The Importance of Crowd-Sourced Security in Cybersecurity Landscape#

Attackers are continuously on the outlook of application/software vulnerabilities that can be used to launch various types of attacks. The necessity for timely discovery of security issues in the applications before the attackers have a chance to exploit them is increasing due to the rapid pace at which software is developed and used to carry out crucial functionality. This urges enterprises to develop a testing method that is swift and effective and enables them to release software that is bug-free as soon as feasible. Traditional testing methods, however, are unable to keep up with the rate at which consumers’ demands are being met with the proliferation of applications, devices, and operating systems that are being created every day. The crowd-sourced security testing steps in at this point to save the day. The fundamentals of crowd-sourced security, how it differs from traditional penetration testing, and the many advantages this testing method offers the organization is all covered in this article.

What is Crowd-sourced Security Testing?#

Crowd-sourced security testing is referred to as the testing approach that leverages a dispersed and large pool of penetration testers temporarily in order to test the security of the developed applications. This type of security testing approach is used to test the security of the applications in a manner that is quick, efficient, and cost-effective as compared to employing an in-house or external security testing team.

Crowd-sourced testing allows organizations of all sizes to get the services of security testers with a wide variety of technical skills and innovative mindsets to gain an insight into the security of developed applications or software. This helps the organization to focus on the remediation efforts as well as improve the areas in which code development is lacking with regards to security. Crowd-sourced security testing utilizes the attacker’s perspective of the application that discovers and exploits a given vulnerability. It further helps reduce the attack surface of the application by verifying and remediating the security flaws discovered by multiple security testers. Other security testing approaches lack the scalability, speed, and flexibility that is offered by this methodology.

Why should you leverage Crowd-sourced Security Testing?#

The majority of organizations lack the tools and specialized knowledge that is necessary to identify and validate hidden vulnerabilities. This can result in the attackers exploiting those vulnerabilities and causing significant harm. If an organization uses only reactive tools to detect vulnerabilities, then this method may fail at detecting the evolving risks in the application. In this modern technological era, attackers are equipped with the most up-to-date tools and have the expertise, inventiveness, and tenacity to carry out stealthy and sophisticated attacks. Crowd-sourcing can help the organization fill the skills gap utilizing the services and offering rewards to ethical hackers who disclose serious defects. By implementing the program either internally or by hiring a third-party vendor, every organization can employ crowd-sourced security testing to improve the resilience of the assets that are visible to the public.

How does Crowd-sourced Security testing differ from the traditional Penetration testing approach?#

The company employs a group of security testers from outside the company as part of a standard penetration testing strategy. The scope of the penetration test and the rules of engagement can be decided by the organization prior to testing. This form of security testing employs a number of techniques to spot and take advantage of security flaws in order to provide a proof of concept. Infrastructure testing, internal testing, social engineering attacks, and many more security tests are carried out as part of penetration testing. The testers then provide their client company with a thorough report on the security flaws they’ve identified, along with guidance on how to apply remediation techniques to fix them. This kind of testing is routinely carried out to assess a variety of targets with both internal and external facing functionality, including enterprise networks, web applications, and mobile applications.

Penetration testing is an engagement-based approach that uses a formal agreement between the company and the external security company. It is carried out by a small team of highly qualified security testers. Usually, this kind of security assessment is done once a year or whenever there is a significant change to the target under review. Penetration testing provides a picture of the target’s security posture at a certain point in time. The incorporation of new technologies or functionalities in the system or the application can introduce different security threats. As a result, the organization can find that repeating penetration tests is an extremely expensive testing strategy.

Penetration testers have a limited amount of time to find security flaws in the application, unlike attackers in the real world who have an unlimited amount of time to find issues in the target under consideration. This makes it harder for the tester to discover security flaws that take time and effort to discover and hence they can go unnoticed for a long time.

On the other hand, open-ended security initiatives that engage a much broader range of white hat security testers with a variety of skill sets and testing expertise are what make up crowd-sourced security testing. When compared to a standard penetration testing engagement, crowd-sourced testing may be set up much more quickly, allowing an organization to experience a quick ROI (return on investment). This testing strategy is easily adaptable to the testing needs and financial constraints of your company. Depending on the popularity and rewards offered by your crowd-sourcing program, this kind of security testing aids the company in attracting a significant number of experienced testers with various testing experiences.

Crowd-sourced testing is built on a pay-per-vulnerability paradigm, in which testers are reimbursed in the form of monetary prizes, swag, or acknowledgment for their efforts. The effectiveness of the program’s implementation, response, and recognition/rewarding of security testers’ work will determine how successful the crowd-sourced testing initiative is. A well-designed approach for crowd-sourced security testing ensures that all iterations of the website or target application under evaluation are continuously monitored. This makes it possible for security flaws to be continually found when the website or application advances as a result of the incorporation of new technologies or functionalities. Organizations receive thorough vulnerability reports for verification and remediation owing to the crowd-sourced model, which enables testers to compete for fast-paid rewards.

By using crowd-sourced security testing, you can be assured that someone with knowledge and competence in a particular security area will eventually review your application or website and find any security flaws that another person could have missed. Crowd-sourced testing is frequently not time-limited. This makes it easier for security testers to spot vulnerabilities that take a lot of time and effort to detect. Mostly publicly accessible targets, such as APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), web or mobile applications, etc., are currently tested using this methodology. This is due to the fact that sometimes it is not feasible for the company to disclose the internal information about the target publicly.

