With the increasing digital landscape, the threat of cyber-attacks is constantly on the rise. Especially in software development sectors, the chance of cyber attacks is more obvious. As each type of industry, from health care to the education sector, is constantly relying on software applications, the demand for security testing services is growing exponentially.
According to a report published in 2023 by Cybersecurity Ventures, global cybercrime cost is expected to reach 9.5 Trillion USD in 2024, among which ransomware will be considered as the most vulnerable threat. While talking about other types of rising cyber threats they are phishing, DDoS, distributed denial of service, APTs, etc.
So, in this blog post, we will understand rising cyber threats, their impact on the software industry, how to perform security testing, benefits, and many more.
The Rising Threat Landscape
The evolution of cyber threats started with a common computer virus in the early 1970s. However, it was not gaining its momentum till it reached 1980. The first virus in the history of cyber threats is Creeper, which was found in the ARPANET program in the 1970s. Then, in 1982, another virus emerged, which was known as” Elk Kloner.”
In 1986, the malware started rising. The first malware is “Brain,” which is the first IBM PC-compatible virus. During the 1990s, when people were adapting to the internet, cyber threats started growing. “Morris Worm,” developed in 1988, got its momentum in the 1990s. Other viruses or worms in this era include Melissa in 1999, and I Love You in 2000, which was also known as a phishing attack.
Afterward, in the 2000s, the era of targeted cyber attacks came to the market. During this period, Botnets and DDoS attacked many websites and caused several dollars in losses. In the middle of 2000, APTs or advanced persistent threats attacked different sectors for a prolonged period.
In 2017, different Ransomware viruses, such as “Wannacry,” attacked several computers in 150 countries.
After that, cyber crime continued to rise. The threats have reached AI-driven cyber threats and cyber warfare till now. All of these cyber threats heavily affected many sectors, including software industries.
Impact On the Software Industry
Among all the sectors, software industries are highly affected by cyber attacks. Many security testing services have found the following losses to software industries:
- Financial Losses: Many software industries are heavily affected by cyber attacks. Cyber attacks lead to delays in sales and product distribution. Because many companies hire cyber experts at that time to fix the problems, it costs them more.
- Damage To Reputation And Trust: Cyber attacks can badly affect the software industry’s reputation because clients lose their trust in the company’s authenticity and security system.
- Regulatory And Legal Consequences: The software industries face regulatory and legal actions from cyber courts. Because during cyber attacks, many client’s personal data and their website or application data get lost. So, they face several legal actions against data security.
What Is Cyber Security Testing?
A security testing company performs the testing services during software development. The company checks the developed software application to ensure it is free from vulnerabilities or any weaknesses.
A testing company checks the organization’s infrastructure and security system to ensure they are functioning well. If the company finds any weakness, it solves it to protect against any kind of data breaches or unwanted access to the system.
Types of Cyber Security Testing
A security testing services company offers you different types of testing services, such as:
- Penetration Testing- This helps determine real-world cyber attacks or any kind of vulnerabilities during software application development. It is performed through manual and automated tools.
- Vulnerability Scanning- This testing mostly refers to identifying any security vulnerabilities in a software system.
- Security Audits- The testing ensures that the security system of a software application complies with the security standard regulations.
- SAST/DAST- The SAST testing determines the potential threats in a software application before deployment. The DAST testing checks for vulnerabilities after the deployment.
- Read Teaming And Blue Teaming Exercises- These are cyber training exercises. These two tests help to determine live cyber attacks and provide solutions on how to tackle them.
Factors Driving The Growing Demand
Several factors help in the growing demand for cyber security and the role of a security testing company.
- Increased Frequency Of Cyber Attacks
Cyber-attacks have risen frequently in recent years, affecting many infrastructures. The biggest phishing attacks in MGM resorts lost about 100mn USD in 2023.
Other attacks are the Mr. Cooper Ransomeware attack, the Boieng attack, and the Dollar-Tree third-party breach, which led to several losses.
- Regulatory Compliance Requirements
As the cyber-attacks are continuously rising, state protection laws are becoming very strong. Some mandatory security assessment laws are CCPA, HIPAA, and GDPR.
The CCPA is mandatory for any kind of software application to comply with the protection of personal data selling or breaching. HIPAA security is mandatory for all healthcare applications, including research, hospitals, health education, etc. GDPR protects against data breaches of website cookie settings.
- Growing Awareness Among Businesses
Besides the growing number of cyber-attacks in different industries, many companies and businesses prioritize cyber security.
They are investing in different security measures to prevent data losses and to improve their credibility.
Benefits Of Cyber Security Testing For The Software Industry
Many software industries are hiring security testing services companies for the following benefits.
- Proactive Risk Management: The software industries hire a testing company to identify any vulnerabilities during the software development process. It helps them to identify early bugs or weaknesses before the deployment. Also, they can save themselves from financial losses due to data breaches and crime from cyber forums.
- Compliance And Regulatory Adherence: Security testing helps industries prevent penalties due to breaching industry-standard regulations. Also, it helps them build customer trust in terms of secure data transmission and authentication.
- Improved Software Quality: secure system or security testing helps developers find vulnerabilities at the beginning of development. Thus, they can solve the issues from the early stage and improve the software quality. Also, it leads to less updating and corrections. Ultimately, it helps them to save their money and time simultaneously.
What Are The Challenges In Cyber Security Testing?
Security testing services companies face several challenges during cyber security testing, such as:
- Difficult to identify evolving cyber threats such as Insider threats, AI-driven threats, etc. As technology is constantly adopting new momenta like IoT devices and cryptocurrency, it is difficult to identify each vulnerability.
- Also, complexity happens in API and third-party integrations where it is difficult to test each system and find any errors or vulnerabilities. Besides, some modern environments like the Cloud and hybrid work mode lead to complexity in securing the system.
- There are still fewer trained personalities for detecting the vulnerabilities. Also, the testing tools are costly enough that they may not be easily affordable for small- to medium-sized testing companies.
Is Your Software Secure? Find Out With Our Professional Security Testing!
Security testing for the software application is a crucial part of quality software development that improves credibility and authenticity, saves you money, and improves software quality. So, if you are running a software company, you must hire a reliable security testing services company to test all your developed software applications. They must be free from any kind of vulnerabilities and must comply with security standard regulations to build a secure relationship with your clients.
