Features

The cloud application penetration testing service is different than a simple website security assessment. It extends the testing methodology to cloud scenarios such multi-tenant privilege escalation, user role privilege escalation.


Cloud App Security Features

Exploit Categories

  • Cloud VPC Network Security Exploits

  • Cloud Web Layer Exploits

  • Cloud Web Service Exploits

  • Authentication problems

  • Configuration problems

  • Database related problems

Vulnerabilities Detected

  • SQL Injection

  • Cross Site Scripting (XSS)

  • Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

  • Forms Input Forgery

  • Code Inection

  • Cookie Poisioning

  • 400+ other vulnerabilities

Standards Followed

  • OWASP Top 10 - 2014

  • NIST - CWE Standard

Test Approaches

  • Black Box

  • Gray Box

What is cloud

Cloud is nothing but a server that can be accessed over the internet, having software and databases running on that server. Data centres across the world use cloud for data storage and running their software applications on the cloud-based servers rather than using physical servers or setting up physical machines

Cloud can be compared to a restaurant where customers can come and select the food that they want and pay for what they have eaten. Cloud is very similar to a restaurant where the cloud providers provides number of services for customers, from which the customer can choose the services they need and pay only for the services they use.

Types of cloud (public/private/hybrid)

Based on the ability to access and secure the data stored in cloud by an organization, cloud can be categorised into 3 types:

Public Cloud: The public cloud infrastructure is available for public use and is owned by an organization which provides cloud services. Small and medium-sized businesses typically use a public cloud. However public cloud is not appropriate for organisations operating with critical information as they have to abide by the stringent security protocols.

Private Cloud: Large organizations that have data centres which manage their data use a private cloud, which has a high storage capacity and computing power; this type of private cloud infrastructure is used exclusively for a particular organization which carry sensitive information. Using private cloud permits the user to have more control over customization, scalability and flexibility while providing asset security and ease of business operations

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Hybrid Cloud : A hybrid cloud combines multiple types of clouds (private and public).For example, some data can be stored in public cloud which are used for running high volume application like emails, facebook, Instagram, etc. while the others which need to be confidential and secured can be stored in the private cloud like financial details or critical business information. Currently, two of the major hybrid cloud providers are VMware and HP.

Why cloud
(how it has changed the business for good) (cloud storage/cloud apps)

Cloud App Security Features, Cloud App Security Penetraion Testing Consultancy VAPT vendor company

Cloud provides a host of benefits which make it so popular.We can not only store large amounts of data securely on the cloud, but it is also possible to rent the latest hi-tech software and even hardware.

  • Cost Efficient: The Pay As you go model significantly minimizes the organization’s costs.
  • Almost Unlimited Storage: Using cloud storage means unlimited storage capability. No running out of storage or no need of investing in storage devices.
  • Backup and Recovery: All the data are backed up on to the cloud. Hence, backup and recovery becomes easier.
  • Automatic Software Integration: The changes to the software made by different developers are tested and integrated several times in a day. This is automatically done when using cloud.
  • Easy Access to Information: Once registered, information can be accessed from any location and from any device.
  • Quick Deployment: Using cloud you can get your entire system fully functioning in just a couple of minutes.

Small and middle level companies moving to cloud




Small to middle level companies are also moving to cloud due to cost efficiency as mentioned above. It also allows them to use the cloud infrastructure and cloud applications. For example AWS provides cloud formation where it helps businesses to model and set up their Amazon Web Services resources so that you can spend less time managing those resources and more time focusing on your applications that run on AWS

Cloud App Security Penetraion Testing Consultancy VAPT vendor company, SQL Injection

Importance of cloud security

Cloud App Security Penetraion Testing Consultancy VAPT vendor company, Cross Site Scripting (XSS)


Cloud security is important as you want to make sure that the data and information stored in cloud is safe and secure. Not being able to handle our data and storing our data on someone else’s storage area surely gives us a feel of insecurity on whether our data is safe in the cloud. To eliminate these negative thoughts and to get an assurance on the safety of our information, cloud security is vital.

Also with the increasing data breaches and technological attacks, it’s important to ensure security especially when cloud structure is still a mystery and needs a lot of investigation from the security point of view.

Top risks in cloud (Stealing of data/malware explained elaborately)

As more and more businesses and operations move to the cloud, cloud providers are becoming a bigger target for malicious attacks.

Loss/Theft of sensitive data: Most of the data are being stored in the cloud. According to a survey it was found out that about 21% of files that are crucial and sensitive are being uploaded in the cloud. When the attacker breaches a cloud service he gets access to all the data stored in it which can even cause critical data leakage.

DDoS: A DDoS attack is designed to overwhelm website servers so it can no longer respond to legitimate user requests. This causes a threat to the availability of data to the authenticated user. This can also result in a loss of revenue, customer trust and brand authority. Complementing cloud services with DDoS protection is no longer just good idea for the enterprise; it’s a necessity. Websites and web-based applications are core components of 21st century business and require state-of-the-art security.

Account hijacking: Hackers can get into critical cloud services and compromise the confidentiality, availability and integrity by using stolen user credentials. This can be also caused due to insecure API’s as it is the entry point for most attackers. Therefore it is important to conduct pen testing to uncover the weaknesses in the security and do the necessary fixations.

Malware Injection Attack : Hackers create a malicious program or application and inject them into target cloud service models (SaaS, PaaS or IaaS). Once the malicious program is injected properly, this malicious module is executed as one of the valid instances running in the cloud. Then, the attacker can commit any malicious acts such as data manipulation, eavesdropping or data theft.

