The Need to Defend Against Both Static and Dynamic Attacks

Every developer sets out to write bug-free code that runs as it should, meets client requirements, and doesn’t expose sensitive data. Unfortunately, time constraints, inexperience, and inattentiveness lead to the release of applications full of security vulnerabilities.  

Attackers use every trick in the book to exploit those weaknesses and find a way to manipulate the application for various purposes. Defending code against static and dynamic attacks becomes easier when you employ techniques designed to close the loopholes hackers like to go after.  

🤔 Understanding Static Cyber Attacks 

Static cyber attacks target security vulnerabilities in systems and software caused by design, configuration, or implementation flaws. Examples of static cyberattacks include: 

Code Injection 

Attackers inject malicious code into applications and systems by exploiting vulnerabilities resulting from bad coding practices, including logic flaws. One example is a developer failing to add input validation to a text field on a web form. Once malware gets inside the application, it could spread to other sensitive organizational areas, leading to issues like data breaches.  

Buffer Overflow 

Buffers are sequential sections of memory containing information like character strings or arrays. Attackers try to write outside the bounds of the allocated memory, leading to data corruption, a crashed program, or the execution of malicious code.  

Weak or Flawed Encryption 

Encryption processes protect data from being accessed by unauthorized parties. Poor key management can lead to data breaches. For example, if you use hard-coded keys in your software, a hacker could compromise them to tamper with sensitive information.  

Access Control Misconfiguration 

Organizations rely on access control policies to protect digital spaces and prevent unauthorized users from accessing apps, data, and resources. If you fail to revoke the rights of a user who changes roles or leaves the company, they could use that permission to steal data or perform other malicious actions.  

Security Misconfiguration 

Examples of security misconfigurations include not changing the default settings on new software or making storage buckets in cloud infrastructure publicly accessible. Bad actors take advantage of security misconfigurations to install malware within networks and access sensitive database information.  

🎯 Understanding Dynamic Cyber Attacks 

Dynamic attacks target vulnerabilities exposed in actively running applications. Examples of real-time flaws that hackers go after include:  

Malware 

Hackers typically distribute malware through emails, software, and malicious websites. Inadvertently downloading malware from one of those sources can immediately infect systems and start causing damage like: 

• Stealing sensitive data like login credentials and credit card numbers 
• Hijack company devices, data, or networks for money 
• Disrupt critical systems so an organization cannot function 

SQL Injection 

Hackers use input fields in websites and other applications to insert malicious SQL code. If successful, they can launch attacks designed to extract sensitive information, execute arbitrary commands, or manipulate databases to gain unauthorized access. 

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) 

Cross-site scripting attacks involve inserting malicious scripts into web pages written in languages like JavaScript. When users inadvertently trigger the scripts within their browsers, attackers perform actions like stealing cookies or performing actions to take over that user’s account.  

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) 

DDoS attacks flood systems and networks with large volumes of traffic, making them inaccessible to regular users. Hackers orchestrate DDoS attacks using botnets or compromised devices. The disruption can lead to financial losses and extortion of organizations to get the attackers to restore activity.  

📖 What Is Static Analysis? 

Static analysis looks for different ways to exploit applications without executing them. It helps find vulnerabilities caused by coding errors and syntax issues. Static application security testing, or SAST, is a static analysis focused on looking for weaknesses in source code, configuration files, and binaries. Examples of techniques used in SAST include: 

• Pattern Matching — Involves using predefined patterns or signatures to look for coding errors, insecure coding practices, or other vulnerabilities within source code.  
• Data Flow Analysis — Tracks the flow of data within code to locate security issues involving output coding, input validation, or insecure data handling. This methodology helps detect security risks like information leakage or improper data sanitization.  
• Control Flow Analysis — Goes over the code’s control flow to find authentication, authorization, and session management issues. Reviewing structures like loops and conditionals interacting with sensitive operations can help uncover logic flaws and security weaknesses. 
• Dependency Analysis — This involves analyzing code dependencies and the interactions between components like libraries, external APIs, and frameworks. SAST tools help uncover potential issues with external components like insecure APIs and outdated libraries.  
• Code Metrics and Quality Checks — Assesses various aspects of code, like size and maintainability, to grade its overall quality and find areas for improvement.  

📖 What Is Dynamic Analysis? 

In contrast to static analysis, dynamic analysis involves looking at how code operates while it executes. Dynamic application security testing (DAST) tools interact with applications to evaluate their behavior during runtime and locate potential security weaknesses. Examples of techniques used in DAST include: 

• Real-world Simulations — DAST tools create simulations of attacks used by hackers in the real world against applications to determine how they respond. Examples include sending malicious requests or inputs to an application’s interface.  
• Runtime Analysis — This process involves reviewing an application’s behavior as it operates. DAST tools monitor responses to locate potential issues that could lead to security breaches.  
• Coverage Analysis — Review how much of an application’s code and critical components, like API endpoints and input parameters, have been tested. DAST identifies whether there are sufficient test cases for every scenario. 

🚀 The Importance of a Complete Testing Strategy 

Kiuwan understands the importance of defending applications against cyber attacks. Our end-to-end security platform gives teams everything needed to perform SAST analysis to identify and remediate application vulnerabilities. Our platform also performs security assessments on open-source components to ensure code quality.

One of the benefits of using Kiuwan for application security testing is that it supports over 30 languages and integrates with multiple IDEs. Our team can help you quickly become proficient in ensuring the security of your organization’s products, both internally and externally.  Curious? Request a free demo to see it in action.