How does Security Testing help in validating the Healthcare Ecosystem

 

The healthcare ecosystem’s dependence on digital technologies to deliver better services to patients and other stakeholders has made it vulnerable to security threats. If statistics are to be believed then healthcare companies across the world are going to cough up a whopping $6 trillion in damages due to security breaches in 2020 (Source: PhoenixNAP.) Modern-day healthcare applications store sensitive patients’ data, which has often led to medical identity theft necessitating the need for rigorous software application security testing. The critical patients’ data may include identity details, payment information, bank account details, history of morbidity, and insurance details, among others. The breach of any of this information can be lethal and devastating, both for the patients and the healthcare facility. 

Why is the healthcare security system important?

Cybercriminals are targeting critical patient information to steal identities using methods or tools like phishing, malware, or ransomware. To pre-empt such attacks a robust application security testing strategy needs to be put in place with the following guidelines.

•  Top-most priority to be given to ensure security for the vital facets

•  The application security testing methodology should remodel the framework for data security, verification, audit logging, and many more

• The other aspects of security testing would include business logic testing, data validation testing, session management testing, DOS testing, Ajax testing, configuration management testing, and OWASP   testing to check for vulnerabilities such as SQL injection and XSS.

What are the types of healthcare security testing?

Security testing covers a range of tests to verify and validate the robustness of the healthcare application and its ability to fend off various security threats.

Penetration testing: In this type of testing, ethical hackers try to gain entry into the healthcare application by exploiting its vulnerabilities. The process performed manually or using automated testing, gathers information about the application in terms of the possible entry points. Thereafter, the hacker attempts to break into the application and verifies its level of system protection.

Application-level testing: Also known as app-level testing, the technique ensures the software application doesn’t execute any malicious actions. Here, specific security-related scenarios are validated by conducting functional testing.

DDoS testing: In this type of interactive application security testing, simulated DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks are conducted with real traffic to understand the level of protection offered by the application to thwart DDoS attacks.

Security code review: It mitigates potential security vulnerabilities in the software code early on and prevents costly and time-consuming fixes later. It serves as a final review to check the application’s safety before launch.

How does software application security testing benefit the healthcare domain

Security testing for the healthcare domain gives insight into the robustness of the healthcare application and its ability to face cyber threats. The benefits of employing software application security testing include:

Protecting PHI: This type of testing Identifies and fixes all vulnerabilities associated with Protected Health Information (PHI) and checks if PHI complies with the HIPAA standards.

Data storage validation: It checks if the data storage mechanism, in encrypted or plain-text form, is safe and secure. Besides, it analyses the security solution, encryption methods, and data management techniques and helps to detect any security issues with the application’s database.

Data transmission validation: Software applications transmit data across cloud, mobile devices, and email, which should be properly encrypted to prevent any unauthorized access at any stage.

Identity validation: Detects vulnerable access points that could be exploited by hackers, especially the areas covering identity management. The software application security testing helps to mitigate any breach of patient privacy and strengthen the mechanism for identity management.

Risk assessment before deployment: Once the application with security-related vulnerabilities is deployed, it may cause havoc in the form of security breaches. The application security testing services offer the opportunity to identify and fix all security-related vulnerabilities in the application. This ensures the application is bereft of any security issue and protects the customer from carrying out any type of financial transaction.

Builds trust and confidence: Security testing ensures the application is compliant with the HIPAA standard. This helps to build the trust of your clients in the application and boost its brand equity.

Conclusion

The cybersecurity dimension is expanding at a phenomenal rate coupled with growing incidences of security breaches. To restore customer confidence and prevent such incidences, healthcare security testing should be conducted rigorously.

Strengthening your Web Application Security with Software Testing

There has been a move towards building web applications given the rising cost of mobile applications. However, one thing has remained unchanged – of according low priority to web application security testing. The consequences are quick and dire with cybercriminals targeting such applications confidently. Companies like Monsanto, Ebay, and Target, among many others bore the brunt of security breaches. The situation is not getting under control but rather worsening with each passing day.

It appears the hackers are finding it easy to break into applications and databases at will and decamping with the stolen data. If analysed properly, part of the problem seems to lie with the enterprises themselves. Their obsession with releasing web applications quickly and get ahead of the block is leaving vulnerabilities and glitches go unchecked. In fact, software application security testing is often overlooked in favor of app management, code development, and visual design.

So, as an enterprise if your priority is to be commercial with web applications, then web application security testing needs to be the priority and not an afterthought. Let us first understand the consequences of not making dynamic application security testing an integral part of the SDLC.

·       Resident vulnerabilities can remain unchecked, which are exploited by hackers

·       Breaches occur leading to a loss of sensitive customer and business data and information

·       Enterprises may fall foul of regulatory bodies by not complying with mandatory protocols/regulations

·       Enterprises may face lawsuits from affected parties (customers and clients) and served penalties causing huge financial outgo

·       Brand name takes a hit, sometimes irretrievably

To pre-empt your organization from being at the receiving end of such attacks, you should strengthen the security of web applications or for that matter any software during development. Let us understand how by applying a robust application security testing methodology the security of web applications can be strengthened.

Strengthening web application security with software testing

The importance of testing cannot be glossed over any further and should be applied in letter and spirit. This can strengthen your application’ security mechanism and make it impervious to cyber-attacks.

·       Penetration testing to identify the loopholes: You must know how hackers can attack your web application. This will provide you with insights on the ways to strengthen security. So, conduct penetration testing wherein professional QA testers shall attack the application to identify its loopholes or vulnerabilities. However, conduct such a testing in an isolated environment. The security penetration testing can help you learn more about the following:

o   Cross-site scripting

o   Cross-site request forgery attacks

o   SQL injection attacks

o   Broken authentication

o   Insecure deserialization

·       Keep a backup: It is always a good idea to keep a backup of your data. So, post any cyber-attack scenario when you need to have your website go live once again, the backup data will come in handy. No need to describe the scenario where there is no backup and a malware attack strips everything clean leaving the organization tottering on the brink.

·       Implement DevSecOps: With DevOps implementation, enterprises aim at building a CI/CD pipeline where both Development (along with QA) and Operations work in close coordination and collaboration. This can be further strengthened with DevSecOps where ‘Sec or Security’ is made part of the whole system. Enterprises need to mandatorily follow a culture wherein security becomes everyone’s responsibility and not just of the QA team. As an application security testing strategy employees should scrupulously follow the Risk and Compliance manual and do not inadvertently divulge password or other details.

·       Encryption is a must: Any web application has several APIs connecting various modules to third-party applications. These can be the entry points for hackers to get into the application and siphon off sensitive business and customer information. So, all conduits for data transmission within and outside the application should be encrypted. The same can be verified through software application security testing.

·       Use SSL Encryption or HTTPS: Use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TSL (Transport Layer Security) protocol to encrypt information in your login pages. These can protect sensitive information such as debit/credit card numbers, login details, or social security numbers, among others from falling into the hands of hackers. In addition, many browsers flag certain websites or web applications without HTTPS as insecure thereby preventing potential users from accessing them.

Conclusion

The security testing of web applications is of prime importance, like any other software, as it will help enterprises to secure their deliverables and earn trust from the end customers. In the competitive world of business, it is trust that will keep any company in good stead vis-à-vis its equation with customers and competitors.