What Is An Automated Web Security Audit?

An automated web security audit is a process of using scanners to scan (such as Nova Security Scanner) and test web applications for security vulnerabilities and misconfigurations.

The goal of an automated web security audit is to identify and mitigate any potential security risks before they can be exploited by malicious attackers. In this article, we'll explore what an automated web security audit is, how it works, and why it's important for businesses of all sizes, including yours.

What Is An Automated Web Security Audit?

An automated web security audit is a type of security assessment that uses security tools to scan and test web applications for security vulnerabilities and weaknesses.

These tools can be used to identify a wide range of security issues, including injection flaws, such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Broken Authentication and Session Management, and Insecure Configuration.

Automated web security audits can be performed on both internal and external web applications, and are typically used as part of a broader security testing program.

How Does an Automated Web Security Audit Work?

An automated web security audit often consists of 3 main phases to fully examine and test a web application for security vulnerabilities:

1. Crawling: The scanner crawls and scans the entire web application for links, forms, and other resources, and builds a map of the application's structure.
   Nova Security Scanner's Content Discovery Scanner is also capable of intercepting HTTP requests through a headless web crawler.
2. Testing: The scanner performs a series of security tests on the web application, such as input validation tests, to identify potential vulnerabilities.
3. Analysis: Next, the scanner analyzes the results of the tests to identify potential security risks and vulnerabilities and finally reports them back.

The results of the automated web security audit are often presented in a PDF report that includes a summary of the findings, as well as detailed information about each vulnerability that was identified. This report can be used by security teams to prioritize and remediate identified vulnerabilities based on the assigned severity.

Why Is An Automated Web Security Audit Important?

If you maintain a web application (especially if it's client-facing), a web security audit should be an important part of your security process.

Web applications are a common target for cyber attacks, and a successful attack can result in the loss of sensitive data, financial losses, and damage to a company's reputation.

An automated web security audit can help identify potential security vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by attackers, allowing businesses to take timely measures to protect their web applications, data and customers.

An automated web security audit can also help businesses comply with industry regulations and standards. Many industries have specific requirements for web application security, and an automated web security audit can help businesses demonstrate compliance with these requirements.