Security Testing

Security testing evaluates the security of a software system or application by testing its security features, functions, and configurations — identifying and mitigating potential threats, vulnerabilities, and risks before they can be exploited.

Types of security testing

• Vulnerability testing — scanning the system for known vulnerabilities and security holes.
• Penetration testing — simulating an actual attack to identify exploitable vulnerabilities and assess existing defenses (see Penetration Testing for this in full).
• Authentication testing — verifying the strength of the authentication mechanism: password policy, encryption of credentials, and other login-security measures.
• Authorization testing — verifying access control actually restricts system access to authorized users and roles as intended.
• Encryption testing — verifying the effectiveness of the encryption algorithms and key management protecting sensitive data.
• Security configuration testing — testing the system's security- relevant configuration: network settings, user access controls, and patch/update status.

How these relate to each other

Penetration testing is one specific technique within the broader security-testing discipline — it simulates a real attack; the other types above are narrower, more targeted checks against a specific security dimension. A comprehensive security-testing program typically combines several of these rather than relying on any single one.

Common pitfalls

• Treating penetration testing as the whole security-testing program — a point-in-time pen test doesn't cover the same ground as ongoing vulnerability scanning, authentication/authorization review, and configuration checks.
• Testing authentication strength but not authorization scope — strong login security doesn't mean access control correctly restricts what an authenticated user can actually do; both need separate verification.
• Assuming encryption in transit implies encryption at rest, or vice versa — each needs to be verified independently; a system encrypting network traffic can still store sensitive data unencrypted on disk.
• No regular configuration review — a security configuration correct at launch can drift (an opened port, a disabled patch schedule) without ongoing checks.

Learn more

• Penetration Testing for the attack-simulation technique specifically.
• Compliance Testing for security verification scoped to named regulatory requirements.
• OWASP — widely-used public security-testing methodology and vulnerability references.