Cloud App Security Penetraion Testing Consultancy VAPT vendor company, SQL Injection

How cloud testing diff from web testing

Cloud App Security Penetraion Testing Consultancy VAPT vendor company, Cross Site Scripting (XSS)


Example Test cases for Cloud Testing

Testing Parameters Conventional Testing Cloud Testing
Primary Testing Objective Check interoperability, compatibility, usability. Verifies the quality of system function and performance based on the given specification Verifies the quality of performance and functions of SaaS, Clouds, and applications by leveraging a cloud environment
Testing Costs Costing remains high due to hardware and software requirements Only have to pay for operational charges. Pay only what you use.
Test Simulation Simulated online traffic data Simulated online user access Simulation of online traffic data Simulation of online user access
Functional Testing Validating functions (unit and system) as well as its features Testing end-to-end application function on SaaS or Cloud
Testing Environment A pre-fixed and configured test environment in a test lab An open public test environment with diverse computing resources
Integration Testing Component, architecture, and function based testing SaaS-based Integration Testing
Security Testing Testing security features based on process, server and privacy Testing security features based on cloud, SaaS and real time tests in vendors cloud
Performance and Scalability Testing Performed a fixed test environment Apply both real time and virtual online test data


What is SaaS testing?

SaaS Testing is a software testing process in which the software application built in a Software as a Service model is tested for the functional as well as non-functional requirements. The goal of SaaS testing is to ensure the quality by testing data security, integrity, performance, compatibility and scalability of the software application.

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What are the four areas of cloud security?

The four areas of cloud security are as follows:

  • Visibility and compliance.
  • Compute-based security.
  • Network protections.
  • Identity security.
  1. Visibility and compliance-
  2. The visibility layer reduces the visibility for unauthorized persons. One of the main elements of zero-trust computing is continuous improvement. An efficient cloud security solution should enable continuous insight into the entire cloud environment, thereby creating the opportunity for ongoing improvement. That involves several steps: Asset inventory. Every agency needs an overall inventory of what it has in the cloud- like servers, cloud provider services, users and cloud tools like load balancers. This is especially necessary while using multi-cloud solutions from different providers. A centralized inventory of all cloud-based assets establishes management overhead, however it?s complicated and manually comprehensive to develop and maintain. The finest security solution would automate the integrated inventory process. Most agencies will follow one or many available security frameworks (such as those from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, ISO 27001, or others) that provides a detail on how a secure cloud environment looks like. Using these frameworks for assessment helps determine what controls are needed to secure data and endpoints. Although these tools are helpful, they can be complex or confusing for IT professionals who lack deep security knowledge. It helps to possess a cloud security resolution that automates framework implementation and provides continual coverage and rectification controls. Data security. An efficient security solution will accurately classify its data and its level of severity. It should also provide controls that stipulate where specific data types can reside, such as in a software-as-a-service application or cloud-provider storage, whether or not data is publicly exposed and who may access it
  3. Compute-based security-
  4. Manages the security of end systems. The second pillar involves providing security for end systems, managed services or different workloads running inside the cloud ? commonly called platform as a service. This compute-level security has 2 key parts. 1st is machine-driven vulnerability management, that identifies and prevents vulnerabilities across the complete application lifecycle whereas prioritizing risk for cloud-native environments. The other key component is ongoing operational security, involving anything considered to be a compute engine or compute workload. Effective cloud security needs inspecting activity mechanically and ceaselessly to discover any abnormal or malicious activity.
  5. Network protections-
  6. Provides network security to your data. Protecting the network is traditionally integral to on-premises environments but is equally vital for the cloud. There are two major parts of network protections. One is micro segmentation, a technique of making zones to isolate workloads from each other and secure them one by one. This is at the center of zero trust. By putting up roadblocks between applications and workloads, micro segmentation makes it much more difficult for would-be attackers to move laterally from one infected host to another. The method employs containerization and segmenting the application itself in order to minimize any damage. For example, an organization may have numerous applications running in one cloud environment, some of which support a civilian workforce and others that support sensitive or even classified information. Since the two application types cannot be combined together, micro segmentation can keep them at different classification levels, ensuring no overlap. The other essential part of network protection applies to the live ?inline? flow of traffic. Instead of providing a border round the cloud, like with a standard on-premises setting, network protection extends the border right down to the user level. A cloud security resolution ought to enable licensed users to firmly access cloud-based knowledge they have whereas providing threat visibility into what activities they're performing.
  7. Identity security-
  8. Limits the usage of data and devices from unrestricted access. The fourth pillar involves mapping user and machine identities to what they're licensed to really do on the network. A cloud security resolution ought to make sure that users are solely able to access the applications they have at the amount they have to perform their jobs whereas making certain the machines will solely communicate with different machines required to accomplish their application. Comparable to micro segmentation, identity security is another integral part of zero trust. These four pillars are the foundational needs for comprehensive cloud security. It?s a multi-layered approach that can't be satisfied by one technology, CASB or different resolution. During this unpredictable time of remote work, as agencies are increase cloud adoption, shift IT practices, while continuing to face persistent cyber adversaries, implementing a holistic framework that includes every pillar is essential for bigger cloud security and achieving a zero-trust network.


What Our Customers Say?

Valency Networks is a very techie company, focusing on a continuous improvement in service quality. Our customers like us exactly for that and that helps us keep our quality to the best extent.