any time constraints.
Do you have a remediation process in place for identified vulnerabilities?
A remediation process would ensure that you’re prepared to act on the findings from the penetration test to improve the security posture of the application.