Types of Crowd-sourced Testing Programs#

This section lists the different types of Crowd-sourced testing approaches that an organization can deploy in order to leverage the services of a large group of skilled penetration testers.

Responsible Vulnerability Disclosure Program#

A responsible vulnerability disclosure program is a structured method by which security testers can securely and confidentially inform the organization of any security findings. This software is one of the easiest and most affordable crowd-sourced testing programs the company can use. The goal of establishing such a program is to enable the detection of vulnerabilities before hackers have an opportunity to exploit them. A responsible vulnerability disclosure program includes a safe harbor clause, a remediation strategy, and the program scope. Before security researchers are compelled to publicly reveal security issues, the company must make sure that it reacts promptly to their reports. Instead of handling the vulnerability disclosure program internally, a company may decide to contract with a third-party vendor. The vendor will thereafter be in charge of not only validating the reported bugs but also communicating with the testers.

Bug Bounty Program#

Bug Bounty Programs enable independent security researchers or testers to find and report security flaws to an organization in exchange for monetary awards or compensation. A bug bounty programme can be used to examine an organization’s applications to see if they have any security flaws. These programs can be managed by the company internally, or the company can partner with outside vendors to design a bug bounty program that is tailored to the needs of the company.

The specifics of bug bounty programs may vary from one organization to another. Some companies can proclaim their applications to be open by letting ethical hackers examine them for any potential security weaknesses. Other organizations may define the web pages or application’s components that are included in the scope of testing as well as the vulnerabilities that the tester should be testing for. When a security tester reports a vulnerability, the company confirms the vulnerability’s existence and develops a patch to fix the application’s bug or security issue. Afterward, the company gives the security tester a payment based on the severity and impact of the identified vulnerability.

Bug bounty programs may be private (invite-only) where reports are kept confidential to the organization or public (where anyone can sign up and join). The success of bug bounty programs over the years has resulted in many organizations creating and adopting these programs.

PTaaS (Penetration Testing As a Service)#

Penetration testing as a service (PTaaS) provides cloud-based tools for conducting continuous as well as one-off penetration tests. Businesses may create strong vulnerability management systems with PTaaS that enable them to quickly recognize, classify, and mitigate security threats.

PTaaS allows the organization to maximize the power and advantages offered by crowd-sourced testing. These platforms are available as delivery platforms and offer numerous capabilities to the organizations. The majority of these platforms are scalable and can accommodate a variety of business kinds and sizes. Customers can add compliance based testing for regulations and standards such as ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, and others by leveraging these platforms. This form of crowd-sourced testing benefits the firm by offering continuous testing and reducing the attack surface by detecting security flaws with updates in the web or mobile application.

How can you establish a Crowd-sourced Testing Program for your organization?#

If your want to set up a Crowd-sourced security testing program for your organization, it is important to consider some important points before you deploy the program to reap its benefits.

The organization needs to determine the assets it needs to get tested, define the business and security goals that are to be achieved through the crowd-sourced security program, outline the budget requirements and decide if the organization is going to manage the security program internally or whether it will employ the services of third-party security testing management platforms. Whether you manage these programs internally or leverage the service of different vendors, the aim of the crowd-sourced testing is to get a detailed report on the identified security issues in the assets under consideration.
While in some models the testers are managed by the crowd-sourced testing service, in others the testers communicate directly with the client to get instructions and provide feedback. It is up to the organization to decide which communication model suits it the best.
The company may choose to implement a public, private, or hybrid crowd-sourced security program, depending on its security requirements. Adopting a program that is accessible to the general public can be daunting if this is the organization’s first time launching the it due to the larger volume of reported defects that must be fixed. By raising the workload of the organization’s rewarding and remediation efforts, this can sometimes end up overburdening it. Therefore, it is advised that the company start with a small pool of testers and gradually expand the program over time.
The organization can also set up its testing environment that meets the objectives and goals of the security program. An organization must balance between its goals of maximizing the advantage of security testing as well as the risk of the breaking important functionalities or exposure of sensitive data. Depending upon these objectives, the organization can allow the testers to work in a live production environment, or it can establish a dedicated testing or staging environment for them.

The Downsides of Crowd-sourced Security Testing#

Although crowd-sourced security testing has many benefits for the company, it can also have major downsides, particularly if the testing program is poorly managed.

Due to sharing the specifics of the application with the security testers, there may occasionally be confidentiality issues. In that situation, the company should refrain from using crowd-sourced testing. Alternatively, if it is not a major problem, the business can guarantee secrecy by having the tester sign a non-disclosure agreement on their behalf or with the assistance of the vendors.
Crowd-sourced testing can significantly impact the performance or availability of the target that is being tested. It can especially happen if the target is made available for public testing for a large number of security testers. Therefore the organization must either set up a separate testing environment in order to minimize the effects of testing on the production environment or adopt a program that leverages a limited number of security testers.
It will be more difficult to draw in knowledgeable or seasoned pen testers if the organization’s rewards or incentives are minimal or not worthwhile, such as “hall of fame” mentions or merchandise like t-shirts. Instead, they will focus on and devote their energy to the companies offering significant financial rewards.
Crowd-sourced testers can sometimes be more focused on the quantity instead of quality as the testers receive more payment with the number of bugs that are reported. This can result in the complexity of the reported bugs being quite low and their quality being compromised. The organization can thus use both in-house testers for the task of finding complicated bugs while outsourcing the easy to find flaws to the crowd.