Security testing plays an important role in compliance and web app security. Effective testing needs good preparation. In addition to this, the significance of the service provider and web security testing cannot be overlooked.
Hence, a strong Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the organization and the service provider is a significant part of preparation. This is important for two reasons:
- Sets anticipations for both parties
- Offers transparency on their obligations
Keeping this scenario in mind, we are presenting you with the list of eight points that you must be included in your security testing service providers’ agreement.
- The Objectives & Goals of Your Test
The goals and objectives listed in a service level agreement play a very important role in setting the processes for:
- Pricing
- Methodology
- Scoping
- Results
Without listing goals with clarity, the organization cannot get a set of susceptibilities that have any correlations or connection to their risks.
- Defining Security Testing Scope
By defining the scope, you can clearly tell the things that can or cannot be incorporated. In this way, organization can guarantee that services and systems not involved in the scope are not worked on by the testing team.
Due to cost constraint, each component and system cannot be involved in the security testing. In addition to this, conducting security tests lead to accidental interruptions and downtime. The organization must keep it under consideration. This highlights the significance of testing scope.
- Duties and Responsibilities of Both Parties
The agreement must list down the duties and responsibilities of both security testing company and company hiring their services. The financial obligations and the payment terms must be mentioned in the service level agreement. Furthermore, it is important to incorporate deliverable statements from the service provider about probable consequences from the tests.
- The Certifications & Qualifications of The Security Testing Company
Competent, experienced, and qualified security testing companies will show all susceptibilities and provide solutions for resolving all the issues. It is important to look for organizations that are approved by CEH, OSP and CREST etc. They indicate the level of technical capabilities of the tester.
- The Testing Methods, Tools & Procedures to Be Incorporated
Both parties must talk about the testing methods, tools and procedures that can be incorporated during the testing. It is very important to discuss because all the testing methods and tools are not legitimate. Open-source tools can send company’s confidential information to malicious third parties which could harm organization.
- Privacy Clauses
In other words, it is also called confidentiality clause. It is included in the service level agreement. The organization would not want their private information or data to be leaked intentionally or accidentally by the tester. Therefore, whatever, testing techniques being applied by the tester would be kept confidential. In this case, a Non-Disclosure Agreement is exchanged between both parties.
- Transferring Credentials and Permissions
The credentials must be transferred to the security testing company in an encrypted and secure manner. The detail of all this must be provided in the service level agreement.
- Test Report Highlighting Misconfigurations, Flaws & Vulnerabilities
The security testing company must provide their client a detailed test report that highlights misconfigurations, flaws and vulnerabilities that can affect the integrity, confidentiality and availability of the apps. This should be supported by a POC checking the existence of the susceptibilities and how they can be replicated. The report should incorporate recommendations to resolve issues. This will help the top management to take important decisions.
